About

I was in Park City twice during 2022, once in the fall and once in the winter. Both times, I had a wonderful time. It’s a great city, lots to do from a shopping perspective and outdoor lifestyle perspective. Cute coffee shops and great food options as well. The people are nice, and like any mountain town, they are into getting outside and often tell great stories about their adventures. It’s a truly beautiful place. The town also has this cute like “Chic Old Western” town vibe about it… especially, its well-known whiskey distillery, High West.

How to get there

Fly into Salt Lake City and rent an SUV or grab an Uber to your destination in Park City — it’s about an hour away, but traffic can get really bad during ski season, so play to fly in early or late so you don’t end up losing a few hours to sitting around. Note: during my fall trip to Park City, a few of us had to fly out somewhat late at night or early in the morning during the work week and we struggled to get Ubers and ended up calling cabs or having someone from our group wake up early to take us to the airport. For what its worth, it may be worth getting a rental car for this trip if you’re traveling outside of peak ski season.

Know before you go

It’s going to be a pricey vacation. Park City is fantastic, but it’s also a town that is ON the mountain you ski on. I’m not joking, there is literally a chairlift that goes over a coffee shop and bar in downtown Park City, so you’re paying for the amenity of basically the entire town being ski-in, ski-out. The charm of this though, is pretty iconic. Apres is basically an entire city of skiers and snowboarders doing the ‘shuffle’ about town with their gear still on or in tow. That said, the places in town that are destinations do get really backed up. As an example, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that you waited in line for 45 mins at High West Distillery, one of the coolest places to eat and drink in Park City, just to get a drink at their outdoor (makeshift) bar. So, be wise and make a plan for when you are in town, so you can get a few reservations on the books for the nights you want to go out.

Oh! There’s also a few ski spots in the area, Park City, Deer Valley, and Snowbird. Each offer different things. For the sake of this article, I am focusing on Park City, as that’s where I snowboarded most recently. Deer Valley is for skiers only, so boarders, beware! Snowbird is great, I skied there a few years back, but again, for the sake of this article, I’m sticking to Park City.

Eat

Coffee/Breakfast — Atticus has incredible coffee, a wonderful tea selection, and its right downtown. Land Juicery is super cute and the juice is amazing, also on Main Street downtown. Protein Foundry is so pretty, gets busy, but the Acai bowls are * chefs kiss *.
Lunch — Have lunch at the base of the mountain. There are a few different restaurants, we spent most of our time at Legends which has live music, a wonderful wait staff, and really delivers on that mountain-air-unpretentious-excellence you’ve come to crave when you are on a ski vacation. Sit for hours, hold down the table for your crew, scream sing along with the band. You can do it all here. If you are opting for a spa day at the St Regis instead of a day at the mountain, head to Brasserie 7452 where you can get this incredible Ahi Tuna Salad and a glass of sparkling rosé to go with it. I sat at this place for a few hours when I arrived to Park City ahead of my group and our Airbnb wasn’t ready for us to check into yet.
Dinner — Definitely check out High West Distillery is iconic, and for fans of whiskey cocktails (me and my hubs), it’s definitely worth a trip. I’ve had their fish n chips, burger, trout, mac n cheese, and OMG their donuts for dessert. Put in all the calories you burned off skiing. We had a lot of fun at Tekila as well, they were able to accommodate a large group of us with late notice. One more idea, while I was there with a group of coworkers, we actually hired a personal chef to come and cook for us at our Airbnb, it was such a great experience that I thought I’d mention it here! Like I said, it can be hard to get a reservation during peak season, so why not bring the deliciousness to you?!? If you like this idea, here’s a good place to start.
Drinks — The St Regis is a vibe (though its technically Deer Valley, I think it’s worth the Uber)! I missed this, but apparently on a nightly basis they sabor open champagne, so you bet your bum I’ll be headed back for this! One of the things I love most about this place is that when you arrive, you get dropped off down the mountain and in order to get up to the hotel and restaurants, you have to take a tram, it’s such a fun experience and such an ode to the magnificence of mother nature and the slow, cozy, luxury-vibes they want you to be transported away to when you stay there.

Stay

I have actually only ever stayed with friends or in an Airbnb when traveling to this area, so that’s probably what I’d recommend as a start. However, if I were planning a trip for me and a friend or me and Ronnie and we wanted to stay in a hotel… Again, this all depends on where you want to ski/snowboard, these are going to be on the Park City side of town.

