Utah~Spring Skiing
After spending the winter in Baja, Mexico experiencing the outdoor activities, beautiful weather, great food and making new travel buddies, we find ourselves in Utah to do a little Spring Skiing; a must on Brent’s bucket list.
To make this possible, we purchased an Ikon Pass that allowed us to ski on multiple mountains across the States. Trust me, we wouldn’t be able to afford to ski without the pass as Lift Tickets during high season are upwards of US$ 250.
Skiing is such an integral part of life here as most locals start at birth. We heard that “Powder Days” are often written into contracts as some businesses are recognizing the mental health benefits.
There are two main areas to ski; namely Park City and Salt Lake City. For the first few days, we stayed in the PC area at the Park City RV Park. The location was conveniently located to the ski hills and shopping, but coming from a light sleeper, the noise from the highway was brutal. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of option when you choose to haul your trailer into the Utah mountains in the winter.
Regardless, the skiing was awesome. Park City Mountain Resort is the largest ski resort in the USA (and has the smallest parking lot), with 7300 acres of terrain, 330+ trails and an elevation over 10, 000 ft. Unfortunately, we didn’t ski there as it’s not included on the Ikon Pass. Instead, we skied down the road at Deer Valley which for this Green/Blue girl was just as impressive with 2000 acres, 103 trails and a peak elevation of 9570 ft at Empire Summit. Brent enjoyed the more challenging runs, and we both especially liked the tram ride from the parking lot right to the lifts. When you’re a bit older like us, these little perks make skiing even more enjoyable.
After getting the lay of the land, we headed towards Salt Lake City where we had reservations at the KOA Salt Lake City. This ended up being our home base for almost three weeks. We were fortunate to hook up to water as the nights were above freezing and our lovely 18ft home isn’t made for winter camping. It’s amazing how we improvise and change our cooking, washroom and bathroom routines when we don’t have access to water. I’ll let you mull that one over in your head and save the details for another blog.
Regardless of the warmish weather in the valley, there was always enough snow to ski in the mountains. If you come to the SLC area, you’ll end up skiing Snowbird, Brighton, Alta and/or Solitude . Each is different in their own way and you’ll have to do your own research to see what is best for your ability level. That being said, I enjoyed Brighton for the wide, easier runs while Brent liked the steep runs at Alta and Snowbird.
In addition, public trasnsit is included in the Ikon Pass which makes getting to and from the hills relatively painless. The road heading up the canyons require either chains or a 4 X 4 during severe winter weather which our Dodge mini-van, although reliable, has neither!
If by chance, you don’t want to ski everyday, there are plenty of other outdoor activities in the area to keep you occupied like hiking, shopping, cultural events and sightseeing. In addition, the summer offers fishing, rock climbing, and mountain biking.
On a rest day, we headed North of the city to Antelope State Park. In addition to the wildlife, including bighorn sheep, mule deer, antelope and bison, you get a great view of Great Salt Lake. There is plenty of hiking and overnight camping.
For a shorter hike with the most amazing vistas, I highly recommend heading to Ensign Park within the SLC limits. It’s a bit of a jaunt up a steep hill, but well worth the sunset.
The main attraction, drawing millions of tourists, is of course the Salt Lake City Temple and Square. Salt Lake City was founded by The Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints in the mid-1800s and although only roughly 50% of the population is Mormon, there is a strong presence in their political leadership and general consciousness. Regardless of the Mormon influence, you can see and feel the counterculture vibe throughout the city.
Whatever your belief system, you can’t deny the impressive architecture of the Temple and surrounding buildings all owned by the Church. Unfortunately, during our visit, the Temple was encased with scaffolding as it is undergoing a seismic retrofit that will last until 2025.
Not to be underestimated, the Utah State Capital building was very impressive and the grounds well used by tourists and locals alike, especially on the first days of Spring when we were there.
I recommend hopping on a scooter like we did and explore the downtown area; it was great fun.
As for eating, make sure you head to Normal Ice Cream for your sweet tooth, Squatters Pub for some basic, satisfying pub grub and locally brewed beer and finally head to Whiskey Street for a more “chic” dining and drinking experience.
Well, we are off to Colorado to finish up the last two weeks of Spring Skiing. We won’t say goodbye to SLC and Utah as we’ll be returning to tour the surrounding National Parks, including the famous Arches National Park.
Don’t forget to check out our YouTube Channel (icon at top) or press the link below to get a visual of our Utah Experience.
Spring Skiing and More in Utah
Cheers!
