Founded as a silver mining town, Aspen, Colo., developed as a ski resort beginning in the late 1940s and has since become a year-round destination for outdoor activities as well as for arts and cultural events such as its annual Food & Wine Classic festival.

It's a tale of North and South, but one of cooperation, not conflict. North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe South each have visitors bureaus, but the organizations combine their efforts to promote the lake where California and Nevada meet. As a ski destination, the area boasts over 100 lifts and more than 22,000 acres of ski terrain.

Park City, Utah, gained fame as host to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, but for ski buffs, it's always held a special place, and in recent years its dining, lodging and ski scene has taken a step decidedly upscale. Owner Vail Resorts spent $50 million connecting Park City with neighboring Canyons Resort in time for the 2015-16 season, creating the largest U.S. ski resort.

Colorado's largest ski mountain and the third-largest ski resort in the U.S., with over 5,200 acres of ski terrain, Vail has grown to be a skiers' and snowboarders' haven since its first ski season in 1962. This year Vail Resorts agreed to buy Whistler Blackcomb Holdings, operator of the namesake mountain resort in British Colombia, for $1.06 billion.

The British Columbia resort, located 75 miles from Vancouver, offers nearly 8,200 skiable acres. More than 80% of the resort's 200-plus ski runs are either intermediate or advanced, and it's a one-mile vertical drop from the resort's highest peak to Whistler Village.

Lying at the foot of the Matterhorn, the car-free Swiss town comprises 54 mountain railways and lifts as well as over 200 miles of runs. The legendary Haute Route leads from Mont Blanc to Zermatt. In summertime, visitors can enjoy hiking, mountain biking or summer skiing.