Skiing into summer.

Mention Park City to almost anyone and the images that come most readily to mind are freshly powdered ski runs, joyous crowds in winter wear and bustling blocks of winter-lit restaurants, galleries and boutiques. Skiing has always defined the "in" season for the West's most desirable mountain communities, to the point that the entire rest of the year is often just thought of as the "off" season.

Increasingly, however, buyers have realized mountain destinations typically have more to offer in the warm months than they do with snow on the "off" season, as they say, is the new in. New residents may initially come for the skiing, but now they're staying for the summer.

"In the last several years we've noticed a trend--buyers searching for properties exclusively for summer use," says Thomas Wright, President and Principal Broker at Summit Sotheby's International Realty in Park City. "That has traditionally not been the case."

Wright says luxury buyers are placing a premium on locations where everyone in the family will be happy. And in the summer there are not just more activities for everyone--biking, hiking, boating, golf, fly fishing, children's camps--but also more multi-generational activities that can be enjoyed by grandparents, parents and kids.

Some mountain regions in the western United States already carry established...