The Best Snowboarding Mountains
From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip
With the winter season ahead snowboarders are dusting off their boards, tightening their bindings and getting ready for another great season.
Flyboys, flygirls, freestylers, freeriders, carvers, call them what you like, they are all seeking one thing…the best place to snowboard. Whether you are looking for fresh snow, hard-packed powder or outrageous vertical drops, the following resorts each have something special to offer the snowboarder.
If you are a thrill seeker looking for a killer snowboarding trip, you have to check out some of the following places to board. These mountains are known for the best snow, best rides and best parties in and around the USA.
Check out our Top Ten List. Did your mountain make the cut?
photo credit Alpine Meadows
Alpine Meadows, Tahoe City, California
photo credit www.snowboard-mag.com
Alpine Meadows has its own blog and is on Twitter. If you can’t wait for the snow to fall in Tahoe, the San Francisco Ski and Snowboard Festival, taking place November 1-2, 2008, is your best bet until the flakes start falling. Alpine Meadows has the famous Shreadows terrain park for the ultimate ride. The Shreadows has a jump, rail, a box line and its own lift just off the base lodge. Lift tickets range from $50 to $69 depending on half day passes or holiday dates. You can buy your tickets online here. Opening Day is scheduled for November 26, 2008.
Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada
photo credit www.whistlerbyowner.com
While it rests outside of the United States boundaries, Whistler’s Blackcomb is often called the the best ski and snowboarding resort in North America. Not only will it be the venue for the 2010 Olympics, the new 28 person Peak-to-Peak gondola will transport riders from Whistler to Blackcomb without having to force them to the bottom base. If you’re going to go to Whistler consider taking a snow boarding tour and go freestyle. Whistler offers over 8000 acres of terrain and half pipes as well as tube park. A two day pass ranges from $125-$178 CAD and you can reserve your tickets online here. Opening Day is scheduled for November 27, 2008.
Kirkwood, Lake Tahoe, California
photo credit www.familyskitrips.com
Sometimes considered the largest natural snowboard park in the United States, Kirkwood offers high altitude, open bowls, steep chutes, drops and lifts. It’s also a great place for spring skiing and working on the California tan. Kirkwood recently added two new lifts and revamped its terrain parks and halfpipe. You can purchase tickets online and avoid the lines when you get there. Opening day is schedule for late November. Check out their events calendar for more information.
Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Lakes, CA
photo credit www.skidream.com
With the California sun shining almost 300 days a year, Mammoth offers a long ski and snowboarding season. Mammoth has two lodges you can board out of with a gondola ride that takes you to the top and back down to a great village with a few bars and a Starbucks. Tickets range in price, but are about $50-$70 and you get a discount if you buy mulitiple days at a time. Mammoth also has a snowboarding park and there is a blog where you can check out some pics. Weather permitting Opening Day is currently scheduled for November 13, 2008.
Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, Bend, Oregon
Located in central Oregon, 22 miles west of Bend, Mt. Bachelor has made a concentrated effort to attract snowboarders. It’s 400 foot Superpipe is among the best on the continent and they have just hired a new PipeCutter who will be cutting the pipe almost every night. The “Air Chamber” snowboarding run is a mile long and offers plenty of rails and booters for freestyle riders. Pricing for tickets can be found here. Opening Day is set tentatively for November 22, 2008.
Snowbird, Utah
photo credit www.snowrev.com
With 500 inches of annual snowfall, Snowbird offers the highest altitude of any Utah resort. The Tram whisks snowboarders up 11,000 feet in about eight minutes. A great place to strap in an attack the double black diamond runs. This season Snowbird has added a Superpipe. It’s called Zaugg and is a Pipe Monster. Zaugg is scheduled to be cut three times per week and is supposed to provide an experience like no other. Check out Snowbird’s website for ticket information. Opening Day is currently scheduled for November 22, 2008.
Mt. Hood, Mount Hood, Oregon
photo credit upload.wikimedia.org
Mount Hood Meadows is one of the few places offering year-round boarding. It’s also home to Meadows, the 500 foot long, eighteen-foot high, super pipe that received Transworld Boarding Top 10 pipe rating. Located just seventy miles from Portland, it’s easy to fly and drive to. There are six parks at Mt. Hood: Park Place, Rose City Park, The Zoo, Shipyard, Superpipe and Forest Park. There is also a blog for you to get even more information from. Tickets range from $50-$70. Opening Day is scheduled for November 21, 2008.
Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe, Vermont
photo credit www.concierge.com
If you can conquer boarding in the East, you can board anywhere. Those of you who have cut your teeth, or should I say carved your board, on the hard pack, sometimes icy slopes of New England’s Mt. Mansfield know what I mean. Stowe is less than an hour from Burlington so weekends tend to be busy and lift lines can be long. Stowe even has its own website for freestylers to get pictures and event information .Ticket information can be found on their website. Opening Day is scheduled for November 22, 2008.
Sugarloaf, Maine
photo credit www.ccids.maine.edu
At 4,000 feet elevation, Sugarloaf is sometimes considered the best riders’ mountain in New England. If you like spring boarding, check out mid-April’s Reggae Weekend, one of the East’s largest snowboard parties. Sugarloaf’s newest park is called The YARD. It features three sets of jumps, new rails, a hip and more. Buying your tickets ahead of time will save you money and time at the mountain. You can go to their website for more ticket info. Opening Day is scheduled for November 21, 2008.
