United States Ranks as Top Ski Destination

As the winter season approaches, both ski bunnies and near-professional slope fiends use travel as an excuse to visit some of the world’s best slopes. When it comes to selecting a destination, sometimes the best place to look is right outside your door. Based on recent data presented by the U.S. National Ski Areas Association, the top ski destinations are not in the Pyrenees or the Alps. With an increase in ski slope attendance by approximately 6 percent, the most popular ski destination in the world is the United States.

Nearly 50 million skiers and snowboarders visited resorts across the country in during the 2014–2015 winter season, with the most traveling to the Pacific Northwest including Oregon and Washington. Meanwhile on the East Coast, resorts saw a decline in the number of visitors due to unreliable weather patterns. Other locations in the west that saw consistent numbers in ski passes sold include Telluride in Colorado and Deer Valley, Utah.

France, which has topped the list for the past few years, fell to second place with a mere 52 million visitors at its resorts in the Pyrenees and Alps, while Austria came in third place. The regions’ lack of snow at the beginning of the season was the major cause for the dip in attendance.