Best Winter Drives, Most Expensive Ski Resorts

A couple news items caught my attention today. First is this fun article on travelandleisure.com listing "America's Best Winter Drives." Arches National Park tops the list. Here's an excerpt:

Beautiful any time of year, Arches National Park’s natural sandstone sculptures assume an ethereal quality when covered in a layer of snow and bathed in soft winter light—best for desert photography. The scenic drive is paved, and even after a storm, snow usually melts off quickly.

Also in our region, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe make the list.

Most Expensive Ski Resorts

Next, I was a little surprised by this press release listing North America's most expensive ski resorts. A survey by cheaphotels.org based the ranking on the cost of lodging at the resorts.

Deer Valley ranked as the most expensive, and that is not surprising.

But Snowbird was number 2 on the list and Canyons came in at #6. That's 3 Utah resorts in the top 10 for most expensive.

For months, I've been bragging that Utah offers the best value for skiing, and I stand by that. Even these most expensive resorts offer amazing quality and thus justify a high lodging price.

Park City, on the other hand, has more lodging options available and doesn't even rank in the top 20 on the list.

And, the ranking doesn't consider lift passes. Some Utah resorts offer some of the lest expensive lift passes in the Western U.S. Quality snow and inexpensive lift passes! With that, I don't mind shopping around for lodging.

- Dave Webb