Park City Mountain Resort, Park City, Utah
photo credit images.beijing-2008.org
Often found on the top ten family resorts list in North America, Park City averages 360 inches of snow each year and is snowboard friendly. The Eagle superpipe, with its 22 foot walls, hosts the World Superpipe Championships. Boarders have four parks to ride, including King’s Crown Superpark, Jonesy’s, the lighted PayDay Park and Pick ‘N Shovel Park. Park City is conveniently located about 45 miles from Salt Lake, so flying and driving is easy. Coming in to Park City you see the Olympic Park that was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics. There is a very cool Old Town to Park City and it’s a bit bigger than a town like Mammoth. Park City offers Fast Track tickets that get you in to express lanes. Check out their website for more ticket info. Opening Day is scheduled for November 22, 2008.
Hey, you made it to the bottom of the run. What’s your favorite snowboarding mountain? Leave a comment below and happy boarding!
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28 Responses
Of course, I’m partial to my backyard. So I vote for Snowmass – incredibly varied terrain, fun terrain parks & half pipes. Or Buttermilk – that’s where ESPN’s X Games take place every winter. They leave some of the courses up all season long. Then there’s steep Aspen Highlands… buy one lift ticket for Aspen and board all four mountains!
You already covered mine. I love Mt. Bachelor–family friendly, nice runs, nice people, not so crowded. And the town of Bend has so much to do!
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Bring on the snow! I had a great season up in N. lake Tahoe last year mainly stayed at Heavenly as we were in a ski lease — their lift passes are a steal. Love Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood and Whistler. After mountain biking Mammoth earlier this year I *really* want to head back for the winter season – it’s an awesome mountain. Another fantastic snowboarder resort is Sierra-at-Tahoe, who have a great terrain park and pipes. Now you’ve got me all distracted and checking out the websites for this year!
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A top 10 list is hard! Maybe Top 9 and 11 alternates? 100% agree with Alpine. That’s our home/primary mountain. And as a Colorado native, I’d trade Stowe for Aspen/Snowmass or Crested Butte anyday. Let’s see, Heavenly’s Tahoe trees and views are best on earth.
I’m not a snowboarder, but I wanted to say that the photos make me want to head to the mountains!
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I loooove Mammoth! But, it’s too far to go now that we live in New York. We’ll be sticking to the East Coast “hard pack.”
I have explored NONE of these…guess I better get started!!!
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This post brings back great memories of when I was younger, not so creaky and not so pregnant. Mammoth is amazing, and so is Kirkwood, but I admit I love the slopes in Utah!
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My vote is for Snowbird! Not that I have been to most of the other ones, but I can’t imagine it can get much better than that! Thanks for the other ideas, maybe one of these days I’ll make it out on the slopes again
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I recently took a snowboarding trip to Steamboat Springs in Colorado. They are known for the champagne powder and I was lucky enough to be there in a small storm. It was the greatest place for snowboarding. It’s tucked in a valley so that storms get held up there. It gets the most snow in Colorado they claim because of it. The town is awesome, they have a main street with a ton of restaurants and shops plus free transportation all around the town constantly. No need to have a car.
Just found this article and I’m stoked to see that Park City Mountain Resort made the list (I’ll willingly admit that I’m a bit biased as I work there). Just at little more info, we’ve got a bunch of neat things going on this year in our freeride programs, doubling of the park crew, many cool new features as well as a dedicated blog: http://parkcity.typepad.com/ride_park_city/
Hope that whatever resort is your favorite, you get some some great riding in this winter!
excuse me mt. baker should be on this list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I grew up in Maine and learned to board at sugarloaf. I am so happy it made the list, it is def. my home mountain. Those here in the west (where I live now) are fair weather fans, but the real stuff is in the NE…where it all began.
I’ve mostly just boarded the east coast for about 8 years now, and every season I have been loving it. But I haven’t headed out to the west yet, but I have heard it is well worth he the trip. So far Snowshoe Mountain in WV has been my favorite , but i am excited to see what else is out there. I’d vote for Whistler.
The spot to be on the best coast is Kirkwood or Mt Bachelor. I have shreded both and frequent Kirkwood as much as possible. Whistler is on my list of places to tear up so you might see me there soon!! Heard its the place to be if you want to spend a week or two.
I have done most of Colorado and Tahoe. The best place on the face of the earth is Steamboat. The snow is unbelievable, it sits in the middle of nowhere (no weekend warriors), and the people are awesome. The only other place that I may like to ride more is Crested Butte. Some of the most intense stuff that is inbounds on a mountain that I have ever seen.
snowboarding in europe is excellent too, the US has some great sites, but you can’t beat the alps!
Hi Jack,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I haven’t had a chance to ski or snowboard in Europe.
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Very informative post. spen is one of the most majestically snow-clad regions. Snow has started melting in the winter sports and sprawls. Snow-pack losses because of climate change. Lake Tahoe offers for a six-day of fun package book you tickets as soon as possible there prices are $249, other tourist package are also available like Kirkwood or Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, Heavenly or Sierra-at-Tahoe, Kirkwood or Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows or Northstar-at-Tahoe. For more details refer http://www.travelfront.com/aspen-grappling-for-its-existence/
Awesome Post
Before anything i’d like to say i reside in New York
Should i get my stamped concrete or Decorative concrete.
hope to hear a suggestion
WOW!!!!!!!!
All of those places sound awsome but i can only go to the ones in Oregon.
O well i will still be able to show off my wicked move on the mountain when the season is here.
i am sooooooooooo EXITED I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My heart is pounding just thinking about how much snow im going to be shredingg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well see ya on the mountain.
ive been to all of these there amazing places to go snowboarding
mammoth is the best out of all of them ive been to
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