Not much perks up a powderhound quite like the promise of thousands of acres of previously inaccessible terrain. With Deer Valley Resort poised to lend its white-glove touch to an eastward expansion of 3,700 skiable acres (formerly known as Mayflower Mountain Resort), most skiers are now eyeing the potential of the untrammeled landscape spanning South Peak, Park Peak, Big Dutch, Pioche, and Hail mountains. Though still two seasons away from spinning lifts, here we dive into the shred-worthy highlights of what’s to come. 

The Basics

The first taste, slated for the 2025–26 season, involves nine lifts and 110 ski runs spanning 2,900 acres. Think 3,000 vertical, topping out at 9,350 feet, cruising from Silver Lake past the ol’ Wasatch chair or swooshing past Sultan, continuing into what was formerly private side-country. Ultimately, the resort plans to add a total of 16 new chairlifts while more than doubling its existing terrain to 5,726 skiable acres (the current resort sits at 2,026 acres). The upshot: Skiers (yes, Deer Valley remains ski-only) will have room to roam. “Deer Valley will be that uncrowded experience from the past,” says Steve Graff, vice president mountain operations. “We’re doubling our terrain, but we have no intention of doubling our skier numbers.”

Stashes and Steeps (and Groomers, too)

Beyond the freshly cut runs you can see from Hwy 40, the high country is purportedly brimming with leg-burning as well as first-timer-friendly potential. “That upper mountain terrain is going to be absolutely amazing,” Graff says. He points to two standout aspects of the expansion’s first phase: first, the sheer size of the challenging skiable landscape off the ridgeline just south of Bald Mountain; second, the vast, high-altitude beginner terrain. Plans also call for lengthy greens and blues traversing the fresh topography.

For experts, the go-to chairlift may be Lift 6 (nothing has official names yet), which travels to Park Peak. The ridgeline’s north-facing chutes as well as bowls and gladed areas span a space similar in scope to Quincy Knoll, Daly Chutes, Daly Bowl, Empire Bowl, Lady Morgan Bowl, and Lady Morgan Chairlift combined. In other words, it’s a behemoth swath of mostly expert terrain (though the ridgeline will be accessed by a lengthy intermediate run). Look to South Peak for even bigger black- diamond acreage slated for post-phase-one development. 
New beginner terrain (accessed by Lift 7, which leads to the existing Flagstaff area) delivers a high-alpine, view-laden experience. The planned runs have elbow room aplenty on open meadows, plus the opportunity to conquer what will be the longest run at the entire resort (4.7 miles). Intermediate skiers won’t be left out of the mix. Folks who currently relish the Northside and Silver Strike-accessed runs (such as Hawkeye or Sidewinder) will find similarly low-angled—but longer—blue runs off Lifts 3 and 4.

Big picture, the resort’s expansion provides an opportunity to disperse skiers of all abilities to new areas while maintaining the tried-and-true Deer Valley look and feel. There’s nothing willy-nilly about the state-of-the-art installation of everything from lifts to snowmaking. After all, the resort and Extell Development Company have been “in talks” since long before this past summer’s big announcement. “It’s super exciting,” Graff says. “Nobody’s been able to do this kind of massive system expansion in probably 40 years.” 

Snow Park Rising

Lower Deer Valley’s Snow Park base is slated for some significant spiffing up, most notably a 15-acre, village-like transformation of the existing surface parking lots. In lieu of the asphalt, the resort plans to create a pedestrian-friendly hub that incorporates lodging, dining, transit, a gondola, an expanded ski beach, and more. Notably, parking will go underground. In terms of development rights, the project has been on the books since the 1970s. Now, the resort is getting serious, with a “potential” groundbreaking slated for 2024—provided the city, the resort, and neighbors (concerned with traffic-flow issues) get on the same page.