Brian Head is Southern Utah’s Overlooked Adventure Gem

The alpine town of Brian Head, Utah, is an under-the-radar outdoor adventure destination that’s a terrific alternative to more famous (and crowded) mountain resorts like those of northern Utah and the Sierra Nevadas.

Somewhat off the beaten path, the town is located a couple hours north of Las Vegas and several hours south of Salt Lake City. It’s a day’s drive from Southern California cities, making it a viable alternative to other mountain resort towns for those willing to drive the extra miles.

Brian Head is the name of both the town and the ski resort around which the town grew up, but the origins of the name are a mystery. Located in the Markagunt Plateau, part of the larger Colorado Plateau, the town and base of the ski area are perched at an altitude of 9,600 feet, making them the highest in Utah.

We visited the resort this winter for the first time and were impressed by the mountain, the snow, the surrounding wilderness and the relative quiet of the area compared to more popular mountain towns and resorts. Here I will share what we learned about the area, as well as some tips for visiting.

Also be sure to check out this video we made from winter trip to Brian Head, in which we snowboarded, went snowmobiling and snowtubing, and visited Cedar Breaks National Monument after a snowstorm.

Getting there

The drive from our home in San Diego to Brian’s Head is a bit of a haul, about eight hours. The drive passes through the San Bernadino Mountains, the Mojave Desert, and the desert and canyonlands of southern Utah. It’s mostly highway, except for the last 20-minute climb up the mountain.

It’s actually quite scenic, passing through three states and epic desert and mountain landscapes. For me, a transplant from the East Coast, these Western landscapes are always endlessly interesting to explore.

When coming from Southern California on the I-15, you’ll pass through Las Vegas, which can be a good place to spend the night to break up the drive if you are so inclined. (We stayed at Circus Circus with our son, where he could visit the amusement park in the casino hotel.)

Brian Head Resort – Skiing and Snowboarding

Brian Head Resort offers more than 650 acres of ski and snowboard terrain, split into two sections: the Navajo area, which features mostly beginner and intermediate terrain; and the Giant Steps area, which has more aggressive terrain.

If you are a backcountry skier or snowboarder and conditions permit, you can hike off-piste from the top of the Giant Steps area – assuming you have appropriate preparation, training, and gear. 

We headed to the Navajo section of the ski area on our first day. My son, Kai, took a snowboard lesson while my wife, Monica, and I got in our first runs in nearly a decade. The slopes in the Navajo section were fairly mellow, with a mix of beginner and intermediate runs, but still fun and there a few tree sections to explore. It was still snowing and visibility wasn’t great, but at least we had fresh powder.

On another day, I road Giant Steps solo after a night of snow. I didn’t get out until the afternoon, so much of it was tracked out already, but I was happily surprised to find some powder pockets in the trees and on the slides of the slopes.

Generally speaking, the terrain at Brian Head isn’t as steep as some parts of large resorts such as Mammoth or Snowbird, so on a power day you have to pick your route carefully and make sure you keep your speed over flatter areas. But the smaller crowds makes up for it, and the terrain is plenty fun.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Just a few miles south of Brian Head is Cedar Breaks National Monument which encompasses a dramatic half-mile deep geologic amphitheater.

Cedar Breaks is a 2000-foot deep natural amphitheater that covers the west side of same plateau that forms parts of Zion National Park. The rim elevation is over 10,000 feet, and offers a terrific view. While it’s only a 10 minute drive from Brian Head, in the winter, the road through the national monument sometimes closes due to the snowfall, so you can only reach the rim via skis, snowshoes or a snowmobile. 

Snowmobile and Snowshoe Tours

We took a snowmobile tour from town to an overlook of Cedar Breaks, which was a terrific adventure. The outfitter was Thunder Mountain Motor Sports, which is based on the north side of town.

The National Forest Service offers snowshoe tours on the rim of Cedar Breaks, which look like a lot of fun. We looked into joining one, but due to the stormy weather they were canceled when we were visiting.

Snowtubing

We took a break from snowboarding one afternoon and checked out the snowtubing hill at the bottom of Giant Steps.

It turned out to be more of an adrenaline rush that I expected. Kai got a bloody nose on his first run, hitting the stopper bags at the end of the course too hard. But he rallied and we had a great time.

Snowtubing at Brian Head requires that you book a specific time slot during the day, so check out the schedule and get your tickets in advance. We showed up thinking we could get started whenever, but weren’t able to get a slot until the afternoon. Plan ahead for this one.

Elevation and Altitude Sickness

As I mentioned before, the town and base of the ski area at about 9,600 feet altitude, which makes it the highest base of any ski area in Utah. And boy could we feel it coming from near sea level in San Diego. I can’t tell you how many times I had to stop and catch my breath.

The altitude is high enough that some people may feel sick when the first arrive. My wife and I both had headaches and felt tired for the first couple of days and my wife oximeter on her smartwatch reported that her blood oxygen levels had dropped during the nights. We took ibuprofen for the headaches and tried to drink a lot of water – and not to much booze.

Annual Snowfall

The town and resort get around 360 feet of snow each year on average, which is respectable. For comparison, the mega-resort of Mammoth Mountain in California gets around 400 and Snowbird near Salt Lake City gets over 500. Bear Mountain in Southern California gets around 107 inches on average.

We arrived in Brian Head on a Friday, just before a snowstorm. It would turn out to be perfect timing, as we might have had trouble getting up the mountain if we’d tried to come up in the snow. Usually, we travel in our Jeep, but this time we were in our Honda CRV – sans snow tires. I ended up buying tire chains later in the trip.

Restaurants and Groceries

One thing we quickly realized is that Brian Head doesn’t have many options for dining or even grocery shopping for that matter. There are a couple of small general stores that limited groceries – Apple Annie’s Country Store and Brian Head General Store.

There are only a handful of restaurants in town, but some where very good – Pizanos Pizzeria for pizza and Italian, Rosales for Mexican food, and Mountain Peak Coffee for sandwiches and other cafe-style food. All three are located next to each other at the base of the Giant Steps area.

The ski resort has cafeterias inside the base lodges of both Navajo and Giant Steps, which are convenient for food during a day on the slopes

Next trip, we’ll plan to bring more meals and also to make sure we rent accommodation that comes with at least a small kitchen.