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iangYo, decently long-time Missoula resident here. Been in town for about three and a half years. After college, I planned to move to a proper ski town, but life had other plans, and ended up here. The town itself is great lots to do in the summers (river floating, fishing, nightlife, concerts, hiking, climbing, etc...) and winters (winters are somewhat brutal, probably mellower than the midwest, though). Although the main drawback is that housing's pretty tricky right now unless you're raking in remote work cash or something like that. Not nearly as bad as a place like Bozeman or Jackson in my understanding, though.
As for skiing, it's a good place to have skiing be a part of your life but not your entire life. I ski at Snowbowl most weekends during the winter. It's thirty minutes away from town and the terrain's decent but no park since I've moved here which is a bummer. One problem is that most of the interesting slopes are southern facing so refreezing, particularly because winters are warmer these days, is a bit of an issue. But the general vibe of the place (all two-seaters and a nice bar with really good pizza, classic mom-and-pop hill) make up for the often questionable snow and comparative lack of terrain. It's definitely not a destination resort for better or worse.
I also spent a year skiing Lost Trail which is arguably better than Snowbowl (has a park setup, more interesting terrain, better snow), but it's an hour and 45 outside of Missoula so harder to sustain for me as a weekend warrior.
Backcountry access is solid, too. Lolo Pass, which offers plenty of mellow terrain and some cool pillow zones is a 40ish minute drive out of town. I know there are bigger backcountry missions to be had if you're willing to drive longer.
Bottom line I like to say Missoula's almost a ski town. You're not getting Salt Lake or Jackson-level skiing accessibility, but that comes with the benefit of fewer crowds and the option of not having skiing shoved in your face constantly if you need a break. And there's essentially zero of the wannabe pro cool guy energy that you get in proper ski towns. Plenty of people ski, but it's generally in more of a casual way which was refreshing after skiing Whistler during college.
If anything I think it's been good for me as a skier to live here as the balance between skiing and other parts of life is easier to manage.
Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions.
iangYo, decently long-time Missoula resident here.
iangYo, decently long-time Missoula resident here. Been in town for about three and a half years. After college, I planned to move to a proper ski town, but life had other plans, and ended up here. The town itself is great lots to do in the summers (river floating, fishing, nightlife, concerts, hiking, climbing, etc...) and winters (winters are somewhat brutal, probably mellower than the midwest, though). Although the main drawback is that housing's pretty tricky right now unless you're raking in remote work cash or something like that. Not nearly as bad as a place like Bozeman or Jackson in my understanding, though.
As for skiing, it's a good place to have skiing be a part of your life but not your entire life. I ski at Snowbowl most weekends during the winter. It's thirty minutes away from town and the terrain's decent but no park since I've moved here which is a bummer. One problem is that most of the interesting slopes are southern facing so refreezing, particularly because winters are warmer these days, is a bit of an issue. But the general vibe of the place (all two-seaters and a nice bar with really good pizza, classic mom-and-pop hill) make up for the often questionable snow and comparative lack of terrain. It's definitely not a destination resort for better or worse.
I also spent a year skiing Lost Trail which is arguably better than Snowbowl (has a park setup, more interesting terrain, better snow), but it's an hour and 45 outside of Missoula so harder to sustain for me as a weekend warrior.
Backcountry access is solid, too. Lolo Pass, which offers plenty of mellow terrain and some cool pillow zones is a 40ish minute drive out of town. I know there are bigger backcountry missions to be had if you're willing to drive longer.
Bottom line I like to say Missoula's almost a ski town. You're not getting Salt Lake or Jackson-level skiing accessibility, but that comes with the benefit of fewer crowds and the option of not having skiing shoved in your face constantly if you need a break. And there's essentially zero of the wannabe pro cool guy energy that you get in proper ski towns. Plenty of people ski, but it's generally in more of a casual way which was refreshing after skiing Whistler during college.
If anything I think it's been good for me as a skier to live here as the balance between skiing and other parts of life is easier to manage.
Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions.
r00kieThis is exactly how I feel about Boise/Bogus. A good home is not usually a good destination. SLC, i70, Tahoe, etc are all cool but would absolutely kill skiing for me in the long term.
DlonettiBoise was one of the other ideas I was kicking around since it seemed similar to Missoula. Bogus seems like a vibe
ScootSkiLyfeHey Dom
Michigan_SucksAt least look into Washington before pulling the trigger, no state income tax is massive. Wenatchee might be what you are looking for, Mission Ridge is right there with a rope tow park and Stevens is and hour away.
ScootSkiLyfeBozeman is next up dude
gravelyeah seven years ago
muffMan.Bozeman would be a better spot imo, yeah housings a bit crazy but high turnover with college kids. Just don’t get a pet. I’m in the same spot, I got a few spots I’m road tripping this summer
Durango,
Bend,
Bellingham? Kinda far skiing,
Hood River,
and cheapest spot around Tahoe.
also have been kickin around the idea of getting some land around like Granby, Pagosa springs, drigs, Sandpoint, or east of Utah resorts, like Oakley.
