Best Destination Ski Resorts for Beginners
When it comes to picking a ski resort, the choice can be difficult for any skier or rider. But when it comes to picking a mountain as a beginner, the decision can be even more tough. Not only do many novices not really know what they are looking for, but few ski resorts actually talk about their beginner terrain. This means that on the surface, it can be really complicated for less-experienced guests to plan a high-quality ski trip.
Picking the wrong resort can turn a beginner off to skiing or riding forever, but picking the right one can pave the way for a lifelong relationship with the sport. So, let’s check out the 10 best beginner destination resorts in North America:
Beaver Creek, Colorado
Beaver Creek markets itself as a premier ski destination for families and beginners—and it delivers on that promise. Its beginner zones, especially the bunny hill, are ideal for those just starting out.
Beaver Creek’s bunny hill might be the most inviting of any North American ski resort. Unlike a typical learning area that uses chairlifts or magic carpets, Beaver Creek’s Haymeadow bunny hill is served by an eight-passenger gondola—meaning newcomers can focus on the basics of skiing without worrying about learning how to load a chairlift first. The top of the gondola is home to an ice cream and hot chocolate shop, making for an environment that kids will love.
The Red Buffalo summit area offers short, mellow green runs, with even some beginner paths through the trees. Its location at the top of the mountain results in breathtaking views beginners do not often get at other ski resorts. The recent addition of McCoy Park to Beaver Creek's landscape is a significant enhancement for beginners as well, with the 250-acre expansion adding a mellow, bowl-like experience for beginners—perhaps the only one of its kind in Colorado.
Winter Park, Colorado
Winter Park is one of the closest destination ski resorts to Denver—and it’s the only one accessible by train, allowing guests to skip the discouraging highway traffic on weekends and holidays. The resort offers beginner terrain off every lower and mid-mountain lift, allowing beginners to ride nearly the entire mountain. Another standout beginner feature of Winter Park is its array of lifts that cater exclusively to beginner trails. Among these, the High Lonesome area is a standout.
At the base of the mountain, the dedicated bunny hill area is ideal for first timers to get acquainted with the basics of skiing and riding.
Understanding the transition from beginner to intermediate levels can be daunting, so Winter Park introduces a unique "blue-black" rating for its more challenging blue runs. This system ensures that when beginners feel ready to advance to their first blue-rated trail, they can do so with a clear understanding of the trail's difficulty, bridging the gap between beginner and intermediate levels with ease. The difficulty of blue trails often varies vastly at large resorts, so this rating strategy makes Winter Park a great choice for progression.
Copper, Colorado
Located in the popular Interstate 70 corridor of central Colorado, Copper Mountain is a popular destination for beginners and experts alike. The resort is designed with three distinct zones on its front side: West Village, Center Village, and East Village, with terrain increasing in difficulty when going from west to east. The presence of numerous beginner-friendly runs in the isolated West Village makes Copper Mountain an excellent choice for first-time skiers, and this setup promotes a seamless transition from gentle slopes in the West Village to more challenging terrain elsewhere at the resort.
Uniquely, Copper also offers high-alpine bowl terrain for beginners in its Rendezvous area. This is in significant contrast to most other Colorado competitors, which typically only offer above-treeline runs for intermediate and advanced skiers and riders.
Brighton, Utah
Brighton may not be Utah’s biggest ski resort, but that does not mean its beginner terrain is lacking. The resort offers the only top-to-bottom green runs in the entire Cottonwoods region, making the mountain feel much more accessible to less-experienced guests than competing areas. In addition, some beginner trails are flanked by mellow glades with widely spaced trees. This presents an ideal setting for beginners to safely explore skiing glades.
It's worth noting that accessing many of the green terrain at Brighton might involve starting on a blue run. However, these connecting blue runs are among the most forgiving on the mountain and are designed to be easily navigable by beginners. Still, true first-timers may want to stick to the bunny hill, accessed by the Explorer chairlift out of the base area.
Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski resort in North America. But while its footprint may be massive, less-experienced guests will find an extensive network of green trails throughout most of the resort. This includes a handful of beginner runs in Whistler Blackcomb’s famed high-alpine bowls—a rarity for beginners across North American ski areas.
Rather than one truly continuous resort, Whistler Blackcomb actually comprises two mountains that are connected by a shared base village and mid-mountain gondola. But beginners won’t go wrong on either side, with top-to-bottom green skiing available on both mountains. That said, if one gets too tired to complete the full vertical descent (or if natural conditions aren’t the best), both resort sides also offer gondolas to download the final leg of the journey back to the bottom.
Bunny hills can be found on both Whistler and Blackcomb, and both are equipped with magic carpets and learning-oriented chairlifts.
Steamboat, Colorado
Steamboat sits much further from Denver than the Colorado I-70 resorts, but for novice skiers and riders who can afford a vacation there, the extra drive is well worth it.
Less-experienced visitors will want to check out Steamboat’s Sunshine Peak area, which boasts upper-mountain beginner terrain—a rare find among destination resorts. This area mainly offers wide, mellow blue runs and a few greens—and importantly, offers big mountain views that easier runs at many competing resorts can’t deliver. In addition to Sunshine Peak, Steamboat is dotted with beginner-friendly green runs across multiple mid- and lower-mountain terrain pods.
