I’ve skied in 250 ski resorts—these are the best 

No two ski resorts are the same. Of course, some are better than others, but often it’s not always the best-known — the likes of Val d'Isère, St Moritz or St Anton — that are actually the best to ski in.

I’ve discovered this over the course of a 25-year career as a ski journalist, a fantastic job that has taken me to around 250 ski resorts on every continent other than Antarctica (where, yes, you can ski, on backcountry tours).

The highs have included skiing on active volcanoes in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and down to the Greenland Sea on Iceland’s Troll Peninsula. The lows? Being emergency helicoptered off the Cul du Nant glacier above La Plagne, and riding down the mountain in a ‘blood bucket’ (ski patrol stretcher) at Kicking Horse, British Columbia — ACL injuries (the skier’s curse) to blame both times.

My favourite ski resorts tend to be small, little-known places such as the US's Brundage Mountain, Idaho (see below); Canada's Castle Mountain in Alberta; and Riksgransen, Sweden, where the corporate giants haven’t taken over and the character and individuality of the locale is a big part of the ski experience. But there’s no doubt that European mega resorts like Verbier, Kitzbühel and the Three Valleys are hard to beat when it comes to providing great skiing for everyone.

Here's my pick of the best. Whatever you think of my choices it’s probably true to say that when the powder lies deep and the sun shines brightly, most ski resorts offer a superlative experience, however big or small.

Best for beginners: La Plagne, France

If it’s your first time on skis, you can’t go wrong with La Plagne. Each of the 11 separate ‘villages’ that makes up this resort in southeastern France has at least one lift that’s free (doesn’t require those costly lift passes), and there’s a good selection of ski schools with English-speaking instructors. La Plagne is high enough to be snow sure, it’s easy to access from the UK and once you’ve built up some confidence on the nursery slopes you can advance to a superb array of cruisy blue runs.

Add to this a fine selection of accommodation to suit all budgets, plenty of lively bars and restaurants plus lots to do if you fancy a break from skiing (bobsleighing, anyone?), and La Plagne is the ideal place in which to get bitten by the ski bug.

(Why La Plagne ski resort in France is also an off-piste haven.)

Best for intermediates: Cervinia, Italy

If you’re looking for an array of seemingly endless, effortless runs to cruise down, Cervinia is hard to beat — almost 90% of the slopes here are graded either blue or red, and their smooth, well-groomed terrain will make you feel like a world-class skier. Even better, Cervinia’s south-facing orientation means it’s bathed in sunshine for much of the day, while its altitude slopes rise from 5,000ft to a whopping 11,417ft — meaning that its abundant snowfall sticks around.

And then there’s its truly spectacular setting beneath the Matterhorn, plus the fact that you can also access the linked resort of Zermatt in neighbouring Switzerland — all of which makes Cervinia a winner with intermediate skiers.

(How Laax in Switzerland brings a California surfer vibe to the slopes.)

Best for experts: Red Mountain, Canada

I visited Red Mountain on my first ever ski press trip, and I’ve since been back more times than I can remember, yet I still get lost here. This isn’t because I’m a hopeless map reader — it’s simply that with so many routes through the resort’s legendary tree runs, it’s impossible to remember them all.

By European standards Red Mountain in British Columbia is small, with only a handful of lifts and just 2,986ft of ‘vertical’ — but that small package comes crammed with steeps, glades and powder bowls to challenge the best. And there’s the thrilling option of cat skiing (riding a caterpillar-tracked vehicle) up adjacent Mount Kirkup to ski down untracked terrain, all for just C$20 (£11) a ride. And it has the kind of effortlessly laid-back vibe exhibited by only the coolest ski resorts. Visit once and, like me, you’ll be back time and again.

Best all-rounder: Les Arcs, France

Reliable, purpose-built Les Arcs may seem a rather prosaic choice as the best all-rounder, but if you want guaranteed snow, world-class skiing for all abilities, a good variety of accommodation, bars and restaurants along with easy access by train, plane or car, it’s hard to beat. And it’s nice to know that you don’t necessarily have to travel to North America or Japan, or spend a fortune, to enjoy some of the best skiing in the world.

