The National Weather Service says it’s a girl! NOAA scientists predict La Niña will visit the Pacific Ocean this year, sending cool temperatures and plenty of snowflakes across the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. The Weather Channel recently updated their metrics to predict La Niña will combine with other meteorological factors to keep things chilly and white in the north. The Farmer’s Almanac also predicts colder temps and above average snowfall in the Northern and Central Rockies. Hopefully, temperatures will remain cold enough to make sure all that expected precipitation turns fluffy white as it descends from the sky.
We’ve rounded up a handful of alpine destinations that should host plenty of premier powder outings with above-average snowfall predictions during the 2025-26 winter season. These mountain towns offer much more than alpine ski and snowboard trails; so wax those Nordic skis, grab your mushing mittens, and pick someone special for a sleigh-ride through the conifer forest. This could be a snow globe-worthy winter.
Jackson, Wyoming
Average town snowfall: 78 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 459 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 445 inches
Jackson always promises big things, and this year, with La Niña’s added precipitation hitting the Northern Rockies, it could be huge. Like the French explorers who gave them their name, the Teton peaks mesmerize at any time of the year, but especially when dripping with snow in winter. Jackson dazzles in other ways, too, such as the 4,000 Morgan silver dollars on display at the eponymous bar and inside the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, another requisite après-ski joint when visiting town.
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Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will celebrate its 60th anniversary with special events throughout the season. What better way to finish a day skiing down some of the continent’s most challenging terrain than to raise a glass at the Mangy Moose or Tram Dock? Snow King Mountain is shining brightly for other reasons, specifically the construction of the summit Snow King Observatory and Planetarium, the only one of its kind in North America. A sleigh ride through the National Elk Refuge adds more natural wonder in this unique environment. Just outside of town, Snake River Sporting Club guests who stay at the new Sylvan Lodge enjoy access to fat tire biking, snowshoe tours, and sleigh rides.
Jasper, Alberta
Average town snowfall: 157 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 160 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 74 inches
When you visit Jasper in winter, you feel like you’re far away from the noise because, at four hours northwest of Edmonton, you are. As the second largest and most accessible International Dark Sky Preserve in the world, Jasper’s galactic light show has few comparisons. Jasper is well-positioned to receive abundant benefits from La Niña’s eastern wind flow, which should carry plenty of moisture and cool temperatures.
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There is so much winter recreation to be had here, you might not even get to Marmot Basin, Jasper National Park’s never-crowded ski area. Hiking through the frozen Maligne Canyon beneath towering icicles and glowing blue ice walls will do. A team of Belgian draft horses pull sleighs along the Pyramid Lake shoreline. Groomed cross-country ski and snowboard trails traverse the park, beginning at the Whirlpool cross-country ski hub.
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Average town snowfall: 135 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 410 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 396 inches
Home to North America’s longest vertical drop at 5,620 feet across more than 3,000 skiable acres covered in at least 250 inches of annual snowfall, Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s leg burner rep is well deserved. Opened in 2007, Revy is a relatively young establishment in the B.C. interior’s fecund alpine landscape. Skiers and snowboarders were chafing in their binders at the thought of lift-accessed Mt. McKenzie terrain that would capitalize on Canada’s most robust snow zone, located at the confluence of the Selkirk and Monashee Ranges.
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Of course, folks here didn’t wait for a gondola to convey them to the powder paradise; Mt. McKenzie and nearby Rogers Pass are famous backcountry bastions that have been around for many decades. Not that you need to skin up to find the best stash. Selkirk Tangiers Heli, CMH, and other heli-ski operators offer more than 1 million acres for multi-day and single-day snow play. Revy is also home to numerous other outdoor play options, including dog sledding, groomed Nordic ski trails, and, in Mount Revelstoke National Park, snowshoe tracks suitable for every ability level.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Average town snowfall: 56 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 545 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 538 inches
Okay, technically Salt Lake City isn’t a mountain “town,” but where else can you rattle off ten (Count ‘em, ten!), outstanding ski areas within one hour of town? I love how sneaky it feels skiing in the Little Cottonwood Canyon, specifically the ability to pop into Snowbird’s back bowls after a morning in Alta’s trees via the Sugarloaf Pass gate. As much as I love overnighting at Alta Lodge, the convenience and economy of public shuttles, urban lodging, and dining appeals to me, too.
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A little further away in Park City, Deer Valley is adding an astounding 3,700 acres to more than double the terrain! Sundance Mountain Resort is also increasing its access by unveiling the 63-room Inn at Sundance at the base to complement 60 additional skiable acres and a new sauna at The Springs, a wonderful après soaking spot featuring several pools. Solitude is one of several resorts offering excellent Nordic ski and snowshoe trails.
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Average town snowfall: 165 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 349 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 305 inches
Northern Colorado is predicted to get the goods this year. It’s fitting that, in a Winter Olympics year, Steamboat, home to more U.S. Winter Olympic athletes than anywhere else, would top the podium of potential powder days. Downtown’s brick facades stand in the shadow of the ski mountain, offering a lovely juxtaposition of old and new West. Naturally, the sidewalks are lined with post-ski and snowboard celebrants all winter long.
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Snowshoe, hike, or fish along the Yampa River Trail or trek to the frozen 280-foot Fish Creek Falls, followed by a warmup in Strawberry Park Natural Hot Springs or Old Town Hot Springs. Naturally, there’s an Olympic-sized skating rink to practice your toe loops and waltz jumps. Let others do the work at Mountain Paws Dog Sledding or on a sleigh ride dinner at the Bar Lazy L Ranch.
Sun Valley, Idaho
Average town snowfall: 112 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 172 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 134 inches
Who says the old guard can’t evolve? Sun Valley will celebrate its 90th season by adding 90 new acres in the 2025-26 season. Once known for, um, relaxed rides to the summit, the Warm Springs base has added two high-speed chairlifts, including a six-pack that promises more laps per day. Neighboring Ketchum isn’t going modern anytime soon, thankfully, especially inside Grumpy’s and The Pioneer, both noteworthy après saloons without an upturned nose in sight.
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The Wood River Valley boasts more than 120 miles of groomed Nordic trails, one of the largest cross-country ski systems in North America. Fat tire cyclists, skiers and snowshoers will also find about 25 miles of tracks to traverse at The Nordic and Snowshoe Center. The Wood River also hosts world-renowned fly-fishing habitat throughout the winter. Romantics (and who isn’t romantic during winter in the mountains?) can cuddle up for a horse-drawn sleigh ride to Trail Creek Cabin.
Whitefish, Montana
Average town snowfall: 69 inches
Average ski resort snowfall: 300 inches
2024-25 resort snowfall: 158 inches
Few Western towns compare with Whitefish, especially during the skijoring competition at the Whitefish Winter Carnival, when horses at a gallop pull skiers through a series of gates and jumps. The locals’ “Blunder of the Week” après gathering at the on-mountain Bierstube is a weekly tradition. A typical faux pas might involve a lifty who, having called in sick on a powder day, forgot to turn off his public vertical feet tracking app. Oops.
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Like so many of the best western mountain towns, Whitefish is first and foremost an important railroad stop. The Great Northern Bar & Grill is a nod to the steel wheels that still frequently pass through town, including Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which delivers same-day skiing and snowboarding from Seattle and Portland, and conveniently collects westbound adventurers after a half-day spent traversing the mountain. The fat tire biking inclined will find 17 trail heads to access the 47-mile Whitefish Trail. If mushing is more your thing, check out Dog Sled Adventures Montana just down the road in Olney.
The post Dreaming of Snow? These Mountain Towns Know How to Make the Most of It. appeared first on Outside Online.
