Park City March 2016

[Cygnet]

I have the opportunity to go to Park City at the end of March 2016. I've read rather mixed reviews about the resort. On the negative side they said it can be busy, snow vulnerable that late in the season. Any thoughts? Is it worth the trip from the UK?

Thanks

 

[marzNC]

Keep in mind that Park City is relatively close to two other canyons with well known ski areas. With a car, the drive is no more than an hour. Alta/Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) get more snow than Parley's Canyon. Always good spring skiing even in April, with the possibility of a powder storm. Solitude and Brighton are in Big Cottonwood Canyon (BCC) and cater more to locals. On a weekend, Solitude is a good choice to avoid lift lines even mid-season.

This season was usually poor for snow coverage in Utah in general. There were clearly a lot of families who booked lodging at Park City for spring break but mostly skied in LCC.

How long a trip? What type of terrain do you like?

Note that with Easter being so early in 2016, Park City will be that much more busy during March spring break weeks.

 

[SkiBam]

I skied at Park City for one day a few years ago - April 1 it was - lovely spring conditions and we enjoyed it. Though maybe not as much as Alta/Snowbird and Brighton/Solitude. But as marzNC says, it's not far from one to the other. Personally I wouldn't pass up a trip to Utah - it's fabulous!

 

[mustski]

Agreed! There are so many ski resorts in the area that you are very likely to hit great terrain and great conditions somewhere. Go for it!

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

Probably depends on if you plan to rent a car or if you plan to rely on the Park City buses. If you base yourself in Park City and rent a car, like everyone else says you can drive between all the different canyons depending on who has the best snow. However if you were planning a trip to Park City and not renting a car and instead plan to depend on the bus to get between Park City/Canyons and Deer Valley then that may be a different story for end of March. I skied the Park City area resorts a year ago in early March--it was a bit warm and it definitely was slushy on the lower mountain. However further up top it was fine, nice conditions. I think the lower elevation of the Park City area resorts can be an issue if it's warm and I think they don't tend to get as much snow as Little Cottonwood or Big Cottonwood Canyon, which in low snow year like this year can mean thin coverage. Of course one can never tell what the weather will be in advance and hopefully next year will be nothing like this year as far as snowfall.
That being said, I really enjoyed my time last year skiing Park City. I liked the PCMR resort (but was only there on a Monday which is most likely a very non busy day). I didn't get to ski the Canyons so can't speak to that, but I think the interconnect between PCMR and Canyons is supposed to be done next year. I also skied Deer Valley which I didn't like as much as I expected to.

 

[altagirl]

I've lived here for 14 years now and STILL have never skied PCMR. Even though I've had free tickets available a few of those years. So honestly I can't tell you what it's like in winter, other than that it doesn't appeal to me. Mainly because you can see the terrain park features from miles away and that's not my kind of thing. I will say though, that the lift that runs into town is really cool - lots of fun restaurants on main street. I know we talked about trying it mainly with the intent of it being a fun foodie adventure more than a skiing one.

I do LOVE Deer Valley though. But again, when I ski there, it tends to be with friends and we're all focused on the food and company more than the skiing. Some times it's been great snow and really fun skiing (powder days there are wonderful!), other times we're counting down the minutes until they serve alcohol... But the lunch buffet at the Montage is to die for. And cocktails and champagne sabering on the deck at the St. Regis is also fabulous. So even in years where the skiing is only mediocre, we always have an amazing time. Surprisingly, the skiing at DV was actually fantastic this April, as long as you didn't mind staying on the groomers. It softened up nicely in the sun and we skied WAY longer than we thought we would.

But I'd agree with other posters that if you have a chance to come, why not? Unless you're really stuck specifically at PCMR for some reason, there are a lot of resorts nearby to try.

 

[Cygnet]

Ladies, thank you so much for your replies. It sounds very tempting but I still have some reservations.

We prefer to ski groomers, won't have a car and will be dependent on bus service so not sure how much we'll be able to get around to the other resorts. It also looks as though the dates (which we can't change) clash with Park City Schools' Spring Recess in 1st week of April... Would this make it particularly busy?

The other option we have (same dates) is to go to BC - eg Sun Peaks and Apex. Any thoughts as to which would be better from a snow quality/busy-ness point of view?

Thanks

 

[marzNC]

Ladies, thank you so much for your replies. It sounds very tempting but I still have some reservations.

We prefer to ski groomers, won't have a car and will be dependent on bus service so not sure how much we'll be able to get around to the other resorts. It also looks as though the dates (which we can't change) clash with Park City Schools' Spring Recess in 1st week of April... Would this make it particularly busy?

