Park City, Utah

Park City, Utah, has been in the spotlight for multiple reasons since it was founded in 1869 as a hardscrabble mining town. It boomed after 1880 when the first transcontinental railroad made it possible to transport its silver and lead to wider markets. After a mining bust, Park City developed a ski resort, became a training ground for Olympians, and was selected as an Olympic competition venue. Now it hosts the famous Sundance Film Festival and is a luxury ski destination.

The first ski resort in Park City, Treasure Mountain, opened in 1963. It utilized a mine train to transport skiers two and a half miles into the mountain via the Spiro Tunnel, then moved them back up to the surface on the mining elevator. Arial trams that once hauled ore were converted into chairlifts.

The dark interior of the mountain is still riddled with mine shafts and tunnels, but Treasure Mountain—now known as Park City Mountain Resort—has come a long way since its early days. It claims to be the largest such facility in North America with 7,300 skiable acres of lift-accessed terrain, offering 40 lifts and seven terrain parks. With this much acreage, two base areas are necessary: Park City on the south end and Canyons Village on the north. Gondolas and easy-to-intermediate ski routes that span five miles connect these bases.

Canyons Village would make an excellent base camp for your ski vacation. A handful of luxury hotels are in this area, including the Waldorf Astoria and the new Pendry Park City from the Montage city collection. Compass Sports functions as Pendry Park City’s recreation department and offers ski valet services. 

From most parts of Canyons Village, it’s a short walk, even in ski or snowboard boots, to the Red Pine Gondola. Take this to Red Pine Lodge, which can serve as your family’s meetup location and lunch spot. For a family-friendly or beginner experience, take the High Meadow Express to High Meadow Park and the Mellow Moose ski run. This area is designed just for beginning skiers and is the home of a ski and snowboard school. Ski resort ambassadors, wearing yellow coats, are there to help you. Skilled skiers can take the Saddleback Express to the next drop-off point and ride blue or black runs back to the Red Pine base area.

The Super Condor Express serves black-diamond and double-black-diamond runs for advanced skiers from the same base area. From the top of the lift, hike to the Murdoch Bowl and take your choice of seven double-black-diamond routes. You’ll be able to reconnect with your family at the bottom. You can hire a mountain guide through the resort who can move you to the front of the lift lines and educate you about the vast terrain of this mountain.

When you’re finished skiing, the professionals at Compass Sports will help you get the ski boots off the kids, supply your shoes, and put ski and snowboard boots on the dryers so they’re ready for the next day. They’ll also handle all your equipment; just leave it on the racks outside. 

Canyons Village Dining

Canyons Village isn’t the place for shopping or for walking a crowded avenue. It’s a quiet spot to rest after a long day of making perfect turns or to watch little ones master the “French fries, pizza” maneuver. It’s ideal for families with tired children or guests who want to relax over dinner and drinks. There’s no need to dress up and drag tired bodies across town.

The dining options are excellent. Your most casual choices are in-hotel bar-side eateries like Apres Pendry. It has an après-ski feel, with couches and low tables near a fireplace by the bar. Dinners might include a silver dish of oysters on the half shell. Plates of steak frites are New York strips, cast-iron seared, and cooked exactly to order. These dishes come from the kitchen of Kita, the hotel’s Japanese-style grill.

Other restaurant options in Canyons Village include Dos Olas, another casual spot with kids’ options, which offers tacos and tequila as well as an elevated menu thanks to French-trained chef Carlos Segura. Segura was taught “the French way,” as he puts it, but a mentor suggested he focus on foods from his native Mexico. To that end, he uses family recipes handed down from his grandmother. His carnitas have notes of cinnamon, orange, and clove, which blend perfectly with the expected cilantro. He has family in the western Mexico state of Michoacan, which is why you’ll find popsicles—paletas in Spanish—on the dessert menu. Few things are as fun as enjoying a homemade strawberry paleta in a cozy restaurant while snow falls gently outside.

After dinner, you might want to lounge on the hotel patio around a glowing fire and make s’mores under the stars.

From Canyons Village, you can take a series of gondolas to easy-to-intermediate ski routes all the way to the Park City side of the resort. (Shuttle and bus service are also available.) Make your way to Summit House, a traditional American restaurant at 9,350 feet. This is the drop-off point of three lifts and the base of several more. From here, you can ski up to Jupiter Peak for chutes and serious bowls or down into Park City proper. Snowboarders are welcome all over the mountain, but the concentration of terrain parks is on this side. Hay Meadow Park is another great area for families. 

