Park City wasn’t originally on my itinerary; however, when I realized there wasn’t much I wanted to do in Salt Lake City, I started looking around to see how I could spend a day nearby.  Park City ended up only being about 40 minutes away, so it was easy to plan a day trip here. 

The forecast called for rain later in the day, so I made sure to get an early start for my morning hike.  Because of the forecast, I looked for a hike that was short on distance, but still offered great views. The Iron Canyon trail perfectly fit the bill.  The trailhead is in the middle of a neighborhood, and the trails are too steep for mountain bikers, so it’s a little less crowded than other hikes in the area. Still this short hike (2 miles, 900 ft elevation gain) provides groves of aspen birch trees, fields of wildflowers, and panoramic views of Park City and the surrounding area. 

I visited during the summer, so instead of skiing Park City, I slid down the slopes. Park City’s alpine slide is one of the longest slides in the world. To get to the start of the slide, I got to ride a chair lift up the mountain, which was a nice experience in itself.  It’s fun to watch the valley disappear below as the chairlift climbs to the top. The individual sleds are equipped with a break so that each rider can determine a speed that they feel comfortable with. There were definitely turns where I felt like I would go over the edge if I went any faster, so I was happy that I had some control over the speed. The 3000 ft slide was a fun dose of adrenaline. 

I spent the late morning walking the historic main street in downtown Park City. It runs for just a few blocks, but is packed with art galleries, restaurants, and tourist shops. The one and two story brick buildings set along the narrow main street create the quintessential mountain town experience with a vibrant shopping and dining scene.

While the restaurants on main street looked cute, I ended up at a nearby plaza for a more laid back lunch.  I’m a Food Network fan, but I’m not one to plan my trips around restaurants featured on TV. However, I ended up at Sammy’s Bistro for lunch, and after looking at some reviews and the menu, decided to try the Savory Chicken Bowl that was featured on Diners, Drive-in & Dives. It was a great bowl of food and made me think that I should look into some other featured restaurants for future trips.

As the rain set in, I ended my day trip at the Alf Engen Ski and Winter Games Museum and practice area. What was once the 2002 Winter Olympics headquarters has been turned into a small museum featuring a  breakdown of the 2002 Winter Olympic events and winners, interactive displays to showcase what it takes to complete a ski course/bobsled ride, and costumes from the opening ceremony. There is also an observation deck to watch skiers practicing their ski jumps. Even in the rain, skiers were out there twisting and flipping in the practice swim tank below.