My husband is attending a business conference in Park City in mid-October. I'm going to fly in Tues evening, and we'll be staying in Park City until the conference is done early on Friday. We'll stay until Sat or Sunday but will have to find other accomodations. On Wed-Thurs I'll be on my own during the day and like to antique shop or explore outdoor areas, then we have some time together during the weekend to travel/stay elsewhere and sightsee. We have to fly out of SLC. I'd love to go to Zion or Bryce, but feel like it's too far away for the short time we have. Looking for suggestions on places to see/stay on Fri/Sat besides what I could do on my own during the day. Will it still be pretty warm at that time? Could we go whitewater rafting/hiking or would it be more ski season? Also, I'm known for finding good, unique dining establishments for the group we hang around with (due to suggestions from this website) and I'm hoping I can "wow" them all again. Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.

Park City cool in Oct. Mid-60s at best. You can drive to southern National Parks in 5 hours if you extend trip by a day or so. NPs should not be missed.

I do plan on going to Bryce and Zion sometime in the near future, but guess I'd rather wait until we can spend at least a week there instead of trying to squeeze into a weekend. And we have to be back home on Sunday, so can't extend.

May I suggest dinner at LeSpri, THE best filet I have ever had in my life! Chef Ernesto Rocha is Exceptional! Say Hi for me from the CA Surf Lady with the little dog! to Joel too!

Is that in Park City? I guess I'll have to check out Alta - see how far away that is too. Saw that listed on some other posts.

Hi H,

I live in Park City and believe me there is plenty to do here to keep you busy for 2 days on your own.

We don't have antique shopping, but lots of beautiful art galleries and shops, day spas, outlet mall (if that appeals, don't care for it personally), fabulous restaurants.

First week of Oct is peak fall colors. All the aspens are golden and truly spectacular! Ski season doesn't start until end of November and Oct can be back and forth between cold and pleasant during the day. Bring layers for cool weather.

Hiking and biking is great during October. There is also hot air ballooning, fly fishing, horseback riding, all the outdoor stuff. No real whitewater rafting nearby.

The Utah Olympic Park, where the bob sled, luge, nordic jumping and skeleton events and tracks are is very worth a visit. Take the full tour where you get to go up to the top of the ski jumps. You'll gain a whole new appreciation for the jumper's ability and courage!

There are free shuttle buses everywhere you want to go.

My favorite restaurants:

Grappa, on Main St.
Blind Dog, in Prospector Square area
Glitretind at Stein's, Deer Valley

There are many, many others that are excellent. Some will be closed during the pre-ski season.

With your short time, I would just stay in the mountains. You can also head down to Sundance (Redford's place) and do the Alpine Loop drive, famous for it's fall colors. Although by mid-Oct they may be past prime. Sundance has a couple of the best restaurants in UT, The Owl Grill and The Tree Room. Res needed for both.

Also, very beautiful and interesting is the Timpanogas Cave in American Fork Canyon. You could stop here following the Apline Loop drive, but bring a coat, it's COLD inside!

Snowbird and Alta are incredibly beautiful too. Snowbird does an Octoberfest and you can ride the tram up to the top of Hidden Peak at 11,000 ft. Awesome views!

Hope this helps!

PS - 5 public golf courses in the area too.

Has anyone eaten at the Blue Boar Inn? It says it's in Midway - 20 min. from Park City. looks very nice.

Thanks for your suggestions, Dayle.

Had lunch at the Blue Boar this summer. The food was great. It's a cute little country restaurant located on a golf course.

We might have to try the Blue Boar then - thanks Barbara.

The other restaurants I found online that looked unique and had good reviews were Purple Sage, the Steak Pit (Snowbird) and, Snake Creek Grill (Heber City) and Log Haven in Salt lake city - any of you tried these restaurants?

Also the accomodations and the Crater at the Homestead Resort looks like it'd be a cool place to see. Anybody ever been there?

Hi again H,

All the restaurants you mentioned are very good. I used to work at the Steak Pit at Snowbird and it's still my favorite in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Log Haven is very good and you will need reservations. I wouldn't say that it's better than the best restaurants in the Park City area, or necessarily worth the drive just to go there. It is in a very beautiful canyon though.

The Homestead is in the Heber Valley which is nice, but not a ski area. Lots of people like it. I haven't stayed or eaten there myself.

I haven't stayed at the Homestead, but I have gone scuba diving in the crater. It is the best place to get certified to scuba dive in the Salt Lake area. The water is bathtub warm and you can snorkel and swim in it as well. It's not much to look and not very large, and no fish or anything lives in it. I wasn't too impressed with the food at the restaurant.

I had a fabulous breakfast at the Inn on the Creek. http://www.innoncreek.com/vacation/index.html I think it would be a better place to stay than the Homestead. Another place I've wanted to stay is the Washington School Inn in Park City. http://www.washingtonschoolinn.com/index.shtml

Thanks for the suggestions, Barbara. I just thought the crater would be neat at Homestead, but maybe not worth staying there. Plus I have a thing about a bunch of people being in warm water that's not chlorinated! We'd only need a place to stay for one night. The Inn at the Creek looks great. The other place I was thinking of is one of the packages at Snowbird - you can get a breakfast, massage, tram ride and room for two for $149. I'd like to go on the tram.

Hi again h,

Staying in Park City for the nights during the conf and then changing sounds like a good plan. Snowbird is great, high altitude, fall atmosphere and room deals.

The Cliff is very nice, great food, my favorite swimming pool ever. It's on the roof of the 10 story building and surrounded by glass. THE place to be for sunset with a glass of wine! They also have an excellent spa. Alpine slide, zip line, rock climbing. Tram ride has great views, take a jacket. It's cold at 11,000 ft. If you might like to hike one way - hike up, not down. It's actually easier, but will take 3 or more hours, very steep.

Hi Barbara!

The $149 package sounds great. Snowbird is a better choice than Midway - the mountains are spectacular!

Dayle - I haven't eaten at Grappa, the Blind Dog or Glitretind - we'll have to plan something.