Deer Valley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Deer Valley |
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Overview of a portion of the resort's Flagstaff Mountain terrain
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 Deer Valley
Location in Utah
Deer Valley
Location in the United States
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| Location | Wasatch Range Summit County, Utah  United States |
| Nearest city | Park City, Utah |
| Coordinates | 40°37′22″N 111°29′22″W / 40.62278°N 111.48944°W |
| Vertical | 3,000 ft (910 m) |
| Top elevation | 9,570 ft (2,920 m) |
| Base elevation | 6,570 ft (2,000 m) |
| Skiable area | 2,026 acres (820 ha) |
| Runs | 103 27% easiest 41% more difficult 32% most difficult |
| Longest run | 2.8 mi (4.5 km) |
| Lift system | 24 - 1 Gondola - 12 High-speed quad chairlifts - 5 Triple chairlifts - 2 Double chairlifts - 4 Magic carpets |
| Lift capacity | 50,470 skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | No |
| Snowfall | 300 inches (760 cm) |
| Snowmaking | Yes, over 660 acres (270 ha) |
| Night skiing | No |
| Website | Deer Valley |
Deer Valley is a famous ski resort located in the Wasatch Range mountains in Utah, United States. It's about 36 miles (58 km) east of Salt Lake City, near Park City, Utah. This resort is well-known for its fancy features and is often ranked as one of the best ski resorts in North America.
Deer Valley was a special place during the 2002 Winter Olympics. It hosted exciting events like freestyle moguls, aerials, and alpine slalom. The resort also regularly hosts big competitions for the International Ski Federation.
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About Deer Valley Ski Resort
Deer Valley stands out from other ski resorts nearby. It offers special services for its guests, like free ski valets who carry your skis and free shuttles to the parking lots. You can also find great restaurants and unique shops in the main lodge.
One unique thing about Deer Valley is that it's one of only three resorts in the United States where only skiers are allowed. Snowboarders are not permitted on the slopes. Stein Eriksen, a famous skier, was the director of skiing here until he passed away in 2015. There's even a lodge named after him!
Deer Valley uses lots of snow-grooming machines to keep the slopes perfect. To make sure the slopes aren't too crowded, the resort limits the number of tickets sold each day to 7,500. This helps everyone have a better time skiing. The resort has 24 ski lifts, including a gondola and many fast chairlifts, which can carry over 50,000 skiers per hour!
History of Deer Valley
Skiing in the Deer Valley area started way back in the 1930s with the Park City Winter Carnivals. The first ski trails and facilities were built in 1936–1937. In 1946, local people built the first ski lifts, mostly from trees found nearby. This early ski area was called the Snow Park Ski Area.
In 1981, Edgar Stern founded the Deer Valley Resort in the same area. Since then, it has grown a lot. Today, it covers six mountains with six bowls, offering 2,026 acres (820 hectares) of skiable terrain. A big part of this area, 670 acres (271 hectares), has snow-making machines to ensure there's always enough snow.
How the Resort Grew
Deer Valley first opened in 1981 with a few chairlifts on Bald Eagle and Bald Mountains. Over the years, the resort kept adding more and faster lifts.
- In 1991, Deer Valley got its first high-speed quad chairlift, which moves skiers up the mountain much faster. That same year, the resort expanded onto Flagstaff Mountain, adding more trails.
- By 1993, they added another high-speed quad lift. All new lifts from 1993 onwards have been built by a company called Doppelmayr CTEC, based in Salt Lake City.
- A major expansion happened in 1998–99 when Deer Valley added two more mountains: Little Baldy Peak and Empire Canyon. This expansion also included the Jordanelle Express Gondola, which makes it easier for people to get to the resort from a main highway.
- In the early 2000s, many older lifts were replaced with faster, more modern ones. For example, the Silver Lake Express was built in 2000 to connect the main base lodge to the mid-mountain lodge.
- In 2007, the resort grew again, adding Lady Morgan Peak, which brought 200 more acres of trails.
- In 2012, the Deer Crest lift on Little Baldy Peak was replaced with a high-speed quad, making it even faster to reach that area.
- In 2014, Deer Valley bought another ski resort called Solitude Mountain Resort.
- In 2017, Deer Valley was sold to a new company called Alterra Mountain Company.
- Looking to the future, Deer Valley announced in 2023 that it will add the Mayflower ski area. This huge expansion, planned to open for the 2025-2026 winter season, will more than double the resort's skiable area and add many new ski runs.
Special Guest Services
Deer Valley was one of the first resorts to offer many helpful services that guests now expect. They were pioneers in:
- Having ski valets who carry your ski gear.
- Providing free shuttles in the parking lot.
- Offering a licensed child-care facility.
- Making sure all employees wear uniforms.
- They even provide tissues in the lift lines and call customers "guests"!
- You can also check your skis for free overnight.
International Ski Competitions
2002 Winter Olympics
During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Deer Valley was a key location. It hosted the freestyle moguls and aerials events, as well as the men's and women's alpine slalom events.
Three of the resort's ski runs were used for the games: Champion (for freestyle moguls), Know You Don't (for alpine slalom), and White Owl (for freestyle aerials). Huge temporary stadiums, as tall as 12 stories, were built at the end of each run, seating 10,000 people. Along with standing areas, about 13,300 spectators could watch each event. Almost all tickets for events at Deer Valley were sold, with nearly 97,000 people watching the competitions. Even with the Olympics happening, 95% of Deer Valley stayed open for regular skiing!
World Cup Events
Deer Valley has also hosted the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships multiple times, in 2003, 2011, and 2019. It was the first American venue to host these championships twice.
The resort is a regular host for FIS World Cup events. Since 2000, it has hosted men's and women's mogul and aerial competitions almost every year. Deer Valley's history of hosting big events has made it known as a "Mecca for freestyle skiing events."
Awards and Recognition
Deer Valley has won many awards for being a top ski resort.
- In SKI magazine's reader survey, Deer Valley was ranked first overall in 2017.
- Since 1998, it has always been in the top three and was ranked first for five years in a row from 2007 to 2011. No other resort has been ranked first for that long!
- In the 2017 survey, it got top ratings for grooming, service, lodging, and being kid-friendly. It also ranked high for snow, lifts, dining, and overall satisfaction.
- At the first World Ski Awards in 2013, Deer Valley won the award for the best ski resort in the United States. It continued to win this award for 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
- Deer Valley's restaurant, Mariposa at Silver Lake, has been named the number one restaurant in Utah by the Zagat Restaurant Guide.
No Snowboarding Allowed
Deer Valley is one of only three ski resorts in the United States that does not allow snowboarders. The other two are Alta and Mad River Glen. This rule means that only skiers can use the slopes at Deer Valley.
