Big, well-known resorts have high-speed lifts, stellar terrain, and flashy base area amenities like slopeside hotels and vibrant apr猫s bars. They also tend to be crowded, hyped up, and crazy expensive. So why not plan your next ski trip to a lesser-known mountain? At these smaller, off-the-radar places, you鈥檒l still be treated to quality terrain, soft snow, and, with any luck, empty slopes.
Gore Mountain
North Creek, New York
There are no village wine bars or slopeside condos at , but what the place lacks in base-area luxuries, it more than makes up for in vast, rugged terrain. Gore has the most space鈥439 acres鈥攐f any ski area in New York, plus 14 lifts and a stout 2,537 vertical feet. For those who care about apr猫s, the resort just completed renovations to all three of its on-mountain lodges for this winter. Don鈥檛 miss French toast with peanut butter, banana, and bacon at local favorite Chrissy鈥檚 Caf茅. You鈥檒l find the closest rooms to the lifts at . Rooms from $199.
Brundage Mountain
McCall, Idaho
When it dumps in Idaho, Brundage is the place to be, with endless inbounds glades and a lift-accessed backcountry zone where the powder lasts for days. It鈥檚 not a huge resort by any means鈥攋ust five lifts spread across 1,920 acres鈥攂ut it鈥檚 the quality and quantity of snow here that matters most. You can sign up for guided cat skiing into an expansive 18,000-acre plot of neighboring backcountry terrain, or ride a snowcat to a four-course dinner at the Bear鈥檚 Den mid-mountain cabin. Stay at and you鈥檒l get lift tickets plus milk and cookies before bed. Rooms $109 per person per night.
Monarch Mountain
Monarch, Colorado
At , the cellphone service is poor, but the skiing is great. And who needs Instagram when you鈥檝e got 800 acres of high-elevation terrain off the Continental Divide and guided cat skiing in 1,635 powder-filled backcountry acres? Monarch is the kind of place where the ski patrollers know your name and you can still bring a bag lunch into the lodge and get fresh tracks well after a storm. Book a one-, two-, or three-bedroom cabin at the , ten minutes from the mountain. Rooms from $129 per night.
June Mountain
June Lake, California
June Mountain lives in the shadow of its big sister, Mammoth Mountain, 27 miles to the south. Though the 1,500-acre June is considerably smaller than Mammoth and has just seven chairlifts, it offers some of the greatest backcountry access of any ski area in the Sierra, with access to famous zones like San Joaquin Ridge and the Negatives. offers guided tours from June into the nearby backcountry. The nearby has cabins, lodge rooms, and spa services on site. From from $199 per night.
Mission Ridge
Wenatchee, Washington
is bigger than it looks鈥2,000 acres and 2,250 vertical feet, with only four chairlifts. The mountain, located on the sleepy eastern side of Washington鈥檚 Cascades, gets superbly high-quality snow鈥攕ome 200 inches of light, dry fluff a year. From the top of Chair 2, you can hike into limitless backcountry terrain. Stay in nearby Wenatchee鈥攁 few hotels offer ski-and-stay packages鈥攐r skip the drive to the hill and bring your van or RV to the ski resort parking lot instead, where a whole camp village pops up on weekends.