Bougee — The Pendry (they have a spa!)
Not as bougee — Yotelpad
Downtown location, location, location — Marriott Summit Watch, both times I went in 2022, we stayed right in the heart of downtown, and to be honest, this was my favorite, so I think this is where I would book for Ronnie and I if we went back and it was just the two of us.

Workout

I don’t think you’re going to need to pay for a workout in a fitness studio in this town, but in case you want to warm up and stretch it out with a yoga sesh, head to The Shop Yoga Studio for all levels vinyasas and if you’re lucky, they may have a sound bath going while you are in town as well.

Play

Ski — I feel like the main attraction here is the skiing whether that’s Park City Mountain, Snowbird or Deer Valley. One thing I think could be cool (for skiers) is to actually spend a day skiing each of these on one single vacation. Perhaps when Charlie (our daughter) is older, this could be fun for her…
Snowmobile — Rent a snowmobile or book a tour and hit the trails. The backdrops are stunning and you might even see some wildlife, Powder Utah is where I went.
Fly Fish — Local Waters is a fly-fishing outfitter and guide in the area. When I went fly fishing out here, I went with a friend, who happened to be part of a women’s fly fishing meetup group that connected via Facebook, so the ladies literally brought me everything I needed from waders, to fishing rod and tackle. Wading in a stream, surrounded by snowcapped mountains, listening to the sounds of birds chirping, river running, and wind-blowing? Nothing better! Bonus…. you might even catch dinner. (I didn’t, but hey, you might!)
Mountain Biking — There are tons of Mountain Biking outfitters in town, but we rented through Park City Bike Demos and made our own adventure of it. Again, I was there with a friend, who knew what she was doing, but here’s a good review of some trails you might consider.
Hiking — The hiking here is glorious, one day we walked out the front door of our airbnb and just hiked along the chairlift that runs right into downtown, another day we hiked up to Blood’s Lake, this was a great hike for all levels, you’ll get in a workout if you are more intermediate/advanced, but you can take a beginner with you, without gassing them on the trail. Check out All Trails for more goodness.
Shop til you drop! There are SO many cute shops on Main Street. Start at the Burton store on the north side of town (essentially Main and 9th and then head north up Main Street jutting over to Park Ave and Woodside Ave here and there as different stores spark your curiosity.
Spa Day — I did my spa day at the St Regis, as I also wanted to have that Ahi Tuna Salad and a glass of sparkling rose after, but the Pendry Hotel also has a spa that I thought was worth checking out. Honestly, it’s a pretty bougee area, so you probably can’t go wrong at any five star resort spa. You could also consider something less bougee and head to Alpen and Hyde for a boutique spa experience (they have massage, facials, etc).

A Dream Day

If I was really trying to pack it in for a day in Park City, here’s what I would do…

Wake up at the Marriott Summit Watch Hotel and walk over to Atticus to grab a hot tea or coffee. They have an almond cinnamon tea that I’ve been craving since I left town. Less than two blocks away is Protein Foundry, so I’d walk over there to grab an Acai Bowl or Avo Toast. Then I’d grab an Uber (or take a nice long walk) would head up to the St Regis Deer Valley for my spa day, treating myself to a massage, maybe a facial, but definitely a luxuriously slow morning journaling in their stunning, mountain-scaped spa space, followed by a long hot tub session in the spa, and finally a steamy shower. I’d leave the spa for an early lunch and grab an Ahi Tuna Salad and glass of sparkling rosé, while sitting fire-side on the outdoor terrace at Brasserie 7452. After lunch, I’d go for an adventure — if it’s ski season, I am headed up the mountain or to go snowmobiliing, if it’s fall, I’m headed for a hike or fly fishing adventure, if it’s spring or summer, I’m headed for a hike or mountain biking adventure. On my way back to the hotel from my adventure of choice, I’m going shopping on Main Street. There are a few cute home goods stores, boutique fashion stores, and a candle store that I won’t miss. Then, I am showering up to go have dinner and drinks at High West Saloon. I’ll be here as long as my crew will let me stay, eating, drinking, and being merry! Before I leave, I’m checking out their gift shop to grab a few bottles of whiskey to bring home. Fingers crossed they have “Campfire”. Then, I’m taking my crew over to No Name Saloon for some good times, pickleback shots, and to talk to strangers who love the great outdoors as much as we do! After all this, I’m headed home, exhausted, and laying my head to rest knowing that I had one hell of a day in Park City!

Summary

If you go to Park City, I hope you’ll enjoy your trip! It’s a great place, great people, and a lot of memories to be made and shared. You’ll have to let me know if you go for the saboring of a champagne bottle at the St Regis… I’d be very jealous! Have fun.

Park City, Utah