Park City, UT Road Trips

Long before Park City became a world class mountain resort and venue for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, it was famous as a silver mining town, and boasts a lively and colorful past. Founded by prospectors in the late 1860s, Park City continued to mine silver until the early 1970s. From approximately 1850, when small settlements were forming, until the railroad lines were laid throughout the West in the 1890s, stagecoach travel was the main form of transportation. There was even a stagecoach business in Park City! William Kimball, a Park City resident, started his stagecoach business in 1858 competing with Brigham Young for United States mail contracts. He was sent to England on a Mormon church mission and when he returned, he started the Park City-Salt Lake City Route. The Kimball Brothers Stage Line operated from 1872 until 1890, when the railroad made its way into the West. Moving quicker as well as transporting more people and mail, the railroad easily put the stagecoach out of business. Between 1880 and 1920 when Park City mines were the most organized, productive and active, they produced more than 20 million tons of ore including lead, zinc, copper, silver, and a small amount of gold. These were the years of Park City's mining renaissance. The mining company, Park City Consolidated Mines, started the ski business in 1963, when they built the first lifts on what was then called Treasure Mountain. The Park City area now has two world class resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, and the Deer Valley Resort.

Alf Engen Ski Museum, 3419 Olympic Parkway (The Utah Olympic Park is accessible eastbound and westbound from I-80, about 28 miles east of downtown Salt Lake City.), ☏ +1 435 658-4228. 9AM to 6PM. The Alf Engen Ski Museum is in the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center at Utah Olympic Park, four miles north of town. It contains more than 300 trophies, medals, uniforms, scrapbooks, skis, boots, photos, films and other collectables that span some 70 years in the career of the Engen family. The museum's educational component gives school children a skiing-based foundation to study subjects such as the water cycle, physics and Utah's colorful history. Free. Kimball Art Center, 638 Park Ave, ☏ +1 435-649-8882. M-F 10AM-5PM; Sa Su noon-5PM. The Kimball Art Center is non-profit center for the arts committed to inspiring experiences through education, exhibitions and events. The Kimball Arts Festival is the signature annual event hosted in early August each summer. 1 McPolin Farm. (updated Feb 2019)

The Park City area has three world class resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and Canyons Resort. The winter offers great opportunities for skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, tubing, shopping and dining. Summer activities include hiking, mountain biking, road biking, horseback riding, golfing, shopping and dining. 1 Park City Mountain Resort, ☏ +1 435-649-8111. (updated Sep 2020), 2 Utah Olympic Park, 3419 Olympic Pkwy, ☏ +1 435-658-4200, [email protected]. 9AM-6PM. (updated Sep 2020) - in Park City Sundance Film Festival. Started in 1978, the largest American independent film festival is held every year in Park City and surrounding areas. This festival is widely recognized as the premier showcase for American and international independent film and has grown to include film culture events, panel discussions, youth programs, an online exhibition, and live music for its 45,000 yearly attendees. Kimball Arts Festival. The three-day festival offers a multi-sensory artistic experience for its 45,000 attendees, including visual-art exhibitions, live musical performances, cuisine-related activities, art-focused film screening, as well as its largest fundraising event, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival Opening Night Gala and Auction. 3 Egyptian Theatre Company, 328 Main St, ☏ +1-855-745-SHOW (7469), [email protected].

Davanzas Pizza & More, Main St. Pizza, salad and ranch. Recommended for cheap eats. Main Street Pizza & Noodle, 530 Main St, ☏ +1 435 645-8878. 11AM-midnight. This spacious pizza joint on Main Street is a hidden gem - featuring homemade fresh pasta, free drink refills, and tasty (if a bit cornflower-heavy crusted) pizza, this is a great place to go after a day on the slopes. While the pizza is what this place is known for, you'll be missing out if you don't order one of their homemade pasta dishes, like Pasta #5, homemade spaghetti with fresh basil, garlic, olive oil and tomatoes sauteed with white wine. moderate.

Wasatch Brew Pub, Main St. Great pub with restaurant attached. Reasonably priced food.

Expect hotel prices to be 2-3 times higher during ski season; shop around for bargains from June through September. During Sundance expect every hotel within thirty miles of town to be booked, so make plan far in advance. If visiting in the summer be aware that ski lodges and condo units will be operating with significantly less staff, meaning that you may be picking up your key from a lockbox rather than the front desk and may not be able to quickly resolve any problems with your room; hotels will not have this problem. Best Western Landmark Inn, 6560 N Landmark Dr, ☏ +1 435-649-7300, fax: +1 435-649-1760. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. A 100% smoke-free hotel with 106 rooms that is just off of I-80, several miles from downtown Park City. Amenities include an indoor pool and hot tub, a tiny exercise room (three pieces of equipment), free cookies, expansive lobby with fireplace, complimentary buffet breakfast, HBO, and wireless internet. The Best Western is comparable to the nearby Holiday Inn Express, and while not as nice as the pricier resort hotels it is a good value for the money with a comfy lobby and friendly staff. $50-$150. Chateau Apres Lodge, 1299 Norfolk Ave, ☏ +1 435-649-9372. Private rooms start at $100 per night, dorm-style beds start at $35 per night.. Holiday Inn Express, 1501 Ute Blvd, ☏ +1 435-658-1600, fax: +1 435-658-5059. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Like the Best Western and Newpark Hotels, the Holiday Inn Express is located just off of I-80, a few miles from the ski resorts and downtown Park City.

The Salt Lake City International Airport is just 36 miles from Park City via interstate 80. Interstate 80 runs east from Salt Lake City through Parley's Canyon into Park City. Take the Kimball Junction exit (#145) onto SR-224. Park City is also accessible from US-40 to the east from Keetley Junction on SR-248. High Valley Transit's bus 107 runs from Salt Lake Central via Utah State University to Jeremy Ranch and Kimball Junction.

Park City has a year-round free city-wide transit system. The bus routes connects historic Main Street, Kimball Junction, Prospector, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons Resort. Traveling with skis or snowboards on public transit is not a problem. Over 75% of public parking is free of charge in the historic area of Main Street. Most feasible parking is $1.50 an hour with a 3-hour time limit. There is also free parking in alley lots, China Bridge Garage Levels 1-3, and the Upper Level Gateway Garage.