Park City/Deer Valley in June - updated with trip summary

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I’m taking a weeklong trip to Park City/Deer Valley in June. Pretty set for my three days in Deer Valley.

I’ll have a Sat night and part of Sunday in Salt Lake City. Never been. Any must-dos? Is the Tabernacle/choir worth checking out?

In Park City, likely to:

Olympic Park. Plan to spend a day here probably. Want to do the bobsled, tubing and zip line. Anything else other than watching training?

Hot air ballon ride. Any reccs between Skywalker Balloon Company or Park City Balloon Adventures?

Fly fish. Looking for a guide. Not very experienced with a fly rod.

Hike. Nothing too strenuous. Maybe a nice 3-4 hour trek. Still researching this.

These seem to be the highlights but also interested in other suggestions. Three days in Deer Valley will be very chill so want to get out and about before heading there.

Also looking for food and beer recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

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- Hike Mid-Mountain Trail. You can start at Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley and not even need a car to get to the trailhead. You can link up to Wasach Crest Trail from there to burn more calories. I run Mid-Mountain Trail a couple times a month. This is a good resource (for hiking and mountain biking): Hiking & Mtn Biking Trails

- Air Balooning is boring, IMO, so I would skip that.

- Tabernacle Square is worth checking out.

- Western Rivers and/or Fish Tech can hook you up with a guide. They're probably going to take you to the Provo River, which is fine.

- I live in Sugarhouse (SLC) and there are many good bars and restaurants in this area. Sugarhouse Park is great too.

- You should also check out Red Butte Garden ( Red Butte Garden - Concerts) to see if there are any shows while you are here. If not, the gardens are worth checking out themselves. The Utah Natural History Museum is next door as well, also worth checking out.

Bumping for any more feedback. Now two nights in Salt Lake and six in Park City/Deer Valley.

Looking at maybe going to a minor league baseball game. How’s the stadium?

May go to the Grand Theater for West Side Story.

Considering a guided hike and visit to hot springs.

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Bumping for any more feedback. Now two nights in Salt Lake and six in Park City/Deer Valley.

Looking at maybe going to a minor league baseball game. How’s the stadium?

May go to the Grand Theater for West Side Story.

Considering a guided hike and visit to hot springs.

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- Smith's is a good ballpark. Usually a good turnout and cold beer. Get a burger at Lucky 13 ( Lucky 13)if you decide to go.

- I go to Sundance flicks at the Grand Theatre. It's about 3-4 miles from my house. SLCC and that theatre used to be part of the old East(?) high school.

- If you're talking about the hot springs in Summitt or Morgan Counties, they're gross and I would skip that. Are you speaking of the undeveloped ones? You'll run in to a bunch of riff-raff as well. There are 3-4 above Logan, UT in Preston, Pocatello and Monpilier, ID, that are great in the winter (I've never been to a hot springs in the summer) but those would be probably 6ish round trip.

- Use this for your hike(s) and just print things out: Hike/Bike

(Edit) I forgot about the crater (hot springs) at Homestead Resort. It's in Midway, which is a cool town/area that's mostly Swiss alpine architechture. Its about 30 minutes from Park City. The crater is actially cool (I haven't been there in 15 years), but its a bit like going to a public city pool. Crater

Looking for something a little shorter that Mid-Mtn. Thoughts on Robs or Spiro? Looking for views, flowers and maybe wildlife. But just want to get in the woods really. Will have one or two who are not as adventurous but willing to walk a bit.

I appreciate this board’s feedback. We had a good weekend in Salt Lake and a great week in Park City/Deere Valley. Thoughts below.

Food/Drinks

SLC - I was impressed over a couple of days in Salt Lake. TigerDroppings did me right.

Lucky 13 - good burger and cool space. Must do if you are going to a Bees game.

LINK

Copper Onion - Outstanding brunch. Food was very good and drinks were a step above. Diverse crowd and felt perfectly comfortable here having a couple of cocktails before touring the LDS grounds.

Squatters - No complaints. I think it’s the biggest SLC brewery. Seemed that way based on availability throughout the state.

Gracie’s - Cool, local place. Live music on a Sunday. Big patio. Good service.

White Horse - Outstanding whiskey and cocktail bar. 5 or 6 shelf bar. Great, truly great service. Fine cocktails. Solid oyster selection. No complaints. Would be there often if this was in Birmingham.

Eva - Small plates. Very pleased with food. Service was fine but could have been better. Cool spot and glad it was recommended. Would go back tomorrow but....

We also ate at a local chain, Waffle Love. Unique, crepish like waffles. Perfect fuel for an evening of curling.

Park City/Deere Valley

Disclaimer is that we ended up eating at the Stein or doing causal drinks so missed out on a lot of the recommended Main Street, higher end places.

