Ski areas by size Wonder how ski areas stack up in terms of size? Here's a start. Ski areas around the country No surprise here; the largest areas with the longest descents in the country are based in the west. Though Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York and Wisconsin all have thriving ski areas, Vail reports more skiable acreage (5,289) than any of those states. In fact, Vail reports more acreage than some of those states combined. Who's big in the East? In the New England, Sugar Loaf USA (Maine) claims the top spot in area, with 1,400 acres, followed by Killington (Vermont) with 1,125 and Smugglers Notch (Vermont) with 1,000. Also in the east, but outside New England, the three largest areas in New York and Pennsylvania are Gore (New York) with 347, Seven Springs (PA) with 285, and Holiday Valley (New York) with 270. Did you know that the state with the most number of ski areas is ... New York? It's true. New York state has plenty of areas where you can take a lift somewhere, point your snowboard downhill, and ride. But the median size is just over 100 acres, meaning there are a lot of small family and community-run ski areas in the state that hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics. The Midwest The Midwest has produced its share of ski racers, snowboard competitors and innovations in ski area management but not as much area as New England. Lutsen (Minnesota) claims 1,000 acres, followed far behind by Whitecap (Wisconsin) with 500 and Boyne Highlands (Michigan) with 430. The West Once you get out west, things get big really quickly. There are at least 67 areas with over 1,000 acres each. They are distributed as follows: Colorado: 15 California 12 Utah: 9 Montana: 8 Washington: 8 Idaho: 7 Oregon: 4 Wyoming: 2 (Grand Targhee; Jackson Hole); Nevada: 1 (Mt. Rose) New Mexico: 1 (Taos) Alaska has no "ski areas" of more than 1,000 acres, but it (like all of the western states listed) has plenty of backcountry riding available. Return to the ski resorts home page. Return to the home page. Discussion For more information about ski areas and snowboarding for adults, check out the Grays on Trays discussion board.