SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 28, 2025—The results from the 2026 SKI Reader Resort Survey put Saddleback, Maine, ranked top in the East and Big Sky Resort, Mont., as the highest ranked resort in the West. Saddleback improved one place from its No. 2 ranking last year, while Big Sky jumped 23 spots. 
In the East, there were several noticeable shuffles. Last year’s top resort, Mad River Glen, Vt., which had been No. 1 for two years in a row, dropped to the eighth spot in the rankings. Sugarloaf, Maine, climbed from No. 6 to No. 2. Whiteface went from unranked last year to No. 3 this year. And Holiday Valley, N.Y., jumped from No. 10 to No. 4, while Bretton Woods slipped just one place from No. 4 to No. 5.
Wachusett, Mass., and Mount Snow, Vt., both fell off the list this year, while Seven Springs, Pa., slid into the No. 20 spot after being unranked last year.
It was a good showing for Maine, with Saddleback, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River all in the top 10—and a good showing for Boyne Resorts, which owns Big Sky Resort, Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Loon, N.H. (East No. 18).
In the West, the 2025 top ranked resort, Snowbasin, Utah, moved down two notches to No. 3; Aspen Snowmass, Colo., slipped from No. 2 to No. 4. Banff Sunshine, Alberta, and Grand Targhee, Wyo.—both new to the rankings last year—each climbed a spot, landing at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively.
Revelstoke, B.C., (No. 28) and Powder Mountain, Utah (No. 27), both made the rankings this year, while Crested Butte, Colo., Brighton, Utah, and Palisades Tahoe, Calif., all dropped out of the top 30. Mammoth Mountain, Calif., jumped from No. 20 to No. 7 this year. Conversely, Taos Ski Valley, N.M., and Solitude, Utah, both had noticeable drops from No. 4 to No. 23 and No. 8 to No. 26, respectively.
Corporate-owned resorts fared reasonably well this year, with Vail Resorts placing seven resorts in the Top 30 in the West and three in the Top 20 in the East, and Alterra ranking six resorts in the West and three in the East. Still, independent resorts such as Saddleback, Banff Sunshine, and Holiday Valley continue to resonate strongly with SKI readers.
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, 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. This year, SKI assigned higher values to the “core ski-related categories of snow, challenge, terrain variety, grooming, and lifts. This means that resorts that scored higher in those categories will see a boost in their ranking,” it says in an explanation of the rankings.
Top 20 Resorts in the East
- Saddleback, Maine
- Sugarloaf, Maine
- Whiteface, N.Y.
- Holliday Valley, N.Y.
- Bretton Woods, N.H.
- Killington, Vt.
- Smugglers’ Notch, Vt.
- Mad River Glen, Vt.
- Jay Peak, Vt.
- Sunday River, Maine
- Gore Mountain, N.Y.
- Stowe, Vt.
- Cannon Mountain, N.H.
- Sugarbush, Vt.
- Waterville Valley, N.H.
- Mont Tremblant, Que.
- Stratton Mountain, Vt.
- Loon, N.H.
- Okemo, Vt.
- Seven Springs, Pa.
Top 30 Resorts in the West
- Big Sky, Mont.
- Banff Sunshine, Alta.
- Snowbasin, Utah
- Aspen Snowmass, Colo.
- Grand Targhee, Wyo.
- Alta Ski Area, Utah
- Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
- Sun Valley, Idaho
- Deer Valley, Utah
- Whistler Blackcomb, B.C.
- Jackson Hole, Wyo.
- Vail, Colo.
- Telluride, Colo.
- Snowbird, Utah
- Lake Louise Resort, Alta.
- Breckenridge, Colo.
- Beaver Creek, Colo.
- Arapahoe Basin, Colo.
- Winter Park, Colo.
- Copper Mountain, Colo.
- Keystone, Colo.
- Whitefish, Mont.
- Taos Ski Valley, N.M.
- Loveland Ski Area, Colo.
- Steamboat, Colo.
- Solitude, Utah
- Powder Mountain, Utah
- Revelstoke, B.C.
- Heavenly, Calif.
- Park City, Utah
