Park City is a classic resort town with trendy little shops that sell shit that nobody buys except the tourists but the shred in the vicinity can be epic. Here’s my take on Snowbird Resort where we spent our last day, or for more details you can browse the Park City archives for a full report from every place we rode. But if you’re just looking for an overview:
Getting There
Park City is less than an hour from Salt Lake City airport, so it is one of (if not the) most accessible winter vacation. Discounters like Southwest Airlines fly to SLC from many cities, which means you can get there on the cheap.
Getting Around
There is shuttle service in and around town to most hotels and to Park City Mountain, the Canyons resort and Deer Valley (no snowboards allowed here). It’s about a 45 minute drive in fair weather to Brighton / Snowbird areas on the other side of the canyon. We spent 7 days in Park City this February and I blogged most of it.
Conditions
It’s winter. It’s going to be cold, although we visited in mid-February and it was moderate, daytime highs near 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of resorts average ~400-500″ of natural snow in a winter season. The Wasatch boasts the greatest snow on earth, since the weather systems travel over a desert which sucks all the moisture out of the snow, typically leaving only light, fluffy powder behind.
A Note about the Crowds
If you stay in Park City note that PCMR and Canyons will be crowded on weekends, so plan on spending a few days riding the mountains outside of town like Brighton, Snowbird, possibly Powder Mountain or Snobasin.
Nightlife
Despite the fact that you have to jump through hoops to get a “strong” beer (i.e., a regular beer, anywhere else in the world) there is no shortage of bars that serve the devil’s nectar. Some have live entertainment and there are some brewpubs. However the apres was about as sausage-fest as it gets.
At the bars, PBR is usually cheap. At liquor stores, all regular “strong” beer is expensive. Liquor prices were not unreasonable and seemed to be the best value for the $$$.
Summing it Up
Stay in Park City if you’re traveling in mixed company or if you really want to get that “resort town” vacation experience.
The next time I go to Utah, I’ll probably take up residence in SLC, closer to the airport, an easier drive to better mountains, less expensive, and less tourist-y.
