Hitting the slopes.

• Position: Play

Abundant powder, diverse terrain and unparalleled access draw winter enthusiasts to Utah's Greatest Snow on Earth.

With 11 resorts less than an hour from the Salt Lake City International Airport, visitors as well as residents spend more time enjoying the slopes and less time in the car.

Utah is known for its snow and boasts some of the greatest snow in the world. An average annual snowfall of 500 inches of "The Greatest Snow on Earth[R]" and a host of on- and off-hill improvements in previous seasons make unparalleled access just the icing on the cake. From December through March, you can usually expect more than a foot of snowfall every five days.

In the 2015-2016 season, Vail Resorts plans to invest $50 million on an ambitious and game-changing plan to connect Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort, which would create the largest single ski area in the country. It would boast 7,300 acres of skiable terrain, an interconnected gondola, upgraded lifts, new restaurants and snowmaking improvements. This plan is subject to approval of Park City and Summit County.

At the World Ski Awards in 2014, for the second year in a row Deer Valley Resort was awarded the United States' Best Ski Resort, and Stein Erikson Lodge was named World's Best Ski Hotel. These are decided through a rigorous voting process by hundreds of thousands ski consumers across the globe.

Created by Robert Redford and made famous by the annual film festival, Sundance is a beautiful and secluded resort at the base of the majestic Mount Timpanogos. Sundance is a haven for discovery and inspiration that offers diverse mountain recreation all year long.

And if visitors want to go further afield, an additional four resorts dot the Wasatch Range. Utah's national forests and other scenic places also lure...