By Jessica Dunn

Brighton is a little different from most Utah ski resorts. It has a laid-back, locals-only feel to it.

It’s the place where you meet up with friends and make new ones. Brighton doesn’t have any fancy lodges or restaurants, and it doesn’t need them because it has the terrain.

Brighton’s mountain has some terrain for everyone, from the beginners to the experts.

For the first-timers and beginners, Brighton has a learning lift called Explorer. It’s a short ride up and provides a gentle slope to learn on without the worry of people zooming by.

The middle of the resort, accessed by the Crest Express, Majestic and Snake Creek Express lifts, is the best place to find beginner green and blue runs. Most of these runs have a wide, gentle trail with undulating hills. Try Pioneer, Pacific Highway and Snowdrift to get your snow legs conditioned and maybe even take a quick dive in the trees if you’re ready.

Intermediates and experts can find more challenging terrain on the edges of the resort.

The Great Western Express lift has an array of open-faced steeps and powder-filled trees. On skier’s right of the lift, Rockin’ R and Silver Spur are two of many leg-burning black diamonds. You can take them down the open middle or cruise through the aspen trees. Try out the Johnny Tsunami log hit if you can spot it from the lift. Going skier’s left off the lift or straight down the cat track, Clark’s Roost is a fast ride on a powder day, but it gets tracked out pretty quickly. Past Clark’s is a set of trees for more extreme riders. The trees are on a steep face and can be close together at times. Zig-zagging through them is a challenge in itself.

On the opposite side of the resort, the new Milly Express high-speed lift offers some of the best terrain on the mountain. Milly Bowl is full of great cliff and bowl skiing, and this whole side of the mountain is covered in natural hits, including some smaller natural features on which to practice and build confidence. Scree Slope, Lone Pine and Evergreen are only a few hot spots to hit on a fresh powder day.

Don’t be misled, though. There’s plenty of advanced terrain in the middle of the mountain as well. Hard Coin, Wren Hollow and Rock Gardens will challenge you, and any of the trees in between are worth taking a dip through.

Brighton’s four terrain parks are also located in the middle of the resort and accessed by Crest Express. My-O-My is the highest park and features a wall ride and three big jumps, with other rails and boxes varying through the season. After My-O-My is Candyland, with a variety of different sizes and types of rails and boxes. A quick traverse through the trees takes you to the top of Upper Majestic with some of the bigger rails, boxes and jumps. Then at the bottom is Lower Majestic with easier rails and boxes, and a couple of wall rides. Unfortunately, Brighton hasn’t set up this season’s half-pipe yet.

Brighton is known as a snowboarder’s mountain, but many skiers go there as well. There are a few long, flat spots on various parts of the mountain, and boarders should be prepared with a good wax or skating out of it.

Brighton also claims the largest night skiing area and is the only resort in the Cottonwood Canyons to offer it. Night riding goes until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On most nights, Brighton has a special deal on lift tickets. Check out www.brightonresort.com for more details.

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Jessica Dunn

The Upper Majestic Park at Brighton has a nice assortment of rails, boxes and a wall ride.