Kay2

We are making our first short visit to the Park City area the first week of March and trying to decide where to stay and understand the transportation.

We've been spoiled with some offpeak stays at Keystone and Steamboat where we could get cheap lodging that was only a block walk to the lifts. Hubby doesn't want to ride shuttle bus too much with equipment and I'm sure he'll rent a car for convenience. But we can't afford $200 per night.

So, I'm trying to decide whether to rent near PC base (or town lift) and drive to DV or stay in Red Pine condo at Canyone across street from people mover and again drive to DV and/or PC some.

What is the town lift on Main Street in Park CIty--a chair lift? And I keep reading mention of convenient to bridge--what bridge? Any cheap/moderate lodging you'd recommend in these areas? I've found Chateau Apres Motel (haven't checked availability) and Treasure Mountain Inn.

I can't find details on the base at DV. If we drive to DV--how hard is parking and how expensive? Walk or shuttle from there?

If we stay at Canyons (Red Pine or Hidden Creek Townhouse), I understand the shuttle only runs to PC until 5pm, so we would best drive--again how convenient is shuttle drop off from Canyons at the other two resorts, or parking at PC resort if we drive from Canyons?

Thanks for your help. The first time is always so difficult.

jenknyc

I've been to the Park City area 4 times in the last 3 years - really love it and I hope you enjoy it too. 3 of the 4 times we stayed in town and the 4th time I stayed at the Red Pines at the Canyons. I wouldn't recommend staying at the Red Pines if convenience is one of your main considerations since, as you mention, the shuttles don't run as often or as many hours from there. If you are only skiing the Canyons and not planning to go out much in the evening then Red Pines is fine but if you want to ski the various mountains and enjoy the great restaurants in town then consider staying elsewhere.

We found staying in town to be very convenient since the free bus/shuttle system is great and then you are in walking distance to dinner and other evening activities and don't have to worry about cabs or driving and parking (which can be a pain on weekend evenings). Though on 2 occasions we stayed near the town lift (a chairlift) we never used it - don't remember why exactly. From town, we skied all 3 mountains easily - not more than 10 minutes on the shuttle to any of them and then you don't have to worry about parking (Which, is free if I recall correcly at all mountains but, depending on how crowded they are may involve a walk or shuttle to the base. We did have a rental car once and parked without too much hassle at DV and the Canyons but I've never had to park at Park City so not sure about that one).

If you ski any of the mountains on consecutive days and don't want to drag your skis around they all offer ski check for a minimal fee (which might make the shuttle more palatable to your husband).

Hope that helps.

Kay2

Thanks, that does help. So many tradeoffs it gets complicated in making decisions about a new destination.

There is such a temptation to try multiple resorts because they are there, yet we have been perfectly happy at one resort for 3 days such as Winter Park or Steamboat Springs. So staying at Canyons sounds like that sort of destination choice with just perhaps the others. Meanwhile, staying in PC would be more for if we definitely want to sample.

If we get a condo we mostly cook dinner in, maybe breakfast out (kind of opposite most people). Probably want to walk through PC town one evening. Otherwise, we just relax in the evening. These once a year ski trips leave me with more sore muscles each year, especially as I get to 50

Dayle

Hi Kay,

I live in Park City and have been skiing in Utah for over 30 years.

I would really, really recommend that you stay in Park City rather than at the Canyons.

You don't need a car here. Everywhere you want to go can be easily reached by shuttle bus, even the Utah Olympic Park which I recommend highly. If you skip the expense of the car, you can stay in a better location. There are a huge selection of condos at all price ranges.

You don't have to pay to park at any of the ski areas. Only if you want to have valet, underground and coverd parking. Silly if you ask me.

At Park City, you can park in the main lot if you arrive early (before 9 am) and walk a few steps to the lower ticket shack. If you arrive by free shuttle bus, you walk past the skating rink, through the base area to the ticket windows and the Pay Day lift, a six pack.

At Deer Valley, they have a series of lots, each further down from the lifts. However, being DV, they do not make people walk. They have a little Disneyland-type tram to take you up to the base. Again, if you arrive by free shuttle bus, they drop you right at the ticket window.

