Park CIty
Travel Guide
Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting Park City
Planning a trip to Utah? This Park City Travel Guide will tell you everything you need to know before traveling to this charming ski town. First and foremost, for those of you that aren’t familiar with Park City, it is a small town about 30-minutes outside of Salt Lake City. Similar to other ski towns, Park City has a quaint charm and peaceful energy about it. The entire main strip of town is in close proximity to Park City Mountain Resort, and just a short drive to some of the other best mountains in the area. As the host of the 2002 Olympics, it’s no wonder Park City is a sought after destination for skiers and snowboarders around the world. This Park City Travel Guide provides our top recommendations on things to do, places to eat and drink, where to stay & more.
Tell Me More
Labeled as the largest ski resort in the U.S., Park City is a must for skiers and snowboarders. Included as one the resorts on the Epic Ski Pass, this mountain and small town, which only has a population of 8,000, get’s a total of 600,000 tourists on average per year. What does that mean? This place is popular. Not only is it popular for winter sports, but the town itself is situated within a buzzing downtown center. Main street is lined with a numbers of restaurant’s, bars, shops, and more,
Quick Tips
HOW TO GET THERE
Park City is located just 45 minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport.
WHEN TO VISIT
The best time to visit Park City is during the peak ski months Dec-April.
TIME ZONE
The time zone in Park City, UT is Mountain Standard Time (GMT-7) or two hours behind New York CIty.
Getting There
Park City is one of the easiest mountains to get to for out of state visitors, only 45 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport. The newly renovated airport serves 26 million passengers a year, with direct flights to main cities around the world, making it extremely accessible. Once on the ground, there are a couple ways to get to Park City, including taking an Uber or Taxi, renting a car, or taking public transportation. For more recommendations on the best way to get to Park City, check out Park City Mountain Resort’s official website.
What To Expect
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Park City is known for it’s skiing and winter sports, even hosting the Winter Olympics in 2002. Because of this, we recommend visiting during the winter and peak ski season months between December and March. While these months are colder, with temperatures averaging in the low 30s and dropping to single digits by nightfall, they are best conditions for skiers and the most popular time to visit. Even if you are not a skier or snowboarder, there are a number of activities for you to enjoy, including apres skiing alongside the hundreds of tourists.
IS IT SAFE TO VISIT?
Park City Old Town is very safe! The town is small enough to walk from end to end and everyone that you pass is pretty friendly. With most restaurants and bars closing at 10PM, the town is quiet in the evenings but still feels safe to walk around at night. As females, we felt totally comfortable!
GETTING AROUND
Depending on where you are staying the best way to get around Park City is on foot or via free public transportation. The Main Street trolley runs up and down the main strip in town and the local bus runs from town to the different mountains and ski resorts. If you rent a car, make sure to take parking into consideration. There is free parking available, but the parking is limited and goes fast during peak season.
WHATTO PACK
It depends if you plan to visit in the winter or summer months. For winter, we recommend packing your ski and snowboard essentials, along with Apres Ski outfits. For summer, we recommend packing swim suits and hiking gear! One of the best parts about Park City is the shopping. The main street is lined with endless shops and boutique’s, so if you forget to pack something there are a number of places you can find what you need. That said, expect to pay a pretty penny, as Park City is known for being expensive. Some of our favorite stores include Panache (738 Main St), Mary Jane’s (613 Main St), and The Collective Park City (675 Main St).
Park City Old Town
Park’s City Old Town is filled with restaurants, shops, art galleries, performance venues and more, all of which are surrounded by ski-in and ski-out homes towering over the towns historic Main Street. This unique set up creates a uniquely close nit community and winter hot spot for seasonal visitors. Our recommendation: find an airbnb or resort within the old town so you can walk to town and ski directly to and from he mountains.
Mountain Guide
There are three world-class ski mountains in the Park City are: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain, and The Canyons at Park City Mountain. While all of the mountains offer a great experience, they are all pretty different. We break down what you can expect at each below.