501 on Main - Unimpressed. Went here “late” on a Monday so take that for what it’s worth. Fine but could have done better (probably and despite limited options at that point). One of few places not recommended by TD or friends.

Boneyard Saloon - Not on Main Street but cool spot to watch game 7 of Stanley Cup. Packed, solid beer selection, and I was happy with the wings.

Bridge cafe - cool Brazilian spot with breakfast menu all day but half our group had other stuff. Worth a visit.

Chimayo was the best meal I had. Elk was fantastic. Spare ribs were over the top. Very good service.

LINK

Food at the Stein Erickson was good. Not great except for the brunch buffet which was sublime. I’m not a huge brunch guy but this was worth every penny. I can’t think of a reasons you’d go to Park City and not have brunch there. Perhaps cost though I thought it was fairly reasonable given the spread. I’m a protein/get your money’s worth guy but it is all good.

I also tried a number of beers. I’m not a big hoppy beer guy so most of my selections below would have been blondes, ambers, a couple of pale ales, and maybe something dark here or yhere. Local Utah breweries I tried:

2 row
Squatters
Uinta
Roha
Moab
Park City
Bohemian Brewery
Kittos.

High West Distillery - This was an incredible experience. Whiskey was worth the trip. Didn’t care for the Scotch blend and the bourbon was probably my favorite. Ryes were outstanding. Did the tour and heard a bluegrass band as the sun set. One of my favorite distillery visits. Very well done.

Also, had some of the best jambalaya I’ve ever had. Considering posting this in the F/B board to make some heads explode.

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What we did in SLC and Park City

Salt Lake Bees - Had a good time. Worth checking out if you are a baseball fan.

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Gilgal - sculpture garden in a guy’s backyard. Not sure what to think or to say. Anyone with an interest in art or religion or just odd stuff should go.

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Temple square - toured around a bit. Nothing to report. It is a big arse building.

Organ recital in the Mormon Tabernacle - everyone within driving distance should do this. Folks going out to ski should make a stop in SLC and take time to do this (and brunch at Copper Onion). 30 mins that I would highly, highly recommend.

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We hiked up Rob’s Trail to Mid-Mtn and walked over to Ambush and came down Holly before trespassing through one of the Canyons’ golf courses. No pics of the great views because I didn’t get one that did them justice. Loved the aspens. Saw over a dozen types of wild flowers, a couple of varmits, and some birds we don’t have around Alabama. Saw some moose scat and a great pic of a moose track in the snow (lol):

LINK

As noted above, we did paddle board yoga in a crater warmed by “a geothermal spring, hidden within a 55-foot tall, beehive-shaped limestone rock.” Fairly expensive but cool experience. I spent most of my time floating in the “therapeutic 95-degree mineral water” while the rest of my group did yoga.

LINK

One of my favorite things we did was a curling class at the Utah Olympic Oval. Would have been cool to do a more league type atmosphere where I assume they have beers etc, but this was a great introduction. It is not as easy as t looks every four years. But we did beat the team we played against 2-0.

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We spent pretty much a full day at the Utah Olympic Park and did the extreme tubing (it’s legit), extreme zip line, drop tower, stunt bags, chairlifts, and ropes course. I will never get on a ropes course again. Was seriously worried there for a bit. Everything else was a blast. Wish we had skipped the ropes course, added the bobsled, and been there in the weekend when they do the aerial shows (though we had almost no crowd which was nice).

After the ropes course, hiking, etc, we needed a couple of days to relax at the Spa at Stein Ericsson. Apparently it is one of Utah’s best and I believe it. A couple of days by the pool, in the steam/sauna/hot tubs/relaxation room was greatly appreciated. Those that has massages and spa treatments highly recommended.

Takeaways: I’m a big fan of Utah. Beautiful. Friendly folks. Enjoyed Salt Lake much more than I thought I would, particularly the local spots. The altitude in Deer Valley is no joke. Great first trip to the Beehive State. Would go again.

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Eva - Small plates. Very pleased with food. Service was fine but could have been better. Cool spot and glad it was recommended. Would go back tomorrow but....

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eva does have good tapas and pizza.

i hope you had time to grab a drink next door at whiskey street, one of my favorite bars in SLC. you were also within walking distance of the beehive, another cool bar with a row of ice that keeps your drinks cold, and beer bar, which has a great selection of local beers and killer brats and fries.

epic brewing has a tasting room further south (in an area of downtown that isn't nearly as nice). just FYIs for anyone who searches for SLC tips and finds this thread.

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I was impressed with SLC in the short time we were there (1 night and half a day) and cant wait to to go back and spend more time doing exactly what you did in visiting the mountains and the city. Thanks for the update.

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I spent a few nights there a couple of years ago for a US Soccer game and then went on to Grand Teton. We are itching for the little one to get big enough to hike so we can go retrace our steps.