Last week my husband and I flew out to Utah for a ski trip with another married couple who are some dear friends of ours. We did this same trip in 2024, and it was great, so we decided to go again this year!
I grew up going on ski trips in Colorado, and then Utah, so I’ve traveled to ski several times. Justin and I have been skiing together about 6 times, with no end in sight. We both love the sport, love the snowy Utah mountains, and can’t wait for the kids to get a little older so we can bring them along!
There are a few very strategic things we did when we plan this ski trip that make it so seamless, and I wanted to offer some suggestsions here, based on my experience, in case you ever have plans to head out west to ski.
I’ve stayed in ski in/ski out hotels, condos that are a 8-9 minute drive to the parking lot at the base of the mountain, and stayed in downtown Park City. Staying in Downtown Park City is my favorite. It’s were we’ve stayed with our friends the past two years, and serves our needs well!
Other than going out to dinner, out to a bar, or potentially finding live music, there isn’t a huge variety of activities in the evening around these ski resorts near Park City. A resort will likely offer things like a fire pit, perhaps an ice skating rink, or maybe a few shops, but otherwise the primary evening activity is going out to dinner.
Staying right on Main Street in downtown Park City makes it super easy to walk to wherever we want to eat, walk through some local shops, and then walk back home when we’re ready to get to bed. We’re typically exhausted after a long day of skiing, so it’s not like any of us are looking for a late night anyway!
We chose a location to stay in that is about a 5 minute talk to the “Town Lift”, which is a chairlift right in downtown that will take skiiers up the mountain to get their ski day started. This lift is also located next to the place we rent our ski equipment so that makes it extremely easy to access.
In the morning, we walk the few minutes to the rental spot, grab our gear, leave our shoes in a cubby, and then hope on the chairlift ready to ski! The process is quick and easy. At the end of the day, we take a run down that ends at the Town Lift so we can dump our gear in the overnight storage through our rental spot, and then walk home in the shoes we stashed away in the morning.
We’ve really dialed in our ski style with our friends, so we stick together the whole time and hit mostly blue runs. We love a heavily wooded run that cuts through the Aspens, or a super wide and fast blue run!
At 11:00a, no matter what, we stop for lunch on the mountain. There are a few mid-mountain restaurants that you can ski right up to, and there is usually a good variety of food that is cafeteria style so it’s quick to eat. We always eat early because the restaurants get packed, and I mean *packed* around noon and after. People are waiting behind other folks who are finishing their meals to take their spot when they stand up. It’s unbelievable how crazy the restaurants get in the afternoon, and frankly it’s an incredible waste of time!
As far as gear goes, we bring our own helmets but rent boots and skis. This year I took the plunge into custom ski boots and boy was that a great decision. I had been suffering with severe shin pain for years, so much so that I’m in tears by the 3rd day of skiing, and it really put a damper on the trip for me. I held off investing in custom ski boots because I heard that they take “so long” to break in, but frankly I was comfortable and happy in them on the first day I wore them! And the second day was even better! I went to Surefoot in the Canyons, and it was a great experience. I hope to only increase the amount of skiing I do each year, so I’m sure I’ll use the custom boots well! There is a remarkable difference between rentals and the “formed to your foot and leg” boots, and now I can speak from experience that they are absolutely worth it if you have any shin/foot/leg problems in rental boots.
The time we plan to ski is really well matched for what works for our availability to be away from our kids, and making the most of the long flight out west. We skiied 3 full days this year, with two travel days on the bookends of the trip. On Thursday evening we went snowmobiling just to change up the evening activity and that was a lot of fun. It’s not something we will do every year, but it was a new experience to do together on this recent trip! We went to Red Pine Adventures for the snowmobiling activity, and I’d recommend that location for a super fun and exciting adventure. They also offer to pick you up from your hotel or downtown, so the process of getting there is seamless.
With Uber, a grocery store within walking distance, a 24-hour 7/11 just a few steps from our VRBO, and a general vibe of a laid back, chill vacation, we have everything we need! We’ve never wished we rented a car, and we never need more than a condo to share downtown Park City!
Other than the logistics of making sure the trip goes smoothly, it’s such a great activity and the views from the top of the mountains are unmatched. It’s a joy to spend this time with our friends and make memories together!
