If a ski area can survive a winter like the one Utah just had, it can do anything.
“I think that’s a big takeaway from the season. If we can make this winter work to the extent that we did, then we can make any season work," said John Kanaly, communications director for Park City Mountain.
Making Winter 2026 “work” involved relying on snowmaking technology like never before. Kanaly credited Park City’s mountain operations team with the resort’s ability to open at all during a winter that brought Utah its warmest temperatures, and lowest snowfall, on record.
“Despite teasing us several times that it might finally turn in our favor, winter never quite materialized on the weather front," Kanaly said.
Friday, the resort announced it would end operations on April 5 with the closure of Canyons Village. Lifts at the Mountain Village base area stopped spinning March 29.
Skiers took advantage of the remaining terrain until the very end. Emilio Terrazas flew in from Mexico City for his spring break and was enjoying the scene outside the Red Pine Lodge Saturday.
“It's a full day, lots of people here,” he said. “The conditions are great. There’s snow. It’s very comfortable weather. It’s a great day for skiing!”
The Terrazas family makes an annual trip to Park City and was headed out of town after skiing all week. The timing for other visitors was less opportune.
Julie Johnson, from Virginia, booked a whole week in Park City in September. Her first day of vacation was Saturday, and she had intended to ski all week; the resort's closure changed those plans.
“We booked it all with the hopes that it’d be a normal ski season but we’re still keeping our spirits up and making the best of it,” she said.
Her crew of 17 travelers – multiple families gathered together on a spring break trip – said they would head for resorts on the Wasatch Front and get what they could out of their passes.
“We call ourselves the ‘snow chasers,’" she said, "so we’re going to head to Solitude or Snowbird after Park City Mountain is closed."
For many skiers, value is on the mind. Park City resident Mara Ize was boarding the Red Pine Gondola on closing weekend, one of her first days out.
“I used my Epic Pass twice this year. Today is the third time. So, that's not super cost effective” she said, adding she had decided not to renew the pass for next winter.
The winter, she admitted, hasn’t been the norm.
“This whole season has been very strange," she said. "I’ve been here for 9 years and I’ve never seen so little snow. It’s super worrisome because, to me, it translates to global warming effects.”
Ize added she still plans purchase some form of ski pass next year, holding out hope for a better season.