Don’t Miss Downtown

Park City has been lucky to be able to preserve much of the original false-front architecture from its Wild West days, and colored clay-brick pavers in the walkways enhance the town’s authentic feel. The old-fashioned, steeply sloping Main Street is all about art galleries, shopping, drinks, and dining.

Perhaps owing to the spectacular scenery, Utah is home to many artists. At Trove Gallery, which specializes in Utah artists, look for paintings from established powerhouses like Ben Steele and David Dornan. Up-and-comers Anne Kaferle and C.J. Hales are also worth noting. At Coda Gallery, consider sculptures by Silvia Davis or realist paintings by Wendy Chidester.

As for shopping, three galleries feature leather, fur, and Western wear. At Norsk Leather and Fur, owner Paul Zembruski is renowned for being able to match shoppers with the most flattering items, suited just to them. Jewelers include O.C. Tanner behind an iconic Rolex street clock. Park City Jewelers is worth a stop for its signature collection of mountain jewelry featuring snowflakes, skiers, and diamond-studded silhouettes of the local peaks.

For years, Utah’s strict liquor laws stymied alcohol production, but now the state is witnessing an explosion of craft distilling and brewing. Stop by High West Distillery and Saloon and ask for its barrel-finished Manhattan. Or visit the famed Riverhorse on Main restaurant and order the sweet Snow Angel Russian kümmel cordial by Waterpocket Fold with flavors of caraway, green anise, fennel, coriander, and peppermint.

The best resort hotels will pick you up in a private shuttle, and their pickup spot is just 500 feet from Alpine Distillery’s Social Aid and Pleasure Club, making this the perfect place to wait for your ride. Here, owners Rob and Sara Sergent craft botanical spirits they call adventurous, innovative, and authentic. Sara is a highly decorated botanical distiller who has crafted proprietary spirits for Stein Eriksen Lodge, St. Regis Deer Valley, Auberge Properties, and Capital One. Try the Old Fashioned with Utah Straight Bourbon, Demerara syrup, bitters, and the incomparable Luxardo cherries.

More to Do

When Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Olympic Games, Utah Olympic Park was built for ski jumping, luge, and skeleton races. Today, you can take a high-speed ride on the Olympic Winter Games Sliding Track with a professional pilot. At certain times of the year, IBSF North America’s Cup bobsled and skeleton races are held here.

If ski history is more your thing, visit the Alf Engen Ski Museum to learn all about the one and only Alf, who along with his brothers brought skiing to Utah from Norway. At the museum, ride a simulated ski lift and fly through the air with virtual ski jumping.

If you want to explore more of Utah while you’re in Park City, call Compass Sports and arrange a day trip to southern Utah through the Montage expeditions program. These trips leave Heber Valley Airport at 8 a.m. and arrive back in time for dinner.

Most expeditions utilize a Pilatus PC12 and fly into paved airstrips near breathtaking spots like Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands, Escalante, and Bryce Canyon. You can book a custom-designed adventure expedition that uses bush airplanes from Redtail Air to transport you to backcountry destinations.

Finally, there’s the Sundance Film Festival at the end of December. This has become one of the premier film festivals in the world, having screened over 1,800 films to date.

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Bianca Dumas is a Utah-based freelance writer. For the story, she received complimentary accommodations and services from the Park City Chamber of Commerce and the Pendry Hotel.

TRAVELER FAST FACTS

What It Is: Park City is about 30 miles east of Salt Lake City. A silver-mining town that never lost its Wild West charm, it is now known for its steep Main Street, flat-front Western buildings, and the soaring peaks of the Wasatch Range. High-end shopping, galleries, award-winning food, and the Sundance Film Festival have made this little town to a popular destination.

Climate: With 320 days of sunshine annually and Utah’s famous powder snow, it’s common to ski here under bluebird skies and moderate winter temperatures. Park City is part of a high-altitude desert called the Great Basin, so rainy days aren’t common.

Getting There: Heber Valley Airport: Russ McDonald Field is a 20-minute drive from town. its runways can handle business jets up to the size of a Gulfstream G650 and Bombardier Global Express. Car services are abundant.

What to Know Before You Go: This is a place to see and be seen, so furs and jewelry aren’t out of place. However, casual dress is also fine in most situations.