Hours of Operation
9:00am-6:00pm (Open Daily)
Admission: Free
2026 Will & Jean Pickett Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame on August 20th, 2026: Click here for Ticket Information
Originally called Snow Park when it opened in 1946, the resort was renamed Deer Valley in 1981. Just 38 miles east of the Salt Lake International Airport, Deer Valley offers luxurious amenities such as ski valets, groomed-to-perfection slopes, on-site child care and gourmet dining in three elegant day lodges.
With a spectator stadium large enough for 10,000 people, Deer Valley hosted several events during the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics – including freestyle aerials and moguls.
The earliest organized winter recreation footprint in the Deer Valley area began during the winter of 1936–1937. The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the region’s first dedicated ski trails and supporting infrastructure in the mountains. This initial labor project laid the baseline framework for future sports development in the canyon.
Local residents Robert Emmett Burns Sr. and Otto Carpenter formally built the area’s first mechanical ski lifts using harvested lodgepole pine timbers. They christened the low-key operation as Snow Park Ski Area. This early iteration provided basic winter recreation to regional families for more than two decades.
United Park City Mines commissioned an official study to determine if the declining mining district could transition into a year-round recreational zone. The mining entity secured a federal government loan based on the positive findings to construct a larger winter sports complex nearby. This research fundamentally shifted the local economic strategy away from extraction and toward tourism.
Otto Carpenter continued to operate the popular local ski slopes independently after purchasing his partner’s financial shares. The humble Snow Park era officially drew to a close when his long-term land lease expired. The mountain temporarily went dormant as developers eyed the real estate for massive corporate restructuring.
The Sterns soon sold Treasure Mountain after buying it, saving a neighboring parcel of land in the hopes of developing it with their upscale vision. Their 5-star philosophy came from an upbringing in broadcast media and luxurious real estate development in New Orleans, Aspen, and San Francisco.
