Google Maps Quietly Revived A Discontinued Feature Just In Time For Winter

Winter is here, which means skiers and snowboarders are preparing to get back on the slopes as soon as possible, ensuring their gear is in order and the logistics are handled. If you're among that group, you may be happy to hear that Google is ready to provide assistance during the upcoming ski season by bringing back ski trails and lifts to the Google Maps experience after discontinuing the feature last year.

"We heard from many people who missed having ski information on Google Maps, so we're bringing ski lifts and trails back this winter," a Google spokesperson told Powder. "You'll see up-to-date ski information starting with popular resorts across North America and Europe." Oddly, this contrasts with the explanation Google offered fans last October, when it disabled the feature. "Over time, we've found that most users don't turn to Google Maps for this type of information, and that they instead prefer to use maps directly from the individual ski resorts, since they're seen as the most authoritative source of this information," a Google Maps product manager told a user who inquired about the change. "As a result, we've been in the process of removing this information from Maps, which you may have noticed already."

Skiers unhappy with Google's decision started at least one petition asking the company to bring back the feature. Nearly 3,000 people signed one of them. It's unclear whether this specific petition swayed Google, but the company received the message.

Google launched ski resort information in Google Maps as an experiment in 2013, but that doesn't mean the 2025 revival of the feature will offer comprehensive resort information around the world. If anything, Google appears to have rebuilt the feature. Google used new satellite imagery and ski resort maps to update the new ski trails interface. It's also worth noting that the feature may not be supported everywhere it was available before Google discontinued it last year.

Powder notes that Google Maps will support a limited number of resorts initially, including Whistler Blackcomb (British Columbia), Park City Mountain (Utah), and Palisades Tahoe (California). Other notable destinations are not supported, including Red Mountain Resort (British Columbia). Also, Google Maps may not include the latest information about all the ski resorts it supports. For example, some of the newest ski lifts in Deer Valley (Utah) aren't available on the map.

If Google Maps supports the resort you're traveling to, you'll see the ski trails colored in solid blue, green, and black lines. The ski lifts appear as dotted red lines on the map. While some skiers may prefer the physical and digital maps resorts offer, having the same information in Google Maps is a boon, especially if you're already using the popular Google app for navigating other places while driving and walking. The interface is familiar and you know how to use Google Maps to get where you need to be going.