Despite being in the midst of this ongoing battle against COVID-19, my family decided to attempt an escape to Park City, UT in the middle of July and we were successful. This, however, was not our original plan.
Months before the global pandemic struck, we began planning for a family reunion in Jamaica. As COVId-19 reaped chaos and havoc on our world, it became quite apparent that the family reunion would not happen. Since we already had the days planned for a vacation, we scrambled to find something else to do. Luckily for us, we had a timeshare week to use and decided to find somewhere in the United States to visit.
We settled on an escape to Park City, UT, not so much because we wanted to spend time in that city, but it proved to be a reasonable gateway to our main goal – visiting the Yellowstone National Park (check back for a post on Yellowstone Park). Our timeshare week fetched us very comfortable accommodations at the Marriott Summit Watch Resort in Park City, UT.
I will admit that prior to making plans to visit Park City, we had never heard of that place. Interestingly, upon visiting the city, I wondered why not. Park City, UT is obviously a popular go-to place to many families in the winter and during the warmer months. The fact that it is about a 45-minute drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport, makes visiting even easier. Park City is a hotspot for ski lovers, other winter activities and a welcoming place for families that enjoy the outdoors and the idea of staying fit.
Yes, we were impressed with the many provisions made by Park City to keep us moving. They provide extensive trails for biking, walking and hiking. You will also find parks for playing baseball and soccer and even a place for skate-boarding. Amazing! These are activities you can enjoy during the summer.
As far as winter goes, as mentioned before, visit Park City to ski and indulge in other cold-weather activities.
One interesting discovery we made about the city is that this is where the Olympic park for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics of 2002 was located. In fact, we had a chance to visit the park. While the 2002 Olympics are far gone, you will find a museum that captures the great moments of that time, along with other historical information. During the Big Games, the Utah Olympic Park hosted events such as bobsleigh, nordic combined events, ski jumping, luge and skeleton.
Today, visitors to the Utah Olympic Park in Park City can still enjoy certain activities. Think rope courses, extreme tubing, alpine sliding, freestyle zipping and extreme zipping (zip line). There is something for the entire family to enjoy.
For my family, we checked out the museum, tried the free skylift and then watched others engage in more thrilling activities.
We enjoyed our escape to Park City, UT. We also appreciated the efforts that the local authorities took to ensure the safety of their visitors. For example, when we visited, masks were mandatory. Consequently, as we visited restaurants, shops or simply walked the streets, ninety-eight percent of our fellow visitors wore a mask. Like everywhere else, there were some who tried to avoid the mask-mandate.
You will appreciate the many opportunities in an escape to Park City, UT event to shop, dine and unwind. There’s one thing to note. Plan on bringing along a fat budget for dining out. To offset our dining costs, we purchased breakfast items and snacks at the local Walmart. That saved us a fair amount on dining. We, however, could do very little about dinner. For the times that we dined out, the bill was pretty pricey.
Despite what we considered to be pricey dinner options, the overall experience in Park City, UT was great. I believe my wife even thought for a moment about what it would be like to live there. In the end, the idea of driving the winding and hilly terrain of Salt Lake City and its surroundings shattered her brief dream.
What about you? Have you ever escaped to Park City, UT? Have you escaped elsewhere during this pandemic. Please click on the “Register” link to sign up and share. Thank you!
Peter Grant McDonough, GA