Help me plan my Utah trip

[Shellski]

Before everyone disappears for the summer, I am looking for some advice for a proposed trip to Utah next year.

It will be a 2 week trip, we'll have a rental car for the whole time, we don't mind driving to resorts, and staying somewhere central (as long as it's not in the middle of nowhere, nightlife not essential, but somewhere nice to eat and drink) What are the 'must do' resorts and how should we divide the 2 weeks? Are any resorts linked with the one lift ticket, or if not, what is the best way to buy lift tickets giving best value and flexibility? Is any one resort worth spending a whole week and staying in the resort?

What would be the best time to go, best for snow, but keeping in mind president's week and spring break?

We're both pretty experienced skiers, love off piste when we can get it, but nothing too gnarly.

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[lisaski]

Wow! Two weeks will be awesome. Here is what I would do. I would spend eight days in Park City and the rest in a hotel/lodge in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Here's why:

Park City has the restaraunts and night life, three major resorts. Plus, it is right on I-80. So, it is easy to take a trip to Snowbasin (less than an hour drive) from there if you are so inclined. My favorite resort in Park City is The Canyons. It has steeps and awesome tree skiing. It's also huge. The lift infrastructure there is kind of funky. But, once you get the lay of the land, it grows on you. My second choice in Park City is Deer Valley. Great tree skiing there as well and if you're into steeps, check out the Daly Chutes. Also, lots of bumps off of Empire Lift. I have only skied Park City Mountain Resort a few times. I think I would like it better if I give it more tries. I liked McKonkeys lift there, but did not like the long runout. You have to hike to get decent vertical there. The front of the mountain has some interesting steep runs. But, I have always found them to be icey because of the southern exposure on those slopes.

Here's what I love about Little Cottonwood Canyon: Alta and Snowbird! Both resorts are awesome! Excellent steeps and wide open bowls. Snowbird has a tunnel inside the mountain that takes you from the front side to Mineral Basin, which is a huge bowl with all sorts of open terrain, chutes and bumps. Then, there is the tram that has a 3000 feet elevation gain. Alta is just as awesome. Collins lift takes you up well over 2000 feet vertical. If you're into chutes, check out Supreme lift. There are plenty of challenging lines there. Also, off of Collins, you have access to thousands of acres on the high traverses. By the way, you can purchase one pass that gets you both Alta and Snowbird.

Have fun!!

Lisa

 

[lisaski]

I forgot to add... If you're travelling with snowboarders, Deer Valley and Alta do not allow snowboarders. No worries otherwise if your group is made up of only skiers.

Lisa

 

[Shellski]

Thanks for the tips Lisa, I think we're starting to get an idea of where we want to go.

But, wow, it is expensive (accommodation), I'm a bit shocked, we've stayed at Aspen and Telluride for much less than some of the prices I'm seeing.

 

[badger]

Shellski skis Utah

Shellski, With two weeks you can do many, many, runs in Utah.
Lisaski suggested the Park City area as well as the Alta/Snowbird trip which is about an hour from Park City. Not a bad idea. However there are two very nice--and much less crowded--resorts further north, near Ogden. Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. Powder Mountain is huge and you can go anywhere and still be wondering if there is anyone else skiing on that mountain. Snowbasin is just down the road and quite the experience. Another Diva posted about her trip to these two resorts this year and included photos. The lodging in this valley is very accommodating and fairly reasonable for some very nice condos. (VRBO is the way to go...website of available rentals). Even three or four days in this area would be worth investigating if you do not mind the "no apres ski" thing. There is a well-stocked grocery store and restaurants just a mile or so away. They cater to skiers. Also a ski shop in the same area.
If I were to be in Utah for two weeks, I'd definately take advantage of all it has to offer.

 

[Sheena]

When I planned my trips to Utah, I always stayed in Midvale, and stayed in a relatively inexpensive motel - this may be a good option unless you prefer nicer accommodation. But from Midvale it is a quick drive to the Cottonwood Canyon resorts.

In February, I drove down to SLC for a long weekend and stayed at a place called the Pavillion Inn, which was in Murray, Utah. From that hotel, we hopped right on 215, and it was also a quick drive to the LCC and BCC resorts. The Pavillion Inn was fabulous with an awesome free breakfast. IT is not very close to restaurants or nightlife at all, but still plenty of places with in driving distance.

For discount tickets, I have purchased tickets at Canyon Sports, which offers a small discount to all the resorts, we have also used the Salt Lake City Super Pass, which is not a bad deal.

 

[lisaski]

As Sheena mentions above. If you do not need to stay close to the resorts, you could stay in the Salt Lake Valley and drive to resorts each day. Most are within an hour's drive. On my very first trips to Utah, I would stay in the Country Inns and Suites in West Valley. It's very reasonable and I really liked the way the suites were set up - a sitting room with TV, microwave, refrigerator and a separate bedroom... very comfortable and clean. Also, there is a relatively new multiplex movie theatre right there.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Shellski, I've done the trip about half a dozen times and have had very good luck with rates staying right in downtown SLC, which has good night life. I've also stayed in condos in Midvale, south of the city, with rapid access to Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Little CC, farther south.

There is much to do and see in the downtown area. I have always enjoyed it very much, even after a long, hard day of skiing.

