Uphill Travel Policy

Uphill Travel is Allowed on Green Days from 4:00am - 8:30am

The Uphill Travel Status is posted on Snowbasin’s Mountain Conditions page at 4:00 am daily to alert guests if the conditions are green or red. Uphill travel goes red at 8:30am. We are no longer offering night uphilling EXCEPT during the Full Moon each month.

Uphill travel by the way of foot, snowshoes, trax, or skis is not allowed between the hours of 8:30am and 4:00am of the next day unless the resort reflects green status. Outside of operating hours, there may be circumstances in which the ski area may prohibit uphill traffic, or limit or restrict uphill traffic by designating specific times, days or routes that will be available for such use. These circumstances might include safety, maintenance or operational needs; grooming operations; snowmaking operations; special events; avalanche hazard reduction work; wildlife or resource considerations; or other reasons. The ski area is authorized, with Forest Service pre-approval, to perform any or all of these actions as deemed reasonable and necessary by the ski area. There is no ski patrol available outside of normal operating hours. You are responsible for your own safety and rescue. All participants within the permit boundary are considered skiers and are subject to Utah Skier Safety Act. Daily updates of current uphill travel restrictions (RED DAY/GREEN DAY) will be posted within the snowbasin.com Mountain Report as well as listed on the (801) 620-1100 snow phone.

Yield the right of way and stay clear of ski area machinery, i.e. grooming machines, snowmobiles, and snowmaking equipment. You are responsible for your own safety. Expect to always encounter ski area machinery and employees at any time and anywhere on the mountain. Mountain users should wear reflective clothing, headlamps and blinking lights on front and back. No pets allowed on the mountain. Adhere to Trail/Avalanche Closures. No person except a member of the ski patrol, an employee of the Forest Service, Sheriff or ski area operator employee working in the course and scope of his employment shall enter or go upon any closed area. If you pack it in, please pack it out. Help us keep the Forest clean for future users.

As Partners in Recreation with the US Forest Service, Snowbasin Resort’s Uphill Travel Policy allows access for uphill travelers (i.e. hiking, snowshoeing, skinning, etc.) under certain conditions. Across the country, increasing uphill traffic within ski area boundaries has driven the implementation of uphill policies. While uphill travel within ski area boundaries may seem innocuous, it poses significant safety risks and concerns for uphill and downhill recreationalists, ski area operations and ski area staff. For this reason, uphill travel is not permitted in any fashion at many ski areas. Snowbasin Resort’s policy reflects our commitment to seek a balance between mitigating safety concerns of uphill travel as a recreational use within the downhill ski area/Special Use Permit area with the reasonable needs of operating a sustainable and successful alpine ski area, for which we have been granted a Special Use Permit from the US Forest Service. Snowbasin Resort continues to work closely with the Ogden Ranger District, Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, and local organizations, to build awareness and provide public education regarding uphill travel and recreational uses. Our goal is to find a reasonable balance between and among user groups who share a common interest in recreating within the Snowbasin Special Permit area in a non-confrontational and sustainable manner while establishing safety rules for users designed to reduce the hazards and dangers related to such usage.

Safety considerations, maintenance or operational requirements, grooming operations, snowmaking operations, special events, avalanche hazard reduction work, wildlife or resource considerations, or construction, may cause public risk management issues to exist. To protect the public from potential hazards that may exist, prior to the opening of the ski season and postseason, the ski area is authorized, with Forest Service pre-approval, to close areas subject to those potential hazards and to post signs at typical uphill access points closing those areas. Motorized vehicles are prohibited. 

Snowbasin Resort Mountain Resort is the holder of a Special Use Permit on U.S. Forest Service land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and Ogden Ranger District. That permit states that: “The Special Use Permit authorizes the resort to provide public opportunities for skiing and snowboarding and natural resource-based outdoor recreation in National Forest Settings … The lands within the special use permit boundary shall remain open to the public for all lawful purposes; except for any restrictions the resort and Forest Service agree to be necessary as documented in the Operating Plan … The resort is responsible for public health and risk management within the resort boundary.” During ski season, dogs are not permitted outside of parking areas at the resort.