Park City Utah is Our Next Destination

July 12, 2012 - Rick

… and it is not for skiing, but a break from the heat. At 7,000 feet in August it has to be better than this furnace called South Carolina. This northern boy is making it, but the pattern of life has shifted. Up early in the morning and run errands then. Back out in the evening, but mid-day is siesta time for me. I can deal with the heat but the humidity seems to on the rise and that is where I struggle.

Several years ago I bought a timeshare at the Marriott Grande Ocean right down the street from us here on Hilton Head. I paid the massive amount of $1,000 and have the annual maintenance fee reoccurring each of about $1,200. It works good for us as locals we are allowed to use the facilities year round. Katy uses the gym, while Shannon plans on taking Carter there for days when they are here. For Katy to join a gym on the island would be about $500 per year so I look at my net cost as about $700 after her gym membership.

Park City Utah has two properties in the Marriott Vacation Club; Mountainside and Summit Watch. Being The Frugal Guy I traded in my Hilton Head week for Marriott Vacation club points (I don’t need the timeshare dates of January on Hilton Head), but like the idea of swapping the time out for one of their other 50 properties in the program. I got us a studio at Mountain side for nothing in August and we’ll enjoy the cool, we hope, mountain air without cost as it was an even swap for us.

Flights are purchased outbound and I screwed up by not reading the AA flight info. I wanted to use my $200 AA airline credit from my new Mercedes Benz Platinum card, but could not as the last segment was on Frontier. I actually paid out of pocket. I had already booked the room and return on United so I was stuck at that point. At least we have an upgrade chance now on the Dallas to Denver portion.

I know very little about Park City other than it hosts the Sundance Film Festival, the photos look like my hometown Traverse City, Michigan and I remember a reader several years ago telling me if I ever made it to Park City, he’ll take me trout fishing. Hello, I hope you are reading today as I’m finally gonna make it.

I’m looking for reader tips and suggestions for a Park City in August, thank you all.

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Jgrace21

Hey Rick, I visited Park City for the first time in January to do some skiing. I definitely recommend eating at The Farm (
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-farm-park-city-2). It’s a restaurant in the Canyons resort. The resort itself is pretty cool to walk around.
Pkerr

Try a chair lift ride. Once up you can do some hiking. It’s pretty much all down hill from there. Or you can ride back down.
http://www.allparkcity.com/summer_recreation/chairlift_gondola_rides.php
Chemist661

My wife & I were just there this past weekend. My wife loved the store that had various kinds of Olive Oil. She was like a kid in a candy store. We did quite a lot of shopping in the Outlet stores by the Interstate and also in the town. My wife & I would love to visit again.

Salt Lake City was around 95-100 degrees and Park City was in the low 80′s in the midday. With the dry heat, it was quite nice.

The downtown is quite historical and very nice. There are so many eating places and shops.

Our trip (from Los Angeles) took only 9K Avios miles each (18K miles for the two of us), our car rental was not too expensive due to coupons & we did the Carlson promo by staying in the SLC DT Radisson.

Enjoy Park City!!
Lea

Definitely visit the Utah Olympic Park. There’s a museum with lots of stuff from the 2002 Games. You can also take a facility tour which is fun. You’ll get to stand at the top of the ski jump hill (those jumpers are crazy!) and visit the luge start house. Even in the summer you can take a bobsled ride (they provide the driver), though it’s quite pricey. If the athletes are in-house you can watch the aerialists practice their flips & turns in the splash pool.

The US Ski Team also has its new Center of Excellence located in PC. I’d call to check but you might be able to take a facility tour and meet some of the athletes.

The Park City and Deer Valley resorts have a lot of activities as well and some great on-mountain dining.
http://www.parkcitymountain.com/summer
http://www.deervalley.com/

I love just wandering the streets of PC. Lots of little shops and restaurants. While it doesn’t have the elevation of the Rockies, you are still at around 7000 ft, much higher than SC! There’s a nice free bus system too, so you don’t always have to take the car out.

The PC area was touched by wildfires recently and I don’t know what impact that may have had to local businesses.

I’ve never been there in the summer but hope to visit one day.!
Marc W, JFK

There is currently great availability from NY to London in Business Class at an astounding $1500 roundtrip for Thanksgiving on many airlines including Delta and Virgin Atlantic nonstop, and on Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, Brussels Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, and more, with connections at their hubs.

What a great way to spend time with the family and go in class at a great rate!
Chris D. – BHM

The main road in Park City that has the crisscrossing lights is a great place to wander down as you check out the shops. Just remember that when you reach the bottom you probably have to hike back up. Plan accordingly. :)
thrashsoundly

Park City has actually been in the 90s the last few days, but as that isn’t the norm, you should get cooler temps when you get here. If you are looking for some fun, you may be interested in some of the ski resorts’ summer activities like alpine slides, etc. There’s tons to do in the area – if you like the outdoors.
Lawrence

Do the bobsled ride. I did it in the winter and it was amazing! We had the driver that trained the Jamaican team. It was a lot, but well worth it.
http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/ Frugal Travel Guy

Thanks Guys for the tips and suggestions. We are looking forward to exploring a new location and it sounds like we will be meeting some other travel hackers from the area as well
Codywhipp1

In addition to the big bobsled ride, you can do the smaller stuff like the alpine slide, ziplines, ropes courses, etc.
http://osnews.com David Adams

I live in Park City, and I love your blog, so I hope you have a great time. Feel free to contact me if you’d like some more in-depth recommendations, but I can second some of the ideas from other readers:
The Utah Olympic Park has a great free museum, and many ride attractions like zip lines and alpine slides, but the big kahuna is the bobsled ride which is expensive, but an amazing experience.

I’d also recommend taking the drive over to Sundance Resort. The mountains are more scenic over there. Eat at one of the restaurants (I like the Foundary Grill) and if you’re a hiker, hike to Stewart Falls. The nearby “Alpine Loop” mountain road takes you up and over a high, scenic pass, and over to Timponogos Caves National Monument and the beautiful American Fork Canyon. If you’re adventurous, you can take the back road (partially dirt) between Park City and Sundance and stop at Cascade Springs on the way.

Shopping on Main Street is fun, and the restaurants are expensive but good. Talisker on Main, as someone else recommended, is a favorite. I’m a huge fan of the High West Distillery. Creative cocktails, and great (boozy) food. I’m also a big fan of The Farm. Pro tip: buy a copy of Park City’s newspaper, the Park Record, both for an events listing (there are many free concerts and festivals in the summer) and for the numerous 2 for1 coupons for expensive Main Street restaurants.

If you have any cycling ability, Park City is renowned for its vast network of bike trails. It was named the world’s first “gold-level ride center” by IMBA. Even if you’re not a mountain biker, there are many flat trails, including the old Union Pacific rail trail. Rent a bike at one of the many bike shops and ask for recommendations on where to ride.

Contrary to the previous commenter, the Guardsman Pass does not take you to Sundance resort. It will take you up and over to Big Cottonwood Canyon, the home of Brighton Ski Resort. That’s another good day trip. In particular, to a hike around Silver Lake.

Another great day trip: Mirror Lake Highway to Provo River Falls and Mirror Lake.

Taking a scenic lift or gondola ride will get you up high so you can hike around.

In short, best kind of things to do in Park City and environs: Hikes, biking, shopping, great restaurants, scenic day road trips, and enjoying the fantastic summer weather.

Park City Utah is Our Next Destination

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