DEER VALLEY RESORT
First and foremost, Deer Valley Resort is a skier only mountain, so if you are looking to snowboard, you can cross this off the list. For all the skiers, Deer Valley is considered to be the nicest of the three mountains, almost identifying as a “luxury” mountain. Not only do skiers love not having to share the runs with snowboarders, but the entire mountain is maintained to a pristine. Here you’ll find top of the line lifts and perfectly groomed powder. (Icon Pass)
PARK CITY MOUNTAIN
Park City Mountain is probably in-line with Deer Valley in terms of popularity and offers both skiing and snowboarding. Given it’s proximity to town this mountain is great for visitors who want to explore town and enjoy some apres skiing. This mountain also has the most extensive terrain park infrastructure — so if that’s your thing, this is the place for you. Outside of the terrain park, you’ll find a variety of trails, all of which boast freshly groomed powder. (Epic Pass)
THE CANYONS AT PARK CITY
The Canyons is just a few short miles outside of town and the largest ski resort in Utah. This mountain offers great runs for both snowboarders and skiers and is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Given the vast number of runs across the mountain, you can find more rugged terrain heavy with jumps mixed in with the groomed runs. Pro tip: you can start at The Canyons and make your way over to Park City Mountain if you want to get a taste of both. (Epic Pass)
Where We Stayed
We stayed in an AirBnB just steps away from Park City Old Town. If you are going with a large group, we highly recommend this! We loved our three story AirBnB, which came with a hot tub, two kitchen’s, seven bedrooms, and plenty of common space. Given how popular Park City has become for tourists over the past few years, there are a number of AirBnB’s located right in the town center, which is the perfect location for easy ski and lift access, in addition to the town shops, restaurants, and bars.
Additional Accommodations
MONTAGE DEER VALLEY
Luxury Hotel
Montage Deer Valley offers everything you could ask for in a ski hotel. Located just minutes from town and ski-in/ski-out access, you get the best of both world’s within this luxury five star spot. Rates start around $400 per night.
THE WALDORF ASTORIA PARK CITY
Luxury Hotel
Luxury five star hotel nestled in the hear of Canyons Village, just a short drive from Deer Valley and Park City Mountain. Rates start around $500 per night.
ST. REGIS DEER VALLEY
Luxury Hotel
This ski-in/ski-out five star luxury hotel has everything you could want and more, even including a private ski valet, on-site dining, and an exclusive day spa. Rates start around $500 per night.
Things To Do
SKI & SNOWBOARD
Park City has three world-class ski mountains in the Park City are: Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain, and The Canyons at Park City Mountain. Check out our overview of the mountains above to find out which is best for you.
SNOWED INN SLEIGH COMPANY
The Snowed Inn Sleigh Company offers more than just a sleigh ride. For over 30 years, Snowed Inn Sleigh Company offers a full western experience, with a horse-drawn sleigh ride up to the Snowed Inn, a cozy lodge with western-style decor and real cowboys, followed by dinner and live music. While you can opt out of dinner, we highly recommend enjoying the full experience, something that we can personally say is worth it!
POWDERBIRD HELI SKIING
Helicoper skiing may be foreign to us, but for many people, it’s one of the most exciting ways to enjoy the mountain. If you’re looking for an adventure, we recommend Powderbird Heli Skiing. For over 40 years, Powderbird has been providing the ultimate heli-skiing experience. The company has numerous positive reviews raving about the overall experience, including the guides, pilot, terrain, and more.
UTAH OLYMPIC PARK
The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics located just outside of downtown Park City. While a main park of this park is centered around the history of the 2002 olympics and all the amazing stories and achievements, there is so much more here. From bobsledding, to guided tours, winter sports, and more, this is a great place to learn about the history of Park City and have some fun.
PARK CITY MUSEUM
The Whistler Museum, centered in the heart of the village, hosts extensive exhibits, interactive activities, events, multi-media presentations and displays including a complete original gondola cabin. The on-going and one-off exhibits are centered around Whistler and it’s local history. The current exhibit is Pride & Progress: From the Grassroots Altitude to the Fearless Whistler Pride and Ski Festival.
Restaurants
Vessel Kitchen
Firewood
Yuki Yama Sushi
Five5eeds
Additional Recommendations
Park City is a must for anyone that is looking for a winter getaway. As mentioned before, this is one of the easiest mountains to get to from the airport, making it super accessible. It’s also the perfect destination for both skiers and snowboarders since Park City accommodates both Epic Passes and Ikon Passes. Even better, there are a ton of activities outside of winter sports, not to mention the gorgeous views that Utah has to offer. Overall, we highly recommend you put Park City on your bucket list. Thanks for reading our Park City Travel Guide and stay tuned for more travel guides!
