snowingplaces

Country

United States

From the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada in the west to the Green Mountains of New England.

United States snow forecast

No snow is expected at any of the 36 places in United States in the next 7 days.

Snow in the United States

The United States has three main ski regions. The Rocky Mountains hold the big Colorado resorts of Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen Snowmass, Beaver Creek, Steamboat and Telluride, the Utah resorts of Alta, Snowbird, Park City and Deer Valley in the Wasatch, and Jackson Hole, Big Sky and Sun Valley in the northern Rockies. The Sierra Nevada in California has Palisades Tahoe, Heavenly and Mammoth Mountain. In the east, Killington and Stowe in Vermont are the largest of the New England resorts.

Each region has its own snow. The Colorado Rockies are high, with several resorts topping out above 3,800 m, and their snow is cold and dry; the Wasatch above Salt Lake City catches storms funnelled by the Great Salt Lake; the Sierra gets huge, wet falls from Pacific storms; and Vermont’s snow is lighter and its winters colder and shorter. In our record the US resorts average 11 to 12 snowy days at mid-mountain from December to March.

When it snows

Most western resorts open between mid-November and early December and close in April, with Mammoth often skiing into late May or June. Vermont runs from late November to April. The Sierra and the Pacific Northwest depend on a few very big storms; the Rockies get steadier, smaller falls.

Getting there

Denver serves Colorado, with most resorts two to four hours away; Salt Lake City airport is under an hour from the Wasatch resorts; Reno serves Lake Tahoe; Jackson, Bozeman and Sun Valley have their own small airports; and Boston and Burlington serve Vermont.

Regions

AlaskaThe snowiest state in the US, from Anchorage's maritime winters to the interior's deep cold.1 placeArizonaA desert state with a snowy exception: Flagstaff, at 2,100 m on the Colorado Plateau.1 placeCaliforniaA western state whose ski resorts are mostly in the Sierra Nevada.3 placesColoradoA Rocky Mountain state with many of the largest ski resorts in the United States.7 placesIdahoA mountainous state in the north-western United States.2 placesIllinoisMidwestern state where Chicago's winters bring regular snow off the plains and Lake Michigan.1 placeMaineNew England's northernmost state, with long snowy winters from the coast to the mountains.1 placeMassachusettsNew England state whose coastal nor'easters bring Boston some of the biggest snowfalls of any large US city.1 placeMichiganGreat Lakes state with heavy lake-effect snow on its western shore and in the Upper Peninsula.1 placeMinnesotaUpper Midwest state with long, cold winters and reliable snow across the Twin Cities and the north.1 placeMontanaA northern Rocky Mountain state.2 placesNevadaHigh desert state whose snow falls mostly in the Sierra Nevada along the California border, above Reno.1 placeNew MexicoA south-western state with high skiing in the southern Rockies.1 placeNew YorkFrom the lake-effect snow belts around Buffalo and Syracuse to the Adirondacks and Catskills.3 placesUtahA western state whose Wasatch resorts are close to Salt Lake City.5 placesVermontA New England state with ski resorts in the Green Mountains.3 placesWisconsinMidwestern state with cold winters and regular snow, heaviest near Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.1 placeWyomingA Rocky Mountain state that includes the Teton Range.1 place

Mountains