The other option we have (same dates) is to go to BC - eg Sun Peaks and Apex. Any thoughts as to which would be better from a snow quality/busy-ness point of view?

Thanks

The local school spring break won't make that much difference. Those Park City kids who are in families who ski a lot won't be that interested in early April snow conditions. Except for the youngest, they probably aren't on groomers that much in any case. Even when there the powder storms in April, the lines at Alta are much shorter than during mid-season because most locals were happier staying in the spring weather in the valley.

Possible to take a day bus from Park City to Alta/Snowbird. I think the price includes a lift ticket.

Where would you fly into for Sun Peaks?

 

[mustski]

The first week of April is a common spring break week for schools all over the US. The problem might be the families traveling for a spring break trip. I have skied spring break my entire teaching career and haven't found it to be a problem. I choose resorts that are large enough to accommodate the crowds and have enough lifts to get the crowds up the mountain and dispersed. In Park City, you will have the choice of PC/Canyons (huge) and DV which has great dispersal lifts. I think you will be just fine and are quite likely to find good groomer conditions. These resorts are known for their grooming.

 

[Gloria]

I have been to PC the past 3 years for an event the last week in March. PC is a full on resort. Most runs are groomed and it is one of the busier places I have skied, although most liftlines aren't too bad, the base area can be ridiculous though. Last year the snow was ok, the first year marginal and this year I barely skied while there because there was not enough open to justify the ticket price, the first two years they gave good pricing for parents but Vail now owns it and they were not as kind.
On the bright side if you like groomers they have tons. If you are going with kids it is a real good place for that. There is alot to do there off the mountain as well and Deer Valley and Canyons are right there so you could easily hit all 3 without a car.

 

[Christy]

I would go to Park City over Sun Peaks. SP gets a lot less snow, and closes in early April. It's a small purpose built resort in the middle of nowhere. Probably the only reason I would ever go to SP again is if somehow they had great snow and nowhere else I could drive to did. I too like Deer Valley; the nice thing about PC is that you have 3 resorts, plus a town. If the snow isn't great, like Altagirl said, you still have good food and a town with amenities. In SP if the snow isn't good, there's really nothing else to do, except Nordic ski.

 

[2ski2moro]

I haven't skied there in years, but I love skiing at PCMR and Deer Valley. In fact, Deer Valley has great groomers. My nieces went through ski school at PCMR and Deer Valley, too.

I was there once early season and the rest of the time was mid-March. Get to the lifts early and go high for the best snow. Just come. It's worth it.

 

[Christy]

I should qualify my advice. Yes I'd still pick PC over Sun Peaks. BUT. I'd make sure you will have fun even if conditions aren't good, because they probably won't be great, and that this won't impact your other ski trips too much. So if this is an opportunity to travel with a great group of friends and you'll have fun no matter what then sure, go. But if that's not the case, and this trip (from the UK!) means you won't get to go somewhere when conditions might be better (or if this would be the only ski trip of the year), I'd skip it.

 

[altagirl]

I should qualify my advice. Yes I'd still pick PC over Sun Peaks. BUT. I'd make sure you will have fun even if conditions aren't good, because they probably won't be great, and that this won't impact your other ski trips too much. So if this is an opportunity to travel with a great group of friends and you'll have fun no matter what then sure, go. But if that's not the case, and this trip (from the UK!) means you won't get to go somewhere when conditions might be better (or if this would be the only ski trip of the year), I'd skip it.

I'd agree. If you're looking for a fun trip - Park City in April would be fun, and you're likely to have nice sunny weather (or full-on snowstorms), but it's usually nice one way or the other (not cold and gray often in April), and the Park City trio of resorts do an excellent job of grooming, so the groomer skiing is likely to be quite good. Plus the town is a good time regardless and there is plenty to do, with good public transport.

BUT - if this is your one big ski trip and you're looking for powder days or the most reliable best snow conditions - earlier in the season is probably a safer bet.

 

[Cygnet]

Ladies, somewhat late in the day here's an update on my dilemma of whether to go with a group of acquaintances to Park City in early April, or not. We decided against it - and went to Banff (Sunshine Village and Lake Louise ) instead, as we were committed to those dates. So glad we did. The group were disappointed - Spring Snow conditions prevailed and they could only ski short days. Meanwhile, at Sunshine in particular, we had very good conditions - the snow softened after any overnight freeze pretty quickly but never became too soft or slushy. We spent 2 days at Lake Louise - conditions weren't as good as Sunshine and so we went with one of the ski hosts for our first day. This meant we benefitted from local knowledge of the best runs to do.

Thank you for your input - we had a really good holiday - Park City is still on my wish list - but only when we can go a bit earlier in the season.