A new* ski area is opening in Utah this winter — and it’s free

Fairview • Utah is on the verge of getting a new ski area.

It won’t rival Snowbird for steep terrain or Deer Valley Resort for swank. Skiers and snowboarders won’t find art on the slopes like at Powder Mountain, nor the selection of slopeside eateries and bars offered up by Park City Mountain.

What they will find at the Snowland Recreation and Education Area is community. At least that is the intent of the nonprofit that hopes to revive this tiny, two-run hill east of Fairview (population 1,302) in time for the 2025-26 ski season.

“This is going to be a beloved place,” said Brent Lange, chair of Snowland Foundation Inc., “and it already is.”

If the nonprofit is successful, this will be Snowland’s second go-round as a lift-accessed ski area. Jerry Nelson, a one-armed Fairview man who later became Gov. Spencer Cox’s fifth-grade teacher, operated the original Snowland Ski Area from 1967 to 1980. It closed, according to an information sheet provided by the nonprofit, due to insurance costs and permitting challenges.

The hill is located on Manti-La Sal National Forest land and operates as a ski area under a conditional use permit. It will become Utah’s 16th public ski area and the state’s first since Woodward Park City opened in 2019.

Cox and his wife, Abby, unveiled the Snowland sign last week at a ceremony on the mountain. In a speech, the governor recalled that his father couldn’t afford ski equipment, but Nelson insisted he learn and provided the elder Cox equipment and lessons. Cox never learned to ski, but decades later, after Snowland closed and the two tow lifts were removed, he and Abby would bring their children to the hill to ski, snowboard and sled.

They had plenty of company.

Shauna Watts, who has lived in Fairview for more than 30 years, said her family and many others made it a tradition to spend Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve on the hill. Even now that her children are grown, ranging in age from 22 to 35, she said they often prefer to ski at Snowland rather than drive an hour and a half to the next closest resort, Sundance Mountain.

“Since they were little, we’ve taken them up there and let them snowboard, let them go down,” said Watts, a member of the Sanpete County Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a tradition for our kids, for many, many years.”

Without the lifts, though, people had to find their own way to the top. Most piled into the back of a car or a truck to catch a ride up State Route 31, which threads through Fairview Canyon. And that’s how a fun day on the ski hill at times turned scary.

“They all park down here on that dangerous turn,” Cox said, pointing to a bend in the highway. “Haul kids up to the top. Do a U-turn there, come back down. Do another U-turn. Line up to take kids up.

“[It’s] unbelievably dangerous in one of the most treacherous canyons in the winter. And yet, we do it anyway, because it’s our only choice. We didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Former Sandy City Councilman Chris McCandless witnessed plenty of those makeshift shuttles slide off the road — or worse — each winter as he drove to and from his cabin near the top of the canyon. One incident stood out, though: A truck streaked past him on his way down the two-lane highway about three years ago. Not far down the road, McCandless saw that same truck stuck in a snowbank. The driver couldn’t have been older than 13.

McCandless told the boy he probably could get unstuck by putting the truck in reverse. The kid responded: “How do you put it in reverse?”

After that, McCandless started thinking there must be a better, safer way. So, he contacted Lange, who is the chief development officer at Thanksgiving Point and an avid skier. Together, they created the nonprofit and a plan to revive Snowland.

“We want the mountain to be used. We want it to be a public asset,” Lange said. “We don’t want it to be (cost) prohibitive. We want it to be a family gathering place that’s safe.”

The good news was that they didn’t have to start from scratch. Wasatch Academy, a private boarding school located 20 minutes away in Mt. Pleasant, took over the Forest Service conditional use permit previously held by Nelson. The school grooms the runs and operates tow lifts for its ski and snowboard team.

This season, Wasatch Academy agreed to let the nonprofit operate Snowland under its permit. The school also donated Nelson’s cabin, which will include bathrooms with running water and limited concessions. An office in the cabin basement has been offered as a permanent home for Sanpete County Search and Rescue. Plus, an expansive parking lot has been built off SR 31.

Both Wasatch Academy and Snow College in Ephraim will have weekday access to Snowland for educational purposes. Lange said the public will be allowed on the hill Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting — optimistically — Dec. 6.

Visitors won’t be charged to use the facility this winter as Snowland Foundation figures out ticketing and pricing, Lange said. Eventually, he expects a day ticket to cost about $20 and a season pass to be $100 or less.

Cox emphasized the importance of keeping the hill affordable. He noted that Sanpete is among the poorest counties in Utah. In addition to the distance, Cox said many people there can’t afford to ski at one of the state’s bigger resorts, where a day pass can cost more than $300.

“It’s going to be so affordable — that’s the cool part,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune. “And I assure you, they spent more on gas, running up and down, than they will (on a lift ticket).”

If it’s not charging high prices for tickets, as promised, though, the Snowland Foundation will need to look elsewhere for funding.

The nonprofit estimates the initial phase will cost about $1.655 million. Most of that will be taxpayer-funded through a $1 million grant awarded to the project by the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation. The foundation reported raising $220,000 in in-kind donations as well.

Phase 2 is much more complex, however, and not just in terms of amenities.

Plans include the construction of two yurts and a parking lot at the top of the mountain that can be rented out for private events in both the summer and winter. A third, 2,400-foot surface lift that can be used to transport mountain bikes could also be added, as well as a full restaurant.

Those additions would increase the budget by at least $2.1 million. They would also require a new conditional-use permit from the Manti-La Sal National Forest that approves the use of more than 100 acres, compared to the 25 currently within the permit’s scope. The most imposing obstacle, however, is one of the same issues that forced the closure of Snowland the first time around.

“One of our biggest hurdles right now, just to be brutally honest,” Lange said, “will be insurance.”

The nonprofit has not yet found an underwriter for the project. Lange said Snowland Foundation has applied for coverage under the current permit and is working with brokers to determine the next steps.

Ideally, most of those issues will be ironed out in the upcoming months. The foundation hopes to have Snowland fully operational by the 2027-28 season.

Watts, whose kids spent many holidays on the hill, said she believes communities in Sanpete County will support the project so long as it feels inclusive and price points stay low. And now that they won’t have to drive their kids to the top, she said she expects many parents would volunteer their time at the ski area to ensure its success.

“I have high hopes and thoughts,” she said, “that this could be a really, a really good thing for kids.”

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