Top Ten Ski Lodges Photo Gallery

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Once you get Lost Prospector and Round Valley under your belt, you're ready for some serious white-knuckling down the ski trails. Deer Valley features lift-served biking for all levels. If you're feeling apprehensive, take a three-hour primer with the Deer Valley Mountain Bike School (435.645.6648; www.deervalley.com). Then it's off to try your luck on Naildriver, a singletrack that banks through the aspens. Far more technical are the taxing Fire Swamp and Aspen Slalom trails.

High up Deer Valley, around 8,900 feet, is the top of the Tour des Suds, one of the classic Park City rides. Off the Flagstaff Loop, this seven-mile round-trip cross-country trail circles Flagstaff Mountain. It features some excellent singletrack riding through aspen and pine forests, yet I always seem to get lost in this area, so grab a good map. If all else fails, don't worry, you'll see Park City below. Just head downhill.

More great riding awaits at the Park City Mountain Resort (800.222.7275; www.parkcitymountain.com). You can take the Town Lift, straight from Park City's historic Main Street, to the start of the root-studded, rock-littered John's Trail. Once you hobble off John's, choose the smoother Sweeney's Switchbacks down to the resort area and back to Main Street.

Last, but not exactly least, is the area's most challenging ride. For local riders, bagging the Mid Mountain Trail is a rite of passage. It's a 20-mile round-tripper at 8,000 feet that connects Park City Mountain Resort to the Canyons Resort (435.649.5400; www.thecanyons.com). There's a thigh-busting 3,000 feet of climbing, but the rewards are great—a spectacular route through aspen, fir groves, and glimpses of Park City below. Expect to spend three to four hours in the trees and don't forget to bring plenty of water and energy bars.