Skiing & Snowboarding

Park City, Utah, is a premier destination for skiing and snowboarding. Many world-class skiers and snowboarders, including Shaun White, Alex Hall, and Ashley Caldwell, have trained, played, and competed at Park City.

Park City Mountain Resorts

The skiing and snowboarding at Park City is considered world-class! Olympic athletes actually practice here and, of course, the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, with many of the events taking place at the Utah Olympic Park. The Winter Olympics will return to Utah in 2034!

This spot is home to two main ski resorts: Park City Mountain and Deer Valley. Park City Mountain is the largest ski resort in the U.S. It has more than 7,300 skiable acres filled with moguls, pipes, powder, and trees. Moreover, Deer Valley was voted the number-one ski resort in the entire country in 2021 by Conde Nast Traveler. Deer Valley continues to provide more ski runs, terrain, and chairlifts through its Expanded Excellence initiative.

Park City Mountain’s base elevation is 6,900 feet, with a summit elevator of 10,026 feet. The total skiable area is 7,300 acres, with a total of 348 trails. 15% of the trails are marked for beginners, 54% are marked for intermediate level and 31% are marked for expert level. There’s one superpipe and one mini pipe. There are four terrain parks.

Deer Valley's base elevation is 6,570 with a summit of 9,570 feet. The longest run at Deer Valley is 2.8 miles. The total skiable area is over 2000 acres, and the Expanded Excellence initiative will add 3700 acres of skiable terrain in coming years.

Runs

Beginners will want to head to Park City Mountain Base to take the First Time lift. At the top, you’ll have plenty of green slope options, either on top of the mountain or back down to the base. If you're a first or second-timer, you'll want to hang out here and repeat going up the lift and down this bunny slope until you feel comfortable enough to branch out.

Those looking for intermediate and higher ski levels might be better off at Canyons Village base, where you can access blue-level slopes or ride the Red Pine Gondola up even higher for more blue and black options. The longest run is the Dreampeak-Timberline, with a length of 4.5 kilometers. The hardest run at Park City is the Deschutes, with a length of .4 kilometers. There are two snowparks, with a fun park and a half pipe.

Snow Conditions

Snow conditions at Park City are awesome! Between December and March, typically over a foot of fresh snow falls every five days. The snow density tends to hover around 8.5%, which is considered ideal for “floating skis” through powder. Overall, Utah gets around 18 powder days during the winter.

As far as snow-making, there are 480 snow cannons and 40% of the slopes have snow-making capabilities. Night skiing is available every night at Park City Mountain. Snow blowing takes place both at night and during the day, depending on when temperature conditions are right for it.

There are plenty of dining options to choose from when out on the slopes. The on-mountain eatery Tombstone Grill, at the base of Dreamscape and Tombstone lifts, is a popular hotspot for snowboarders. If you get the BBQ brisket and sweet potatoes, you won’t have to eat again for a week. Looking for something more elegant with table-side service? Try the grilled salmon and spinach salad at Lookout Cabin off of Orange Bubble Express lift. Finally, the highest on-slope eatery is Summit House, off of Bonanza lift, where you can get artisan pizza, homemade savory soups and more.

Park City Lift Tickets & Rentals

Park City Mountain offers different kinds of lift passes for purchase. These include:

• Epic Pass, gives you unlimited access to all lifts with no blackout dates (available from 1 - 7 days). Can be used at up to 39 resorts.
• Epic Local Pass, gives you seasonal access except for holidays.
• Park City Youth Pass, which most of the young people in Utah choose. Access excludes holidays.
• One Day pass, valid for select dates

Tip: Best rates on tickets in advance of ski season.

High-quality ski & snowboard equipment rental is available at the Park City Town Lift Terminal. A lot of people choose to rent to be able to try out top-of-the-line equipment before buying their own. For the best prices, consider booking your gear online. If you purchase an Epic Pass, you’ll get 25% off your rental. You can also get a rental discount if you sign up for lessons, so be sure to ask about that before paying full price for gear rental.

The wait times to pick up your rentals, especially during peak season can get pretty frustrating and long! Picking up rentals can be quite time-consuming because everyone has to try their boots on and get them fitted. To avoid wasting time in a store instead of on the mountain, here are two different recommendations:

1. You can pay a fee and opt for hassle-free delivery of rentals to your Park City vacation rental.
2. Be the first one in line at the rental shop!

Skiing & Snowboarding Lessons

Whether you’re new to skiing or snowboarding, want to introduce your kids to the sport, build your skills to a new level, or just need to brush up on rusty skills, it’s very much worth it to attend a minimum half-day of lessons at Park City’s Ski & Snowboard School. Benefits include being able to skip the lift lines, sample a variety of terrains, and learn from world-class ski & snowboard instructors.

You can choose from adult group lessons, child group sessions, or private lessons. Note that skiers and snowboarders aren’t lumped in together. There are separate groups for the two sports.

Each full-day lesson includes a recess for lunch. The lesson prices for kids include lunch. You can either bring your own lunch from one of the amazing downtown Park City eateries, or buy lunch there. The price of lessons doesn’t include the cost of equipment rental or lift tickets, but you will get a discounted rate on those items.

Getting There & Parking

There are several parking option when looking to hop on a lift to get on the Park City Mountain. Best parking depends on which resort will be your base. Park City Mountain Resort has started a reservation parking system for Mountain Village base, from mid December through early April. Make your reservation online in advance for easy access. From 8:30 AM to 1 PM, paid reservations are necessary at the Main, First Time, and Silver King lots.

For vehicles carrying four or more passengers, reservations are free. The Canyons Village base area, Park City High School (on weekends and holidays), and the High Valley Transit Park-n-Ride stations all offer free parking. The Upper and Lower Sandridge parking lots in downtown Park City are free. Most of Main Street has street parking. though stay alert to metered areas.