SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Nov. 11, 2026—Saddleback, Maine, repeated as the top ranked ski area in the East and Alberta’s Banff Sunshine took the top spot in the West in the 2027 SKI Resort Guide rankings. The Top 30 in the West and Top 20 in the East both include several surprises, big movers, and notable omissions.
The annual rankings, based on responses to an emailed survey sent to SKI readers in the spring, can be a valuable marketing tool for ski areas that appear high on the list—and ignored, stewed over, or shrugged off by those that dropped in rank or didn’t make the list at all.
The AI Bump
As consumers increasingly turn to AI search for their travel planning, being ranked among the best ski areas by a good online source increases the likelihood that an AI will include those ski areas in the results when someone asks where they should ski or snowboard.
“AI is ultimately looking for validation and is an evidence-based thinker,” said Michael Rueckert, founder of Centium, an AI brand visibility platform. “AI can’t ski a mountain, so when someone asks for the best resorts, it looks for a trusted outside opinion and builds from it.”
Centium has done various studies with SAM to help ski areas understand how they can improve their discoverability in an AI search. How does being ranked high in the annual SKI Resort Guide translate to discoverability? Rueckert cites Big Sky Resort, Mont., as an example.
Big Sky made a huge leap from No. 24 in the West on the 2025 list to the top spot in the 2026 SKI Resort Guide, and the difference in how frequently the resort surfaced in AI searches is striking. “On prompts about the top places to ski in the U.S., Big Sky appeared in about half of AI answers before that ranking,” said Rueckert. “After they received the number one ranking, it jumped up to around 80 percent.”
2027 Rankings
Big Sky moved down to no. 5 in the 2027 rankings. Still a good spot to be, of course.
The biggest upward mover in the West was Lake Louise, which went from 15 in 2026 to No. 2 in 2027, right behind nearby Banff Sunshine, which moved up to the No. 1 spot from No. 2 in 2026. Along with Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. (No. 8), they are the only three Canadian resorts included in the 2027 rankings (Revelstoke, B.C., dropped from the West and Mont Tremblant, Que., dropped from the East).
Western resorts that made the top 30 this year after not being on it in 2026 include Tamarack, Idaho (No. 25), Mt. Bachelor, Ore. (No. 23), Brighton, Utah (No. 22), and Palisades Tahoe, Calif. (No. 20).
The bad snow year in the West somewhat spoiled the debut of the biggest portion of Deer Valley’s massive terrain expansion, but it was readers’ impressions of value and challenge that moved the Utah resort’s ranking down from No. 9 to No. 16, according to SKI.
Also losing ground was Vail Mountain, Colo., which fell from No. 12 to No. 24. It’s one of seven Vail Resorts-owned ski areas that made the 2027 top 30 in the West (same as 2026), and all but Whistler Blackcomb, which moved up two spots, either fell or remained in the same place year-over-year.
Alterra Mountain Company once again placed six resorts on the western list, led by Mammoth Mountain, Calif., which maintained the No. 7 spot. Otherwise, it was a relatively even split of Alterra resorts that moved up or down in the rankings.
Independent resorts, i.e., those not owned by Vail Resorts, Alterra, or Boyne, did well again this year in the West, taking seven of the top 10 spots. Whitefish, Mont., made the biggest jump of the independents, moving from No. 22 last year to No. 13.
Independent resorts also dominated the East rankings. The top 5 spots, in order, went to Saddleback, Bretton Woods, N.H., Killington, Vt., Mad River Glen, Vt., and Magic Mountain, Vt. Magic landed at No. 5 after not making the top 20 last year and the rest were all in the 2026 top 10.
All three Boyne Resorts properties made the top 10 in the East: Loon Mountain, N.H. (No. 10), Sunday River, Maine (No. 9), and Sugarloaf, Maine (No. 6).
Loon and Waterville Valley, N.H. (No. 7), both improved eight spots year-over-year, the most of any previously ranked resorts.
Speaking of New Hampshire, Wildcat (No. 20), Attitash (No. 19), and Cranmore (No. 17) made the 2027 list after not being included last year. Wachusett Mountain, Mass., also returned to the list, coming in at No. 16.
Notable resorts that didn’t make the 2027 top 20 in the East include longtime former top-ranked resort Mont Tremblant in Quebec, which fell off the list after ranking No. 16 last year; and perennial top-five ranked Holiday Valley, N.Y., which was the No. 4 resort in 2026. Last year’s No. 3 resort, Whiteface Mountain, N.Y., also dropped out of this year’s rankings.
Rankings are based on responses from SKI’s annual reader survey, which is conducted every spring and asks respondents to rank each ski area in 18 different categories, such as grooming, snow, family-friendliness, value, dining, and access. It produces the top 20 resorts in the East and top 30 in the West, along with the top 10 in several specific categories.
The ski areas that did well will benefit, whether they leverage their rankings directly in their marketing or because AI will now find them to be a more appealing answer to consumer queries about the best places to ski and snowboard.
For those that didn’t make the list or dropped significantly, there’s always next year. The SKI Resort Guide rankings are highly volatile and depend entirely on who responds and what they share about their experiences from one year to the next. Jay Peak, Vt., for example, got more snow than any U.S. ski area in 2025-26, and yet only moved up one spot from last year, to No. 8. Conversely, Whiteface has invested millions in lift and snowmaking infrastructure in recent years, and had a good snow year last winter, but didn’t make the top 20 after being No. 3 last year.
Ski areas should capitalize on the accolades when the good reviews add up to a high ranking, but shouldn’t fuss too much when the typical fluctuations in the rankings don’t work in their favor. Focusing on the guest experience and running a tight operation will be more beneficial in the long run.