At the Canyons, you park in the main lot and take an open, stand up style gondola up to the base.

As far as atmosphere, I would pick Park City and Main Street. The Canyons and Deer Valley are pretty dead at night.

The Town Lift was put in mainly to accomodate guests staying at the Marriott Summit Watch at the bottom of Main Street. You can walk across the street, hop on the lift and be halfway up the mountain at Park City Mtn Resort. You can ski right back to Main Street via the Skier's Bridge, snow conditions permitting. The run down is a blue, but I think there is a green cat walk too.

Write back if you have more questions and -- have fun!

amcosta73

Hi Kay,
We're thinking of the same type of trip to Utah as well.
What affordable lodging is recommended if staying in PC ?
Is there a pass available that enables one to ski at different mtns ?

Kay2

OK--we've got our plane tickets.
We can get the Lodge at Mountain Village hotel room for $158 (plus $7 underground parking) or
Park Station Hotel room for $126 with free parking.
I've read mixed reports about both, but tempted to book the PS Hotel near town lift.

Kay2

Also, assuming we are staying at one of these properties in PC, how would you recommend we split our time?

We may have a half day to ski on Saturday arrival, then a full day Sunday, full day Monday, and half day Tuesday.

I'm a low level intermediate and my husband likes a mix of groomed and bumps through the day on his advanced intermediate/low expert slopes.

I'm thinking half day at PC if we get there in time (questionable). Sunday at DV. Monday at PC. Then half day Tuesday decision at last minute.

lisettemac

Is the Park Station a condo? If so, I'm pretty sure I've stayed there before. As with all condo complexes, each unit varies in decoration and how recently it was remodeled. But you can't beat the convenience! It is just a short walk to the town lift, there is a shuttle stop right out front and you are at the bottom of Main Street, just steps from shopping/restaurants/etc. I think it's a great choice.

Kay2

Now for the ski rental--Bahnhof, Precision, or Destination Sports? I've seen lots of recommendations for Canyon Sports in SLC, but we have had to return a boot one time, so like something a little closer.

Dayle

Hi again Kay,

As far as renting equipment goes, and if you are looking for ultimate convenience, rent from Jan's or Cole Sports. They have stores right at the ski areas. They are probably more expensive as they are higher end retailers.

Among those you mentioned all should be fine. I know the folks who own Precision and they do an excellent job.

It's snowing hard right now! Off to the powder.....

Kay2

Thanks for the local info. I'd narrowed it down to those three shops because they are close to the town lift and we have chosen the Park Station condos near there. So, we may be starting from the town lift, not the PC base. Looks like I will reserve with Precision.

As for prices, from web it seems Jan's is most expensive, then Breeze, Precision/Aloha, Coles and Destination about the same, then See&Ski and Bahnhof at the low end.

At our level of ability and once per year ski trips, we can't tell the difference between mid to high range skis. We can tell the difference in comfort among boots, however hubby has his own but mine are quite old so will probably rent one pair.

Kay2

We've got our condo via David Hollands at Park Station, the skis reserved online at Precision, FF airline tickets, rental car from Hertz. One last question--on last half day skiing we've asked for late check out, but of course won't know until we get there if we will get it. Anyplace to shower and change at the resorts? We've never found a shower at a ski resort--have been offered the use of the shower at the pool of hotel when couldn't keep room late and a camper suggested once we check out truckstops on the Interstate. I don't see anything listed on the SLC airport site. What do you guys do when you do a half day then fly home?

Kay2

Here's what I learned on our short, but fun ski trip to Park City.

First, even though everyone cites how close the resorts are to SLC, it was still hard for us to believe we landed, got our luggage (priority), in our Hertz Gold car, and in Park City in less than 1 hour. Return a breeze on Tuesday at 8am.