DlonettiGlad this thread turned into some other lowkey ski town recommendations, and I’ve got a better idea of the Missoula scene. Bozeman and Wenatchee both seem like more of what I’d want
tuckerhoranI back Durango.
Colorado has so much more to offer than just the front range. I was about to say, its a bummer the perception of Colorado is the way that it is, but tbh... it keeps places like Durango (somewhat) pure.
Michigan_SucksAt least look into Washington before pulling the trigger, no state income tax is massive. Wenatchee might be what you are looking for, Mission Ridge is right there with a rope tow park and Stevens is and hour away.
oldmanskiPocatello Idaho is a place to look into. That area of Idaho is where I grew up, Pebble Creek is 20 mins from town, has great terrain, no park the last few seasons but they have had one in the past. SLC is 2.5 hours south, Jackson/Targhee is 2.5 north. Mountains are at your back door for dirtbiking, MTBing, hiking, fishing, boating. Housing has gone up but there are still affordable places to rent or buy. Job wise there isnt super high paying jobs but there are decent jobs in the area.
craccThe no income tax is a benefit but our other taxes do their best to compensate for it hahah. Love the skiing here in eastern WA though, solid parks, chill people, and no lift lines (usually). This last year at my home mountain at least 7 or 8 powder days, so good snow too.
Nature is also great here during the summer, lots of mountain biking, climbing, fishing, etc..
Our downtown has a ton of crackheads so i can’t really promote that, but otherwise, love it here.
**This post was edited on Jul 17th 2023 at 6:42:28pm
ScootSkiLyfeBozeman is next up dude, so many of the homies out there rn! That's where I'll be going I believe after getting in one more Duluth winter. Also come get some street shots in this year I'm tryna finish this video.
PeppermillReno2.5 hours and $250 lift tickets to visit those places. I'd honestly just forget everything in the Western US on Epic or Ikon exists. Still some good hills. Take trips off the dollar Canada, Europe, even Japan.
Driving through Pocatello I wondered why they didn't have a bigger resort though lots of places they could put one with some snowmaking where 86 turns off from 80 north facing?
tuckerhoranI back Durango.
Colorado has so much more to offer than just the front range. I was about to say, its a bummer the perception of Colorado is the way that it is, but tbh... it keeps places like Durango (somewhat) pure.
IsaacNW82Also since I've brought it up Taos is very much "almost a ski town". Its definitely a little bit of a love it or hate it place (most of NM is tbh) and I'd say its biggest problems are a lack of 20-something year olds, NM outdoor culture is small and bizarre, and a weird housing market that is nearly impossible to rent in but more affordable to buy than you'd probably guess. Biggest strengths are there is almost zero shoulder season if you like multiple mountain sports, freeride terrain at Taos is second to none, and its way less crowded than most of Colorado (which is only 2-6 hours away anyways if you want to visit on the weekends)
PeppermillRenoTaos is awesome. But the mountain ops are the biggest losers imaginable they look for any excuse to close the Kachina lift and will do avy control until 11am for 4 inches overnight.
eheathbro people like you are the worst, in what world does some gaper know more than the ski patrol that have been running the avy control for years? like seriously dude, fuck off with this dumb bullshit, you dont know shit about Taos' terrain and how it reacts with the snowfall. you are worse than the colorado ikoners.
muffMan.I had some guy seriously tell me that they closed the ridge at bridger so patrollers could ski untracked powder.
eheathbro people like you are the worst, in what world does some gaper know more than the ski patrol that have been running the avy control for years? like seriously dude, fuck off with this dumb bullshit, you dont know shit about Taos' terrain and how it reacts with the snowfall. you are worse than the colorado ikoners.
PeppermillRenoUgh we know your shtick and that you will defend the most moronic practices for no reason.
Anytime someone on here criticizes vail for ruining their mountain you flock to the thread like a fly to shit to defend them.
You probably like standing there in a crowd watching the patrollers take lap after lap because it snowed 6 inches don't lie. Being told what to do gets you off just bump any posts related to the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdowns you were 100% all in and supportive of. Mandatory masking made you cream yourself. Vaccine and vaccine mandates had your full support.
LonelyCalumet Michigan is THE ski town to be in
DlonettiLol buying property in the UP is the retirement plan. But I’m an Ahmeek man
eheathWow this post got pretty unhinged because you're the idiot who thinks they know more than ski patrollers, smh dude.
PeppermillRenoon the chair
PeppermillRenoEven the patrollers will tell you themselves on the chair that their avy practices on small dump days are stupid and ridiculous.
iangAnd there's essentially zero of the wannabe pro cool guy energy that you get in proper ski towns.
BigPurpleSkiSuitGoddamn you just described wayyyyyyy too many skiers in LCC with that line
clindblomskierI think you’d love bellingham, especially if you mtb too. Baker is about an hour east, keeps you skiing but doesn’t have crazy ski town vibes. Super mellow and lots of young people, definitely one of my favorites to visit
PeppermillRenoI'm going to a wedding of baker pass holders today. Definitely want to do a Washington trip soon 2-3 days Baker out of Bellingham and then 1 at Snowqualmie and 1 at Crystal.