Should you decide Les Arcs doesn’t meet all your requirements — which is unlikely — the resort is linked to neighbouring La Plagne to form Paradiski, one of the world’s biggest ski areas. You’re also within a short drive of La Rosiere, St. Foy, Tignes and Val d'Isère — surely enough choice and variety for anyone? Just one tip — don’t visit during half-term, when peak-season crowds make skiing a nightmare, which is true of Les Arcs and all of its satellite resorts.

Best for non-skiers: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Cortina has been attracting both skiers and non-skiers since the Winter Olympics were held here in 1956. And this year, seven decades later, it hosts the games again, which will see everyone from Olympians to designer-draped fashionistas wandering the pretty streets of the so-called ‘Pearl of the Dolomites’.

Soaring above the town on all four sides, those Dolomite mountains turn pastel pink in the evening sunlight, and while they’re the star attraction, the wealth of high-end shops selling everything from Rolex watches to yachts and motorboats, and numerous great restaurants, taking in several Michelin-starred tasting menus, certainly add to the allure. The cobbled, car-free Corsa Italia is the place where the beautiful people gather. There are also winter walking paths, ice skating and day trips to nearby Venice. And — as those Olympians will attest — the skiing is excellent, too.

Best value: Livigno, Italy

Europe’s highest inhabited parish, Livigno sits at 5,906f in the Italian Alps, virtually guaranteeing good snow. It offers a wide range of great-value accommodation, bars and restaurants, plus lift tickets can be had for less than €40 (£33) a day if you visit during low season (December and April). As for the skiing, there’s a large and varied mix of slopes for all abilities.

Great marketing by resorts such as Aspen and Whistler means that places like Livigno are often overshadowed. But it doesn’t necessarily make them better — in four visits to Whistler, for instance, I’m yet to encounter anything other than slush, ice or rain on the slopes. This, along with enormous lift queues and lift tickets priced at up to £185 a day (Aspen is a staggering £213 per day) makes me wonder what the big attraction is.

(Why Eastern Europe should be your next ski destination.)

Best ski resort you've never heard of: Brundage Mountain, US

Deep powder, immense backcountry, immaculately groomed slopes and zero lift queues. This is what you’ll find at Idaho's Brundage Mountain, a resort set nine miles north of the attractive little town of McCall, set beautifully on the shores of Payette Lake in central Idaho.

Brundage has just six ski lifts but they access up to 1,920ft of vertical encompassing everything from open powder fields to runs through perfectly spaced trees, plus almost deserted, groomed pistes even during the US ski season’s busiest weeks (including Christmas, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day and Presidents’ Day).

It also offers you the American West in all its glory, with summit panoramas that take in the wild and evocatively named Salmon River Mountains, Gospel Hump Mountains, Wallowa Mountains and Seven Devils. Brundage is marketed rather poetically as having ‘the best snow in Idaho’, and it’s lived up to that claim on each of my three visits — in fact, it might even have the best snow in the US, but that wouldn’t rhyme.

Best luxury destination: Lyngen Alps, Norway

‘Luxury’ means different things to different people, and schlepping up 3,383ft from sea level to the summit of Vanntinden in the Lyngen Alps on touring skis isn’t what many would call a luxury experience. But if you’re lucky, as you hit the summit you may get to watch the sun dipping down over the Norwegian Sea in a blaze of orange, before you ski back down to sea level in the dusky light, with a handful of fellow adventurers on slopes totally bereft of any other skiers.

One for experienced backcountry skiers, select tours in the Lyngen Alps will then have you hop aboard a well-appointed catamaran for a nighttime sail across the fjords, perhaps seeing the Northern Lights, ready to ascend and descend another deserted mountain the following day. And, hard work or not, it will all definitely meet one of the Cambridge Dictionary’s definitions of luxury as ‘something that gives you a lot of pleasure but cannot be done often’.

(Take a ski safari across the Dolomites before the 2026 Winter Olympics.)