When it comes to skiing, my family is spoiled. We live in Salt Lake City and can access ten world-class resorts within an hour and a half drive. It’s no wonder that living here for 17 years, eight of those with kids, we have never taken a ski trip outside the central metropolitan area (the 90-mile stretch from Ogden to Provo).
Wanting to expose my kids to new resorts but not wanting to schlep all of our ski gear through an airport and have to get on a flight, we decided to head to Southern Utah and experience Brian Head Ski Resort and Eagle Point.
DAY 1
We left midday on a Friday after school let out. Brian Head is about three and a half hours south of Salt Lake City. We arrived at Brian Head Lodge shortly after 4 p.m. It was perfect timing to get checked in and settle into our room before heading out for dinner.
(Note – it would have been perfect timing to take the quick 8 minute drive to the North View Lookout to catch the spectacular view into Cedar Breaks National Monument at sunset, but we brought a winter storm with us down south and would not have been able to see anything with the impending storm.)
Near the Giant Steps Lodge base of Brian Head Resort is a cute, small village with a great general store, pizza place and Mexican restaurant. We went with tacos on our first night at Rosales Mexican Food (I recommend their street tacos).
DAY 2
With kids ages eight and three, sleeping in isn't a thing. We were at the Lift Bar & Patio at Brain Head Lodge for breakfast right at 7:30 a.m. Kids ages 12 and under eat for free. We all enjoyed the buffet with the essentials to fuel up for a great day on the slopes.
We strategically opted to take the free shuttle from Brian Head Lodge to the resort. It was nice to get our gear on in the warmth of our room and lobby, and we didn’t want to worry about driving and parking. The shuttle comes every 15-20 minutes daily (9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Holidays). We went from our accomodations to the Navajo Lodge base of the resort – no joke – in less than two minutes.
The runs accessible from the Navajo Lodge base are all beginner and intermediate runs. The uncrowded, wide beginner runs were perfect for our three year old son to learn and gain confidence on the snow. He may or may not have tried to imitate his big sister and ski onto the banks on the side of the run for some powder and speed back down.
Our eight year old daughter enjoyed taking it easy to practice her parallel turns. She did challenge herself on a few intermediate runs and got a surprise lesson on how to ski powder.
With Brian Head Resort and Lodge so close, it was a breeze to shuttle back after lunch for a nap and rest time with the kids. My husband headed back out to ski the runs from the Giant Steps Lodge base, and again, the shuttle made getting there so simple.
We had pizza for dinner. The restaurants at the Giant Steps Lodge base can get busy with the end-of-day ski/board crowd, so we got there on the early side and got a table quickly to enjoy dinner.
(Note – Brian Head Lodge has an indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, fitness center, and spa. We brought swimsuits but ended up staying warm in our room and enjoyed a movie before bedtime.)
DAY 3
We intended to get up early, pack and head to Eagle Point Resort for some skiing before our drive back home. However, the winter storm decided to stay, so our timing got pushed back.
We enjoyed breakfast at the Lift Bar & Patio again. After getting packed up and scraping nearly a foot of snow off the car, we were on the road around 10:30 a.m. The drive from Brian Head to Eagle Point Resort is just under an hour and a half. However, it took us two hours due to the storm and snowy road conditions.
The first order of business when we got to Eagle Point was lunch, and then we took the kids on a couple of runs from the Skyline Lodge base. It felt like we had the entire mountain to ourselves! The beginner runs had nearly a foot of fresh powder, and we enjoyed skiing the wide open runs together.
After two hours of skiing, we headed down the mountain, and I fulfilled my promise to the kids: an ice cream at The Creamery in Beaver before the rest of our drive home.
CONCLUSIONS/TAKEAWAYS
- I would have loved more time at both Southern Utah resorts.
- I LOVED that we could drive there in just a few hours, and the scenery, landscape, and vibe felt like a completely different world from what we are used to in Salt Lake and Park City.
- Southern Utah resorts are ideal for a quick weekend ski trip. Weather dependent, you can pack in a lot of fun things in two and a half to three days, which means no missing school or work.
