RookieDiana

My new ski gear arrived recently and I'm ready to give myself a break after Christmas - which is better for snowboarding, Park City or Vail Town? (I'm a snowboarding rookie)

tomfuller

Hi. Welcome to Fodors! What is the new gear? It is rather difficult to travel for long distances with a snowboard. I've never been to Park City or Vail but I do know some good places to learn in Oregon. My favorite is Mt. Bachelor with Bend Oregon as a base. Others include Timberline and HooDoo. Are you planning on flying to SLC or Denver for your snowboarding adventure? Be prepared for brutally cold temps. Today Denver did not get above zero degrees F. Wind chills on a ski mountain will be subzero for sure.
Tomorrow I plan to put on my snowshoes for the first time this season and break a trail for my wife to follow around the house with her new snowshoes.

Jean

Park City is easier to get to. The bus from the SLC airport to PC takes less than 90 minutes. Vail is closer to Eagle Airport than Denver. Air fares to Eagle won't be cheap, and depending on where you live there might not be direct flights. The bus from Denver to Vail takes twice as long as the SLC-PC bus, and the bus from Eagle to Vail takes about an hour. For Vail (and probably PC as well), you can book a shared shuttle. Drive times for bus and shuttle vans can be impacted by weather.

Depending on your budget, you will probably find more reasonable lodging rates in PC. Vail is expensive. Don't just look at lodging in Vail Village. Expand your search to anything accessible to the town bus (free). If you're talking about going next week, you may not find much lodging to choose from in either place.

"Better" for snowboarding depends on snow conditions, weather, and to some extent your skill level. I know the snowboarding park at Vail is huge. I'm not familiar with Park City enough to comment on snowboard terrain. As of today, PC has more snow than Vail. Snow is in the forecast for both in the coming week, and both will have days warm enough for wet snow.

https://www.parkcitymountain.com/the...er-report.aspx

https://www.vail.com/the-mountain/mo...er-report.aspx

Gretchen

You might consider Copper Mountain in Colorado . The terrain is well divided between beginner, intermediate and expert. . Take a day or more of lessons and your ability will rise exponentially. our Denver family loves it there.

natalii

Personally, I have been going to Park City for many years. I like this place because of location. It's easy to get here. Have a good trip!

RookieDiana

Thanks, I've decided to head to Park City, and although Boston is a much longer flight to Salt Lake City, I can still have a week after the skiing is done for a short trip to California, so I hope you have a perfect skiing experience this winter!

RookieDiana

I'm sure I've already experienced a cold winter in Boston, hopefully I'll be able to make it to most ski resorts within 5 years! I hope you and your wife have a perfect skiing experience this winter!

RookieDiana

Thanks for the info, I looked up Vail related info myself last night (a bit out of my budget and I was hoping for a short trip after skiing) so I opted for Park City, closer to California to see the west coast in the winter then, lol

RookieDiana

Yes, I have chosen Park City and hope to have a great skiing experience then, have you already done Park City this year?