It has been close to fifteen years since the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. I remembered watching the events and seeing the majestic mountains in the background as talented competitors vied for gold medals. When my best friend Melissa called to invite me for a weekend ski vacation to Park City, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
Melissa met me at the airport late at night and we made the drive to a friend’s house in Heber City. It was my first visit to the area so I was looking forward to morning to check out my surroundings. We drove back to the house and enjoyed dinner before sitting around the fire to catch up with dear friends and introduce ourselves to new ones.
Waking early the next morning, I headed upstairs towards the living area and porch where we spent the evening. The back of the house was nothing but windows and the gorgeous landscape was untouched from last night’s snowfall. When the sun shone, the snow on the trees sparkled like a glittering wonderland.
Plows had cleared the additional snow fall and all of us were super excited to hit the slopes. After breakfast, we dressed up in our ski gear and headed into the four-wheel drive to head down the mountain. Making our descent, I could not believe the sprawling views of the blue mountains and intermittent glimpses of town.
On our first day in Park City, we skied Canyons Resort. This ski resort originally opened in 1968 under the name Park City West and was one of three alpine resorts located in Park City. During our visit, Canyons was considered the largest ski and snowboarding center in the state of Utah.
We had over 4,000 acres available to us for skiing and just under 20 chairlifts for reaching the trails. With close to 200 ski runs, there were plenty of novice trails that I could enjoy while meeting up with my friends later at the bottom for some hot chocolate or a couple of drinks.
I started out skiing the Meadows and the Upper Mainline until I felt comfortable graduating to the green runs. It was so much fun watching some of the children taking lessons and I have to admit I heard a couple of tips or two! I spent most of my time on the Dreamcatcher lift while my friends went off to try more challenging trails.
What a great day to be skiing with friends!
I was finally feeling comfortable enough to hit some of the easier blue runs, so I headed over to Copper Head, White Pine, Pinecone, Panorama and Backstreet. By the end of the day, I was pretty exhausted, but it was a great feeling!
I later learned from my friends, that the slopes at Canyons were a bit icy, so everyone felt the runs were somewhat challenging. I have never skied out west and was told that the snow conditions were usually more powder than ice. I was just happy to be there!
The Canyons are now Canyons Village at Park City located at 4000 Canyons Resort Drive, Park City, Utah 84098. Check out their website for up-to-date lift and trail conditions as well as lift tickets, ski and snowboarding lessons and vacation deals at http://www.parkcitymountain.com/.
Are you an avid skier or a novice? Have you skied the Canyons in Park City? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments section below! Happy Travels!
More Beautiful Ski Photos!
On the Ski Lift
A More Difficult Slope
Skiers on the Ski Lift