There are so many hotels rooms in the downtown area (if you don't mind that kind of environment -- SLC is a VERY safe city) that prices are quite competitive. And there are hotel-suite type of accommodations in which you'd have either a mini or full kitchen.

Very quick interstate access to the Park City region if staying in the city, plus avoiding the high cost of staying there. If you had a place with a kitchen, you could even pack a lunch and save on that expense.

Then you could move on to Ogden area and experience Snowbasin (not to be missed, I have not been) and Powder Mountain and stay for a few days in that region (pretty long drive from SLC).

The other nice thing about SLC is that the airport is very close to downtown.

There are lots of websites where hotel guests review the various hotels, giving you a better idea of what the places were like for them. I'm drawing a blank at the moment, but I will re-post when my brain is working again

 

[Shellski]

I think it's mostly the accomodation at Alta that is making my mind boggle - 400-500 per night. So, there is accommodation at Snowbird? Or Midvale is the nearby town? I might check out staying at either of those places in preference to staying IN Alta.

One thing - a lot of the hotels I have googled in Park City don't have availability in the last week of February - 21-28th. Like, 2/3 of the hotels on one website. Do they really book out this early or is there some event in Park City on that I should know about?

 

[greekpeakskier]

i would definitely save money and not stay in park city or at one of the resorts. I skied around slc on two separate trips this year, and unlike Denver, you can stay in the city and be in the mountains in a heart beat. I liked choosing between the canyons depending on (quite frankly) who had what deal going -- so one day when snowbird was cheap (thanks to a liftopia recommendation from maine ski lady), i skied there. the next day it wasn't, so i skied in ogden canyon. on weekdays, i could afford to ski alta or snowbird. on a saturday or a sunday, i skied other places. one day, when the deep powder at snowbird did me in, i moved to an easier resort the next. over the course of the two trips, i skied alta, snowbird, brighton, solitude, the canyons, and powder mountain, depending on the deal on liftopia or the advertised price (brighton was cheap on tuesdays).

 

[atlantiqueen]

When we went out in March, we stayed in Midway and my brother-in-law stayed in Heber City. Although there is a bit of a drive to ski (15 minutes to PCMR, Deer Valley or the Canyons and 1 hr to Alta/Snowbird or Brighton) there are several less expensive hotels and condo rentals available.

If you have a car then it could work out fairly well for you.

My favourite place to ski on my trip? Alta and Snowbird - tough call on which was a better day.

The Canyons was great - as lisaski said - lots of steeps, trees and BIG!

I wasn't crazy about Brighton but it was Good Friday and super crowded with 5 million snowboarders (okay, a little hyperbole but you get the idea). DH thought Brighton was the best of all our ski days but he was being led around by a local who took him to all the secret places and I was skiing strictly groomers.

What I loved about Snowbird was Mineral Basin - I skied my first deep untracked snow there on the Bookends. The key to skiing there is doing the basin in the morning because the sun is on that side in the am. Plenty of fast groomers if that's your thing and lots of runs for all skill levels.

Alta - AWESOME! I had so much fun there and totally challenged myself with some steeps and natural chutes. Way too much fun! it was also my first real powder day - 11" of fresh snow was perfect for trying some bigger runs. Be careful if you wear a backpack as there are no bars on the lifts!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I think it's mostly the accomodation at Alta that is making my mind boggle - 400-500 per night. So, there is accommodation at Snowbird? Or Midvale is the nearby town? I might check out staying at either of those places in preference to staying IN Alta.

One thing - a lot of the hotels I have googled in Park City don't have availability in the last week of February - 21-28th. Like, 2/3 of the hotels on one website. Do they really book out this early or is there some event in Park City on that I should know about?

Probably that's President's Week, a school vacation week in the east.

Download a map of Salt Lake City. You will see that it is quite large, and the ski resorts are close. Yes, staying right at the resorts there is very expensive. Especially Alta (prices there include lift tickets and meals). Midvale is a suburb of Salt Lake City, to the south. If you go to this site - https://www.hotels.com/processIndex...1&CIYear=2008&COMonth=-1&CODay=-1&COYear=2008
- you will get a much better idea of prices in the city. There are many condos in the region just before the canyons that can be rented.

But if you decide to stay right at the resorts, it's going to be expensive. I never minded driving a short distance to save money, and the city was great "apres-ski."

 

[Shellski]

I thought President's week was the week before, I think President's day 2009 is February 16. We are always very careful to plan around it.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Sundance Film Festival?? That clogs up PC pretty far in advance.

 

[Shellski]

Sundance Film Festival?? That clogs up PC pretty far in advance.

January apparently..

I think we have a loose plan to get a hotel in Park City for the first week (so we can have a little 'resort' time) then move to a condo/studio in Midvale/Sandy for the second week and hope we get lucky with road conditions to Alta/Snowbird.

My travel agent might come up with some accommodation deals, we'll have to see how much the airfares pan out at, then what's left of the budget might mean more or less for accommodation.

We're winning in the exchange rate stakes - they are talking parity of the AUD and USD by the end of the year, but apparently fuel prices are making international airfares skyrocket. :mad:

 

[SlopeDiver]

travel with snowboarders, theyre fun too!!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

travel with snowboarders, theyre fun too!!

Agreed. But I'm biased!