There's Lots To Do and See in Park City, Utah
Park City is well known for its three world class ski resorts. No matter where you stay in Park City, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, and The Canyons are just minutes away. All three resorts offer fantastic skiing and Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons offer snowboarding as well. Park City is mainly known for its wintertime sports but is also a great summertime destination. Park City’s high altitude location means lower temperatures than down in the valley and days full of sunshine and clear air.
There is a lot to do in the summer in Park City and the surrounding area. All three ski resorts offer lift served hiking and mountain biking. The Canyons also has a disc golf course on its slopes and Park City Mountain Resort has an alpine slide, zip line, coaster and various other outdoor amusements. Deer Valley is well known for its summer concert series. The Olympic Park has an alpine slide, zipline and of course the Olympic Bobsled Run. Rides on the bobsled run are available both in the winter and summertime. There is plenty of nature to experience in Park City. The area offers many hiking and biking trails. Bike rentals are available at all three ski resorts as well as Whitepine Touring and other sporting goods locations. If you wish to explore farther afield for hiking and biking there are many scenic drives in the local area. One is the drive up to Empire Pass at the top of Deer Valley. You can take either the scenic back way into Midway or continue on up the dirt road to Guardsman’s Pass (only open in the summer and early fall). There are several trails on Guardsman’s Pass including the ridgeline which offers fantastic views. Continue driving down the other side of the pass leads into Big Cottonwood Canyon. Both Brighton and Solitude ski resorts are located in Big Cottonwood Canyon as well as Silver Lake which is an easy summer hike and fishing area and in the winter is part of Solitudes Nordic Center’s cross-country ski trails. Solitude Ski resort offers an 18 hole disc golf course on their slopes for summer fun. Another great drive is State Route 150, (locally known as Mirror Lake Highway) through the Uinta Mountains. There are numerous lakes located along the highway for hiking or fishing. The Provo Falls makes a great place to stop and explore.
For golfers Park City and the surrounding areas offer both public and private courses. Park City’s public course is conveniently located right in town. There are other public courses located within about a 20-30 minute drive. Midway offers two Wasatch State Park golf courses, Wasatch Mountain and Soldier Hollow. Each place offers two 18 hole championship golf courses with spectacular views. Homestead Resort also offers an eighteen hole course open to the public in Midway. Located off of I-80 on the way to Park City you will find Mountain Dell, a Salt Lake City Public golf course with both an 18 hole Mountain and an 18 hole Lake course.
If you prefer water activities, The Jordanelle State Reservoir and State Park are just southeast of town on Interstate 40. The Jordanelle State Park offers camping, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, biking, and other water sports. If you prefer fly-fishing, the Weber and Provo rivers are minutes away offering plenty of fly-fishing opportunities for the angler. There are several outfitters in town that offer equipment, guides and lessons.
While these are all great activities for young and old alike, Park City also offers organized programs for kids and adults. Some of the kid oriented programs include summer camp at both Deer Valley and The Canyons resorts. The Olympic Park offers an Olympic Legacy Camp which allows children to try out 10 different Olympic sports. Park City offers several camp options including Summer, Tennis, Skate, and Adventure Camps along with a Dirt Jump Clinic (for mountain biking). The city also offers swim lessons. The Basin Recreation Center has various programs for local youth from Basketball, Baseball, Football, Soccer, Camp and others.
These are just a few of the many opportunities available for children of all ages in the Park City area and some of the reasons Park City is fast becoming a year round destination and not just a winter playground. Please check out the individual ski resorts as well as Park City and The Basin Recreation Center websites for full list of summertime activities and come join in the fun. |