I'm a December baby, so snow is in my DNA. The first sight of the season's snowflake instantly elevates my mood. Snow is pure, snow is beautiful, and snow is fun!
But living in the midwest, you have to head west for the really good snow and miles of ski runs. Our go-to has been Colorado for many years and we've always had great experiences but we were looking to ski new terrain and heard Park City was amazing.
Not knowing any better, we booked during spring break in March. We arrived to massive amounts of snow... and absolutely no crowds. Where was everyone? Did they not have spring break vacation? Literally every lift - there was no line. Literally every restaurant - never a wait. The pool - had it all to ourselves. The village - practically empty.
How did we get so lucky? According to avid Park City skiers, March tends to be too warm and not the best snow conditions compared to December through February. However, 2023 had record amounts of snowfall - the local mountain resorts boasted eye-popping season totals. Both Park City Mountain and Deer Valley topped 600 inches of snow during the winter, numbers so high for the Park City area that they were difficult to comprehend, especially since the average annual snowfall is 287". Since most people had already skied for the season, the village and runs were crowd-free.
The mountain is ours!
BEFORE YOU GO
Rent your ski or snowboard equipment in advance. This will not only save you money, but a ton of time. Vacations are never long enough, so I hate waiting in lines for things I could have done online prior.
STAY
Finding a hotel or rental that will have separate beds for our 2 kids is not always easy, or in budget. But we discovered Yotel PAD, which had bunk beds and even a kitchenette. Best yet, it is walking distance from the lift (up the hill and stairs though) and the hotel has ski & boot storage. Easy!
After a fun day of skiing we took advantage of the heated pool and hot tub, as well as the games in the lobby area. We have since stayed here 2 more times!
DO
Besides skiing, see the mountain from a different view via a snowmobile tour! We had a blast with Park City Peaks Snowmobiling - make sure you ask for Steve DiVito and tell him that Tony Bruno sent you.
COME BACK
We loved Park City so much that the boys headed back in the summer for a mountain biking and dirtbike trip.