Alta Ski Area is at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. The summit is 11,068 feet and the base 8,530 feet, for 2,538 feet of vertical on 2,614 skiable acres. Five lifts serve 118 runs, and Alta rates 55% of them expert, 30% intermediate and 15% beginner. There are two base areas, Wildcat and Albion. Alta averages 543 inches of snow a year, and its record season was 903 inches in 2022-23.
Alta is for skiers only, and snowboarding isn’t allowed. It opened its first lift in 1939 and is one of the oldest ski areas in the United States.
Start with the Snow Stake. It’s a marked board that Alta clears at 4am and 4pm each day, conditions permitting, so the reading shows what fell since the last clearing. Albion Basin shows the Albion side of the mountain. Mount Baldy, Mount Superior, Sugarloaf Peak, East Greeley and High Rustler look at the peaks and high terrain around the ski area. Salt Lake Valley looks down the canyon and shows whether the valley is clear or under cloud.
On a storm day, check the road before the cams. SR-210 can close in winter, and the canyon road decides whether you can get up at all.
Alta sits at the end of SR-210, the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, 26 miles from downtown Salt Lake City. The dead-end road is 13 miles long and crosses 64 avalanche paths, and Alta says it has the highest avalanche hazard index of any major road in the United States. It can be closed or restricted in winter. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is 32 miles away, about 45 minutes in good road conditions.
Utah’s Traction Law has a stricter class for the Cottonwood Canyons. When it’s in effect on SR-210, every tire needs at least 5/32 inch of tread. Four-wheel and all-wheel-drive vehicles need M+S or snow tires on all wheels. Two-wheel-drive vehicles need tires with the three-peak mountain snowflake on all wheels, or chains or other traction devices on at least two drive wheels. UDOT can put it in place 24 hours before a storm. The conditions panel on this page shows UDOT road conditions for SR-210, and UDOT Cottonwood Canyons posts road status and closures.
Alta is on the Ikon Pass with 7 days, shared with Snowbird. The Ikon Base Pass doesn’t include Alta. Alta is also on the Mountain Collective with 2 days. It isn’t on the Epic or Indy Pass.