The kiddos and I had a whirlwind 24 hours in this outdoor Shangri-La with our St. George-dwelling friends Dave and Rebecca and their two children.
Dave and I have been friends from way back when and our backpacking adventures included an epic journey up Yosemite’s Half Dome and being snowed on and then almost struck by lightning on Zion’s West Rim Trail.
Stuff like that bonds you for life.
We have been trying to plan an adventure for the last five years but kids, illness and life have always gotten in the way. But in a flash of serendipity, we were in Park City the same weekend so our families planned an adventure together.
(Hadley rocking the climbing wall. No pun intended.)
Why the Park City Art Festival Is NOT For Kids
We started at the Park City Art Festival which, if you’re ever tempted to take your kids? Don’t. Unless you want to spend the entire time steering your kids away from breaking psychedelic artwork that would take your entire lifetime to pay off.
But Haddie and Sienna claim the green kitty cat face painting was worth it.
Of course, they didn’t have to fork over the money to pay for it.
Why Park City Mountain Resort IS for Kids
Park City Mountain Resort’s base area was the true highlight of the trip. I’ve been to a number of resorts in the summer but none compared to PCMR’s compendium of activities that included the Alpine Coaster AND Alpine Slide, Ziprider, bungee trampoline, miniature golf, climbing wall and Little Miner’s Park with a carousel and rides for small children.
Dave and Rebecca were both skeptical of the lightning-fast alpine coaster but I assured them it was our favorite activity. After some initial reluctance (and a first run wherein three different coasters caught up with slowpoke Dave), they were hooked. In fact, Dave loved it the most and was the very last rider at the end of the evening.
I convinced Rebecca to ride the zipline with me. A bit of history: When I was a teenager at girl’s camp, I was asked to dress up as a clown and ride the zipline upside down while screaming and poking fun at all the freaked-out girls. I totally could have gone pro.
Well, if such a thing existed.
Rebecca, on the other hand, had never ridden a zipline. There was a wee bit of apprehension.
And some more.
To calm her nerves, I shared my own tales of barrelling across the zipline at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Though I assured her Park City Mountain Resort’s drop was far worse.
I am totally the person you want to have around in a crisis situation.
Rebecca careened down that mountain like a champ, even passing me at the very end. We had planned to hit Park City’s Main Street for dinner but we were so obsessed with cramming in every last slope-side activity that we kept playing…and playing even after the resort’s fast-food restaurant closed down.
At 9 p.m. after the final run down the Alpine Coaster, the kids’ stomachs growled in protest. I took one glance at exhausted Bode and knew he would not last so we grabbed some ice cream bars and Chex mix from the Mountainside Marriott’s snack bar.
Truly, it was the breakfast dinner of Park City Mountain Resort’s champions.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 