For ten days every January, Park City stops being a ski town. The Sundance Film Festival takes over Main Street, the population multiplies, restaurants stop taking normal reservations, shuttle traffic clogs the canyon road, and hotel rates go to three or four times what they are the week before or the week after.
If you are going for the festival, that is the price and you book a year ahead. If you are going to ski, those are the ten days to avoid, and almost nobody checks the dates before they book.
The three bases
Park City has two ski areas and they are not the same experience.
Deer Valley is skiers-only — no snowboarders, by long-standing policy — with groomed runs, a capped daily ticket count and the most expensive lodging in Utah. It is quiet, immaculate and deliberately exclusive.
Park City Mountain, which absorbed the neighbouring Canyons, is the largest ski area in the United States by acreage, open to everyone, busier and more varied.
Old Town, along Main Street, is the historic mining town between them: bars, restaurants, galleries and a funicular up to the Town Lift. It is where the life is and where Sundance happens.
The eleven below are grouped that way.
Deer Valley
Skiers only, groomed, and the most comfortable rooms in the state.
Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley sits mid-mountain in a Norwegian-style lodge founded by an Olympic champion, with ski-in ski-out access, a large spa and a wine list of real depth. It has set the standard here since 1982.
Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley
Silver Lake, Deer Valley · 5★ · $$$$
Mid-mountain lodge founded by an Olympic champion
Check availabilityMontage Deer Valley occupies a slope-side site with an art collection, a spa and the most contemporary luxury in Deer Valley. It is the best hotel in Utah.
Montage Deer Valley
Empire Pass, Deer Valley · 5★ · $$$$
Slope-side with the best spa and art in the state
Check availabilitySt. Regis Deer Valley sits at the base with a funicular carrying guests up to the property and the lifts, and the largest suites in the resort.
St. Regis Deer Valley
Deer Valley base · 5★ · $$$$
A funicular carries guests up to the property
Check availabilityGoldener Hirsch, Auberge Collection occupies a small Austrian-style building at Silver Lake, mid-mountain, with ski-in access and a fraction of the room count of its neighbours.
Goldener Hirsch, Auberge Collection
Silver Lake, Deer Valley · 5★ · $$$$
Small Austrian-style lodge with mid-mountain ski-in
Check availabilityPark City Mountain and Canyons Village
The larger ski area, more varied terrain, and lower rates.
Waldorf Astoria Park City sits at Canyons Village with ski-in ski-out access, a large spa and the most complete facilities of the group. It is the family answer here.
Waldorf Astoria Park City
Canyons Village · 5★ · $$$$
Ski-in ski-out with the most complete facilities here
Check availabilityPendry Park City occupies a position at the Canyons base with a rooftop pool, a good restaurant and a design-led interior.
Pendry Park City
Canyons Village · 5★ · $$$$
Rooftop pool and the most design-led interior at the base
Check availabilityGrand Summit Hotel - Canyons Village, a RockResort sits at the Canyons Village base with reliable rooms, a pool and direct lift access at a lower rate.
Grand Summit Hotel - Canyons Village, a RockResort
Canyons Village · 4★ · $$$
Direct lift access at the lowest base rate
Check availabilityOld Town and Main Street
The historic mining town. Bars, restaurants and the Town Lift, and the centre of Sundance.
Washington School House occupies an 1889 schoolhouse a block above Main Street with twelve rooms, a hot tub cut into the hillside and the most personal service in town.
Washington School House
Above Main Street · 5★ · $$$$
An 1889 schoolhouse with twelve rooms
Check availabilityHyatt Centric Park City sits at the foot of Main Street with a spa, an outdoor pool and the shortest walk to the restaurants and the Town Lift.
Hyatt Centric Park City
Lower Main Street · 4★ · $$$
Shortest walk to the restaurants and the Town Lift
Check availabilityHotel Park City, Autograph Collection occupies a site a few minutes from Main Street with a pool, straightforward rooms and the best value in town.
Hotel Park City, Autograph Collection
Park Meadows · 4★ · $$$
Best value in town with a pool and golf beside it
Check availabilityOutside the valley
The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Collection occupies a 1,400-hectare ranch at Wanship, half an hour north, with an equestrian programme, a distillery on site and no ski lift at all. It is the summer answer and a genuine escape in winter.
The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Collection
Wanship · 5★ · $$$$
A 1,400-hectare ranch with its own distillery
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The condominium and vacation rentals across Park City are excluded, and in Sundance week they are how most attendees actually stay. They are apartments and houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Check the Sundance dates before fixing anything. Late January, ten days, and the whole valley changes.
Ski both mountains if you can. Deer Valley for grooming and quiet, Park City for terrain and the Town Lift back into Main Street at the end of the day.
In summer this is a mountain-biking town with lift-served trails, and the rates fall by more than half. The Utah Olympic Park runs bobsleigh rides on the 2002 track.
Walk Main Street, which is a preserved nineteenth-century mining street rather than a reconstruction, and eat there rather than at the resort bases.
Salt Lake City is 35 minutes away, which makes this the most accessible major ski destination in America.
Practical notes
Salt Lake City airport is 35 to 45 minutes by road, and the canyon route can slow in storms.
The season runs late November to early April. Christmas, Presidents' weekend and Sundance are the three peaks. January outside Sundance and early December are the quiet weeks.
Park City sits at 2,100 metres and the ski terrain goes above 3,000. Take the first day gently.
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Questions people actually ask
Deer Valley or Park City Mountain?
Deer Valley for grooming, service and no snowboarders. Park City for size, variety and lower prices. Many people ski both.
Should you avoid Sundance?
If you are here to ski, yes. Rates triple and the town is at capacity.
Is Park City good in summer?
Very, and it is half the price. Mountain biking, hiking and the Olympic Park.
How many nights?
Five for skiing. Three is enough in summer.
If you only book one
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