Park City (Winter)

Park City is a little different than the rest of Utah, and it's always been that way. It was founded by miners rather than religious seekers, and it's easy to imagine the Main Street gulch lined with Old West bars and brothels. Nowadays, Main Street is still a reliable place to get a drink, but it's an even better place to get a facial, shop for Western-style furnishings for a ski house, or look at pictures of local real estate. And after a few days skiing or boarding at PC, you may be tempted to step inside one of those realty offices. Skiers can choose between the wide open spaces at The Canyons Resort, the convenience of Park City ...

Park City is a little different than the rest of Utah, and it's always been that way. It was founded by miners rather than religious seekers, and it's easy to imagine the Main Street gulch lined with Old West bars and brothels. Nowadays, Main Street is still a reliable place to get a drink, but it's an even better place to get a facial, shop for Western-style furnishings for a ski house, or look at pictures of local real estate. And after a few days skiing or boarding at PC, you may be tempted to step inside one of those realty offices. Skiers can choose between the wide open spaces at The Canyons Resort, the convenience of Park City Mountain Resort, and the luxe groomed trails at Deer Valley. Snowboards are forbidden at Deer Valley, but Park City (host of the 2002 Winter Olympics' snowboarding events) and The Canyons more than make up for it. Truly adventurous backcountry skiers can do the "Interconnect" and, starting from Park City, head over the pass to Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Brighton and Solitude ski areas, then across more out-of-bounds slopes to Little Cottonwood Canyon's Alta and Snowbird.

About the Expert

Judy Jewell and W.C. McRae are frequent collaborators: together they have written Moon Handbooks to Montana, Utah, and Zion-Bryce and updated the Moon Handbooks to Oregon and Coastal Oregon. Judy wrote the Compass American Guide to Oregon.