jrscribbler

Hello everyone -

Going with a small group to Park City during President's Day week. We'll have four days for skiing and are trying to figure out the best way to divide our time between the three resorts: Park City Mountain, Deer Valley and the Canyons.

Is it crazy to think we can get the most out of all three mountains in 4 days? Do you recommend any of the three in particular for spending extra time? Any major differences in terrain, difficulty, etc. among them? Which do you prefer and how would you parcel out your four days? Thanks!

jr

lisettemac

Here's my take on the 3 resorts:

1. DV -- the most luxurious. They limit the number of skiiers per day so the lift lines are short. Great food on mountain. A good ski school. Good groomed blues. Don't know much about the expert terrain. They don't allow snowboarders.

2. PCMR -- good groomed blues and greens. A good all-around resort. Sometimes more crowded than DV, but never terribly so. Snowboarders allowed.

3. Canyons -- my group didn't like it as much. More difficult terrain -- the blues were harder than at DV and PCMR. Our opinion might have been affected by the poor weather the day we skiied there. Still a pretty resort, though.

suffrock

We just got back from Park City last night. We skiied 4 days @ Deer Valley, 2 @ Park City, and 1 @ Canyons. Did not care for Canyons at all (very icy, and the runs tend to funnel everyone into narrow runs that got very congested). Since President's Day week is considered a high week, I would definitely recommend Deer Valley for you. While we were there, lift tickets sold out by 9:30 in the mornings (they limit tickets to 7,000/day), so buy them in advance (very easy to do, and you'll have the peace of mind of knowing you'll get in). We heard Park City had 17,000 skiiers on New Year's Eve, so you can imagine the crowds there. We liked Park City as a resort, but since they don't limit tickets there it can get very crowded and the lift lines can be insane on peak capacity days. From a technical standpoint, Canyons is tougher (higher percentage of blues & blacks). PC & DV seemed pretty equal--both offer comparable skiing at all levels. For what it's worth, I thought the runs at DV were much prettier to ski.

Ronda

How do you buy advance tickets for Deer Valley? Thanks.

lacohn

We have gone to Park City for years, and we stay at Deer Valley every time. The ski lodges are wonderful, the food outstanding (especially the cookies!!), and there are no snowboarders to knock you down. They even brush off the lift seats before you sit down so there's no snow on there, and fresh tissues at the bottom of every lift in case you have a sniffle. We stayed at The Lodges, which was an apartment with a kitchen near the base lodge. It is beautiful! Breakfast was included--it was perfect for our family of four. And don't miss out on the Seafood Buffet at the Deer Valley Resort. Yum! Have fun!

suffrock

You can get Deer Valley lift tickets ahead of time by faxing this form to them (hopefully the link will work for you):

http://www.deervalley.com/skiing/lif...order-form.jsp

They'll fax back a confirmation, which you'll take to the ticket counter when you arrive. You can also get daily lift tickets in advance at Deer Valley from 3:00 the afternoon before at the ticket counter, rental office, ski school, etc. Additionally, there's an automated machine open 24 hours at the ticket counter.

Ronda

Thank you very much for the detailed information; it's very helpful. I will check out the link right now.