Steamboat has gotten even better for beginners in recent years. The resort’s Greenhorn Ranch expansion includes a secluded mid-mountain learning area, which is accessible via a dedicated magic carpet and a high-speed quad chairlift—making the resort one of only a few in Colorado to have a detachable lift on its bunny hill. In addition, the new Wild Blue Gondola allows much faster and easier access to the aforementioned Sunshine Peak area than in years’ past.
While limited in quantity, Steamboat also offers two beginner runs on their night skiing footprint.
Big Sky, Montana
Located about 45 miles from Bozeman, Montana, Big Sky is North America’s third-largest ski resort by skiable acreage. But despite its formidable size, Big Sky features tons of diversity in its green trails.
Like several of the other resorts we’ve covered so far, Big Sky offers green trails across an extensive portion of its footprint. Several different mountain areas offer access to beginner terrain, allowing newcomers to explore various parts of the massive footprint without feeling restricted to one area. And thanks to the sheer magnitude of the resort, it will take days for most beginners to explore the mountain’s easier terrain.
It’s worth noting that Big Sky recently recalibrated its trail rating system, adding a new “double-blue” rating for its harder intermediate runs and turning some of its harder green runs into blues. This new system makes it easier for less-experienced guests to pinpoint the mellowest trails and progress to steeper trails once they’ve built up enough confidence.
It’s to be noted that there are no green trails leading from the Madison Base area to Big Sky’s main Mountain Village base. This being said, most novice skiers and riders will find the blue-rated Fast Lane connector trail within their reach.
Big White, British Columbia
Big White is located in Southern Interior British Columbia, over 350 miles east of Vancouver. But while its remoteness might seem daunting, those who study the trail map will find a surprisingly forgiving footprint.
With 16 lifts across a 2,650-acre skiable area, Big White is by no means a small hill. But unlike every other ski resort of its size, Big White features beginner terrain off every single chairlift. This means less-experienced guests have full reign to explore the resort with few restrictions—and can take advantage of the resort’s natural strengths, including its lightly-gladed woods and high-alpine bowls. Big White also offers limited night skiing, and a sizable portion of its easier footprint remains open during the twilight hours.
Big White also offers advantages for beginners in its altitude. While still notably above sea level, the resort tops out at just 7,600 feet. This means visitors will find it less taxing to exert energy than at comparable mountains in the United States, which can top out closer to 11,000 or 12,000 feet. When guests have had enough on the slopes for the day, the resort’s slopeside village makes it simple to book an easy-to-access condo and find family-friendly activities.
Sun Peaks, British Columbia
Located deep in the Interior of British Columbia, Sun Peaks is one of the lesser-known destinations on this list. But Canada’s second-biggest ski resort is a great destination for beginners, with a reasonable altitude and mellow groomed runs across the entire footprint. The resort's grooming is top-notch, and with modest crowds and an extensive trail network, guests can usually carve corduroy all day.
With a 4,270-acre skiable footprint, Sun Peaks might be the biggest ski resort in North America with an easy way down from every chairlift. Most terrain pods offer at least one or two green runs, but beginners should prioritize spending time in the Sundance and Orient zones for the best beginner-oriented terrain.
For first-timers, Sun Peaks also has a small learning zone, a platter, and magic carpet. The walkable village right at the base of the slopes makes for hassle-free access to accommodations at the end of the day.
Wide open beginner terrain at Powder Mountain
Powder Mountain, Utah*
Powder Mountain may not be as well-known as some of Utah’s other destination ski resorts, but at least as of the 2023-24 ski season, it’s the best in the state for beginners. With numerous green trails spread across various lifts and elevations, novices have plenty of room to explore and gain confidence at “Pow Mow.”
In addition to traditional groomers, Powder Mountain offers a significant quantity of beginner glade trails. These generously-spaced aspen tree areas make the resort a great place to get familiar with woods skiing in a forgiving environment. It’s also worth noting that not all of Powder’s green runs are groomed, but thanks to the resort’s exceptionally low skier density per acre, this circumstance creates a unique opportunity for beginner powder skiing.
This all being said, beginners should be prepared for some flat sections on certain green runs, which can pose a challenge when getting from place to place.
*For the 2024-25 season, Powder Mountain plans to restrict access to its Village and Mary’s areas, which contain a significant percentage of the resort’s standout beginner trails and glades, to the public. Should this policy change go through, over a quarter of Powder Mountain’s green terrain—including the resort’s best beginner glades—will be off limits to anyone who doesn’t own a home on site.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to booking an expensive destination ski trip, high-quality beginner terrain is not always guaranteed. But at the ten destination resorts covered here, guests can expect a world-class experience even on the easiest terrain, with well-thought-out learning areas, uniquely mellow glade and high-alpine terrain zones, and fantastic grooming operations.
A Note on Local Ski Hills
Despite all the great resorts on this list, if you’re a beginner, we’d advise you to think hard about booking a trip out west. Sure, you might enjoy the vacation for a change of scenery or to spend time with friends and family—but most of the time, the best place to learn won’t be a massive destination resort—it will be your local hill.
You don’t need a big mountain or fancy terrain to practice your technique at the beginner level of skiing or riding. If price, travel, or time commitment keeps you away from the destinations, get to your closest mountain or hill before they all close within the next few weeks!
