Arizona Snowbowl

Arizona Snowbowl is the state's largest alpine ski resort, operating on the slopes of Humphreys Peak and Agassiz Peak in the San Francisco Mountains about 14 kilometres north of Flagstaff. At 3,500 metres at the top, it offers the highest skiing in the Southwest and a very different experience from the desert resorts below. The resort has about 50 runs across roughly 300 hectares, with lifts serving terrain from beginner slopes to advanced chutes.

In summer, the chairlift becomes a scenic gondola carrying visitors up to spectacular views of the Colorado Plateau, with the Grand Canyon visible on clear days. The surrounding Coconino National Forest has excellent hiking trails in all seasons, and the drive up the mountain itself is worth the trip for the change of vegetation from ponderosa pine to alpine meadow.

things to do sight
A story
Arizona Snowbowl sits on the flanks of the San Francisco Peaks, which are the eroded remains of a single enormous stratovolcano that once rose higher than 5,000 metres before collapsing in a series of eruptions. The Peaks are sacred to thirteen Native American tribes, including the Hopi, for whom they mark the home of the kachina spirits. The tribe's long legal battle against snowmaking using reclaimed water on the mountain became one of the most significant Native sacred-lands cases in US history.