Park City Mountain Resort

Park City Mountain Resort in Utah is the largest ski resort in the United States. As the location of an annual film festival attended by many Hollywood A-list celebrities and movie legends, the destination is also one of the most famous in the country.

The combination of such a fabled town with a modern, enormous, and well-developed ski area makes it a world-class destination. The resort offers over 7300 skiable acres (almost 3,000 hectares) of terrain covered in a whopping 348 trails, 41 lifts, and no less than 8 terrain parks with one super pipe and one mini pipe.

The long-running film festival has meant the historic former mining settlement offers a higher proportion of swanky nightclubs, elite restaurants, and edgy boutiques than your regular ski town. Park City’s upscale side, however, is more than balanced out by many affordable dining, shopping, and accommodation options along with all other regular hallmarks such as gift shops, candy stores, and American-style pubs.

The streets still retain the feel of its silver mining past, with Wild West-style wooden store frontages, old-fashioned street lamps, and precisely 64 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, most of which can be seen on Main Street. An abundance of silver veins in the mountains drew prospectors from around the world in the late 1860s and by 1884 Park City was declared a city.

At the height of the mining boom, the mountains yielded $400 million in silver creating 23 millionaires, among them the father of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. More than 1200 miles (1930 km) of disused tunnels wind through the surrounding mountains.

The modern-day town has its fair share of interesting quirks, from the only ski-in ski-out whisky distillery in North America, High West, which also makes its own vodka, and the longest zip line ride in the US.

Park City Ski Resort Mountain & Terrain

The merger of Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Ski Resort in 2014 created the largest ski area in the US with over 7,300 acres. There are two main ways to access the skiing and riding. You can stay in the historic vibrant ski town of Park City and access the skiing via the Town Lift and Park City Mountain Village, or you can stay at the quitter ski in ski out Canyons Village. The two ski areas are connected via the Quicksilver Gondola. From rolling greens, to wide open cruisers, to steep and extremely steep Park City Ski Resort, skiing and riding has something for everyone. It is so big you are going to want to spend as much time as you can exploring all that the mountain has to offer.

Lodging, Accommodation & Hotel Options

The main areas to stay in Park City are in and around Main Street, Park City Mountain Village, and Canyons Village. The Town Lift that runs from Main Street gives you lift serviced access. You can also stay in and around Main Street and there are free bus routes that service all of the main parts of town and will get you to Park City Mountain Resort and neighboring Deer Valley Resort.

The Park City Town and Mountain Village area offers ski in ski out luxury, hotels, condos, and homes. The Canyons Village offers a range of ski-in ski-out hotels, condos, and homes. Staying in Canyons Village is a lot quieter than staying in Park City, however, it’s just a 10 minute free bus, hotel shuttle or Uber ride away.

How To Get To Park City

The easiest way to get to Park City is to fly into Salt Lake City Airport (SLC). Park City Mountain Resort is located in Utah in the Wasatch Mountains about 35 minutes of highways driving from Salt Lake City Airport. Canyons Village is the first stop, or you can bypass Canyons Village and head straight to Park City.

Lift Pass Options At Park City Mountain Resort

Park City Mountain Resort offers day, multi-day and season passes for adults, teens, children, and seniors. Park City Mountain Resort is owned and operated by Vail Resorts and so you can also ski and ride Park City Mountain Resort with one of the many EPIC Pass options, which is more cost-effective than the walk up lift ticket window rate. Just be aware that because the EPIC Pass is a preseason purchase, the passes go off sale prior to the season commencing.

Snowsports & Ski School Improvement Programs at Park City Mountain Resort

Park City Mountain Resort boasts world class ski and ride school programs that will take you to the best locations and allow you to ski the ques. You can choose from adult, child, and group lessons as well as private and family private lessons. There is also a host of specialty and adaptive programs. Park City Mountain Resort produces many Olympic athletes, and having hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics is has retained many of its word class venues and training facilities.

Things To Do, Activities & Tours

The number one thing to do in Park City is to ski. The best time to ski is during the Sundance Film Festival, assuming you can find some accommodation. The reason for this is most of the town gets booked out for Hollywood to come and watch the release of the latest movies, so the slopes are at their quietest, however you will pay a premium on accommodation and everything else during that week. If you know someone and can get tickets, then going along to the Sundance Film Festival and doing some celebrity spotting and getting into the exclusive parties is an absolute must.

As you would expect there are several things to do including ice skating, snowshoeing, curling, horse-drawn sleigh ride, dog sledding, tubing, snowmobiling, fat tire biking, yoga on a paddleboard inside a geothermal crater, Utah Olympic Park, hot air balloon ride, gallery stroll, indie cinema, live music along Main Street, Park City Museum, and a Park City ghost tour.

Restaurants, Bars, and Nightlife

There are over 100 restaurants to choose from on a visit to Park City. From award-winning restaurants to high-end breweries, wineries, and distilleries, plus there is no shortage of casual and delicious breakfast and lunch spots, with bright and airy cafés and coffee shops dotting Main Street and beyond.

Shopping

When visiting Park City, you’ll find everything from handmade furniture, books, and sportswear to art collectibles and Western antiques. If quaint shops and galleries are more your style, then historic Main Street has you covered. Park City’s popular Outlets Park City has all of your brands and bargains that you can imagine.

All these factors, along with being only 35 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, continue to help the resort clock up some of the biggest visitor numbers in North America.