While actors, producers, and partygoers typically flock to Park City, Utah in the winter for the Sundance Film Festival, fall is also a great time to visit with sun soaked afternoons framed by reddish gold foliage for the perfect outdoor escape. With work from home mandates extended and remote school nixing the need for families to stay at home, this mountain town offers families, outdoor adventurers, and jet-setters a myriad of fresh-air activities to elevate their travel such as hiking, biking, fly fishing and more!
Though strict mask ordinances are in place, fresh air and swaths of wide, open spaces make social distancing in Park City a safe space for travelers to visit all season long. Here’s where to eat, stay and play in Park City for an outdoor fall escape.
By Kinya Claiborne, STYLE & SOCIETY
Photo Credit: Monhand Mathurin
Where to Eat, Stay & Play in Park City for an Outdoor Fall Escape
GETTING THERE
Road Trip or Salt Lake City Airport
Whether flying into Utah or taking a unique road trip on one of Utah’s scenic byways, getting to Park City is easy. It’s located 35-minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport, which just opened a massive new terminal and concourse as part of their $4 billion reconstruction where passengers journey through a massive canyon-themed art installation to get to their gate. If you’re looking for a road trip, Utah is within a day’s drive of most western cities. So it is the perfect place to escape on vacation.
STAY
Westgate Park City Resort & Spa
Looking for a place to stay in the Park City area? One of Utah’s premier luxury destinations, Westgate Park City Resort & Spa offers luxurious accommodations with mountain views, and amenities galore. The sprawling wood, glass and river rock ski lodge is located at the base of the Canyons Village Park City. Accommodations range from luxury suites to four-bedroom villas. Suites come complete with a bedroom hot tub, a full kitchen and a cozy living room with a fireplace.
As part of their ongoing commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of guests, Westgate Resorts WestgateCARES program, features enhanced protocols and best practices for social distancing, hygiene techniques, housekeeping policies, food & beverage experiences, and more.
PLAY
Hiking & Mountain Biking
Park City is known for over 400 miles of open trails for hiking and mountain biking. Take a guided e-bike tour with White Pine Touring and take advantage of the beautiful Wasatch State Park. Just over the ridge from Park City or ride through the historic Main Street. The fastest growing category in cycling, riders of all skill level can benefit from e-bike pedal-assist support. Allowing you to enjoy new trails and ride further with real outdoor biking adventures.
Fly Fishing
Whether you’re a seasoned fly fisher or beginner, a fly fishing excursion on the Provo River with Park City Fly Fishing Guides is a great year-round activity. You’ll suit up in waders and weighted waterproof boots. Plant yourself in knee or waist-deep water, and you’re set to cast. The waters of Provo River are a state-designated Blue Ribbon fishery, teeming with brown and rainbow trout.
Utah Olympic Park
Relive the 2002 Winter Olympics through memorabilia and interactive exhibits at Utah Olympic Park’s free museums. Watch aerial skiers hurtle through the air, landing with a splash in the Olympic pool or experience the ropes course.
EAT
Courchevel Bistro
Enjoy the romance of a French-influenced bistro experience at Courchevel Bistro. Named for Park City’s sister city in the French Alps, Courchevel serves an artfully crafted, inventive French-European inspired cuisine. It’s located on Main Street amidst galleries, local boutiques, and bars. With a prime people-viewing patio looking right over the pedestrian traffic.
Drafts Burger Bar
Satisfy your taste buds with lunch at Drafts Burger Bar, Westgate Park City’s sports bar. The cozy gastropub serves more than 50 beers from around the world, sinful handspun milkshakes, handcrafted gourmet burgers, gourmet pizzas and delectable sides that cater to all tastes. Enjoy the full bar, flat-screen HDTVs and a wraparound deck all season long.
Edge Steakhouse
Edge Steakhouse delivers a cutting-edge culinary experience that takes the traditional American-style steakhouse to a new level. The unique menu blends traditional steakhouse favorites with an exciting array of specialty appetizers, creative entrees and innovative side dishes. The menu at Edge Steakhouse features locally sourced and organically grown produce. Including top-quality USDA Certified prime aged beef, Wagyu beef, wild-caught fresh seafood. Edge also boasts a full bar and one of most comprehensive wine lists in Park City.
DRINK
High West Distillery is located on the Blue Sky Ranch in Wanship. Which is a 30-minute drive from Main Street Park City. Offering stunning views, all meals at the rustic-themed distillery are memorable. Guests can even purchase take-home bottles of whiskey including two newly launched ready to drink whiskey cocktails: Barrel Finished Old Fashioned and Barrel Finished Manhattan. The cocktails were created using time-tested recipes and high quality, real ingredients. Such as demerara sugar, aromatic bitters and premium vermouth and matured in used rye barrels. Just serve over ice, garnished with a lemon, orange twist or cherry. High West Barrel Finished cocktails will run you $50 for a 750 mL bottle, enough to pour approximately 12 cocktails.
RELAX
Serenity Spa
For the ultimate relaxing mountain getaway, indulge in some much-needed self-care at Serenity Spa at Westgate Park City Resort & Spa. The award-winning full-service mountain retreat day-spa is complete with 14 treatment rooms, a tranquil spa with waterfall and magnificent amenities. The 30,000-square-foot spa features massages, facials, body wraps, sacred stone therapy and treatments that use local ingredients like birchwood stick and salt from the Salt Lake. Add-on enhancements for customization range from sacred stones to essential oils, a hot oil scalp treatment to arnica leg relief.
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