We didn't know which resort(s) we wanted to ski at so didn't stop for discount lift tickets in SLC. We paid higher price at the resort for the ability to choose each day. We just assumed (wrongly) that we could get half day morning tickets as we have in Colorado. Only afternoon tickets available at DV and PC, so we had to decide if on day of departure we wanted to purchase full day and just ski for as long as we could before leaving for SLC.

We stayed at the Park Station Condos in a one-bedroom hotel room, which is the locked off second bedroom of a condo. Fine except the room held two beds, dresser, bedstand, and TV--no chairs. I really missed not having a single chair to sit in to put on shoes, read, write, etc. The vertical blinds didn't quite cover the entire window, so not exactly private! Otherwise, clean, quiet, entrance on both Park and Deer Valley.

We did not use the Town Lift. We had to get out of our 3rd floor unit, across the property, up a flight of stairs, cross street, and walk about 150 yards uphill, then up another staircase to access. Maybe if we rented from the ski shop right at the base and left our skis there each night my husband would have agreed.

We did walk over to Main Street, use the Internet cafe, tried breakfast at Ray's (just OK), and window shopped.

We drove to Precision to get and return skis. Just OK--the fellow doing my paperwork tried to tell me the insurance wasn't optional, that it was all bundled in the $31 price, yet I was getting 20% off that for reservation. Told other clerk who waited on my husband and he seemed unsurprised. Todd seemed nice--manager? Liked the long hours. Equipment fine though well used.

We decided to drive over to Deer Valley the first day since we weren't using the town lift. Parked in second lot and walked rather than wait for the tram, but it looked convenient. We really enjoyed DV. People were nice; mountain hosts appeared to answer questions almost everytime we paused at top of a lift to examine our map; lift operators were friendly yet attentive (I kind of liked how they would guide traffic into the lift line rather than using the cattle guards like at Breckenridge); skiers were generally safe (I really noticed the difference with no snowboards); lodges quite lovely; food in cafeterias only $1-2 more than we've paid at other on-mountain restaurants with some more interesting choices; and some enjoyable runs for us intermediates. No new snow while we were there so we didn't get to enjoy any powder. We liked it so much, we decided to use the free ski check and come back the next day. People were mobbing the tram, though no one had to wait for more than one tram, so we just walked back to car. Next day we arrived before 9am and parked in the second row so easy to walk, even went back to car in early afternoon to drop off some layers as it warmed up. We did try the turkey chili and carrot cake everyone recommends--liked the chili and the cake icing was delicious, but the cake itself was dry.

After a day of skiing we're usually exhausted and don't eat a large dinner or go out on the town. As we had the car, we went to the grocery and a couple of restaurants in other neighborhoods. We tried Park City Pizza (just OK, nice folks), Einstein's Bagels (seemed to be one of the few places open early for breakfast), and the Chinese restaurant in Prospector Square (good house noodle soup).

Kay2

We went back to the Park City area for our short ski trip again this year. The convenience to SLC airport and the lower elevation than the Colorado resorts made an easy decision. (I have a lot of trouble sleeping and get nose bleeds and headaches at high elevation.)

We once again used our FF miles for flight to SLC--baggage area was a zoo! Hertz car hadn't been cleaned, but we didn't complain as going to get dirty anyway.

Stayed at Prospector Square Hotel condo this time. Better room than Park Station. Two hard chairs with table, small frig and microwave, sink. Close to bagel shop and grocery store.

Went back to Deer Valley and made it to some runs we missed last year. Didn't make it down to gondola--staff said running slow because of wind so discouraged going down that run.
Went early enough to park in first lot and used free overnight ski check for second day. Ate lunch before 11:30 as as slopes and lodge getting crowded, then crowds disappeared from slopes by 1:00. Returned to car first day to find rear side bumper scraped evidently by the huge SUV that was parked next to us when we had arrived that morning but was now gone.

Rented skis from Utah, picking up in SLC and returning in Park City. They had lost our reservation, offered me wet boots, and my husband different size skis than requested. We worked it out. Didn't mark our names on skis so best remember what they look like.

The Chinese restaurant we liked had closed, so we got food from grocery and ate pizza and bagels.

Used free 30-minute Internet at library.