Looking to take a unique trip to the mountains for Spring Break we chose Park City, Utah! Since our daughter hadn’t ever seen snow, this was a big trip. We’re not skiiers, so we made plans to do other winter activities like tubing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Rolling the dice that we’d have a great trip in spite of not skiing we teamed up with another family for an exciting adventure.
Entertainment and Attractions in Park City
Although we are not skiiers, others were still skiing at Alta and the Canyons. Even the last week of March. They say the snow has been light this winter, but there’s still enough left for some last minute downhill cruising!
Gorgoza Park has tubing which is totally exhilarating. There are 7 lanes, 3 short, and 4 long ones. The short ones were fun and the long ones were incredible. With great speed, but in total control everyone enjoyed it. We arrived at 11am and chose the 2 hour ticket which provided ample time to enjoy the park. The tubing is easy to master and you can choose to go down in groups (linking your tubes) or going solo. Both ways are fun. And, going up the hill is easy to with the moving walkway and cable transport system. The Park has really perfect the experience.
Snowmobiling at Daniels Summit.
If you’re interested in snowmobiling, we had a blast at Daniels Summit. They’re at a 10,000 ft altitude, so Daniels had plenty of snow for us although we were there in late March! There are half day and whole day rentals for independent riding, but we chose a 2 hour guided tour. There was five of us on the tour and we travelled 26 miles over the two hours, sometimes on a massive path, other times on the edges of cliffs, and then other parts where we went off the path (guided by our tour director of course). We even had a period of independent riding where we could ride around a meadow like area, going over bumps and trying to push the accelerators even harder! The director was fantastic, she was clear in her instructions and training and ensured that everyone had a good time, regardless of their skill level. The scenery was majestic, mountain views, and peeking into the valleys. Daniels rents pants, boots, etc if you need supplies and has a gift shop and restaurant (check out the awesome onion rings!)
Other attractions in Park City- Utah Olympic Park.
The Olympic Museum was an unexpected treat. The setup is very modern with interesting exhibits and inexpensive simulators of downhill skiing, mountain bike riding, and more.
For various fees you can experience bobsledding/luging etc if you’re really adventurous! The museum itself is free (unless you want a guided tour), with a small fee for the simulators. In case you’re wondering, Salt Lake City was the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics and some of the outdoor events were held in Park City.
Where to stay in Park City?
As usual, there are the hotel, condo, and VRBO, options available. We chose to rent a house with another family that has plenty of bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen space and even a hot tub. When we were looking for options, there was plenty of sizable properties available on VRBO. The Salt Lake City airport is just 45 minutes from Park City. You can rent a car or take advantage of frequent transportation to/and from the airport. There’s also cabs and buses within Park City to help you get around.
Shopping on Main Street Park City.
We walked up and down Main Street. You really get a feel for a Western Pioneer town as you look at the different shops. Fyi- Park City really gained fame for its silver mines, not gold. (although some of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic events were held in Park City.) There’s a Historic Museum on the street that has affordable prices and guided tours and interesting artifacts. We found a myriad of coffee shops and ultimately settled on Riverhorse Provisions for afternoon coffee. Main Street Deli featured good food and great service.
For dinner, we ate at Grub Steakhouse which had sizable portions and was a great place for a large group. We brought in pizza from Davanza’s with no complaints. Given that we had rented a house through VRBO, we brought in groceries so we could try to eat breakfast at home (especially important for the skiers) and could cook one dinner at home (pasta, etc). For the adults, High West Distillery was a cool place to grab a couple of drinks, you really got the feeling you were sitting in a saloon during the Silver Rush!