Deer Valley Resort will open 200 new skiable acres and host the freestyle skiing World Cup again this winter after canceling last season's event due to warm weather.

The resort confirmed a Dec. 5 opening date on Thursday, Sept. 17, but the bigger developments for the 2026-27 season go well beyond opening day. The new Hail Peak Express chairlift, Deer Valley's 32nd, will bring seven new runs and push the resort's total terrain to about 4,500 acres and 209 runs, the Park Record reported.

Terrain near the Pioche and Neptune lifts that couldn't open last season due to poor snow conditions will be skiable for the first time. Communications manager Riley Elliot called last winter's conditions "unfortunate and kind of an anomaly" and said he's eager to show off the expansion's full potential.

"I'm just hopeful and excited that we'll get all of the terrain open this year in the expansion and continue to showcase to our guests what we've been doing these past couple years," Elliot told the Park Record.

The freestyle skiing World Cup is scheduled to return to Deer Valley in January 2027. Exact dates have not been announced. The resort canceled its 2025-26 event in December 2025, relocating aerials to Lake Placid and moguls to Waterville Valley, N.H., after warm weather left insufficient snow to build competition venues. That would have been Deer Valley's 28th time hosting the competition, which draws tens of thousands of fans over three days of nighttime events on the Champion run.

Resort president and COO Todd Bennett said in a statement that the resort is eager for guests to experience the expanded terrain. On KPCW's Local News Hour on Sept. 16, Bennett described a new 10-million-gallon snowmaking reservoir near Park Peak Lodge that will push the resort past 20,000 gallons of snowmaking per minute. Deer Valley's total snowmaking coverage now reaches 932 acres, according to the resort's press release.

The resort plans a phased opening, starting with terrain around Snow Park and Silver Lake before expanding as conditions allow. A season passholder appreciation day is planned before the Dec. 5 public opening. If the mountain is ready earlier, Elliot said the team would aim to give at least a week's notice.

Both lodges are still under construction. The East Village Lodge and Park Peak Lodge will continue building through the winter, with openings targeted for the 2027-28 season. Workers and supplies reach the Park Peak site by gondola because there is no winter road access, Senior Director of Mountain Operations Garrett Lang told KPCW in August.

Park City Mountain has announced a Nov. 20 opening for its season. Deer Valley is the fourth of Utah's 15 ski resorts to set a 2026-27 opening date.