Park City + Alta | Utah

In January we traveled out west to PARK CITY, Utah! I fell in love with this chic mountain town and surrounding ski slopes when my Dad brought my sister and I over 10 years ago. For Christmas Bob gave me a ski travel bag and much to my surprise the card hidden inside it revealed this trip! A bunch of friends were on board too. With easy direct flights from BOS to SLC, a couple rental Suburbans, a gorgeous four bedroom house situated in between the Park City Town lift and Main Street, plus Utah's Wasatch Mountain Range offering plenty of snow - we had an absolute blast. Would you expect anything less?! Here's a look at where to play in Park City, Deer Valley and in Little Cottonwood Canyon at Alta.

On PISTE: Don't miss Lookout Cabin at The Canyons @ PCMR and Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley (post here)

Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR): Lookout Cabin is located at the top of Short Cut Lift and off the Orange Bubble Express mid-station. They offer table service, a full bar, and gorgeous views of the Wasatch Range. After an incredible morning that saw us up early for first corduroy tracks, navigating from Park City Town Lift to the Canyon slopes via Quicksilver Gondola, and skiing runs at pretty much every peak area including Nintey-Nine 90, Sun Peak and Murdock Peak, we were ready to relax. We shared a jalapeno poutine, I drank a glass of sparking rosé and enjoyed a cauldron of creamy Mac n Cheese.

In town: High West Distillery & Saloon is a must! Located at the bottom of Quittin' Time ski run - they're the only ski-in gastro distillery in the world! High West encompasses a rowdy, sprawling saloon as well as intimate drinking and dining spaces. We settled in a back room on some comfy leather couches to sample their award winning whiskey via flights and impressive cocktails before heading to dinner across the street at Zoom. I wouldn't hesitate to make dinner reservations at High West next time around - the plates of alpine inspired Western fare passing by looked really good. Below I'm drinking You're a Daisy If You Do ($13) - stirred and strong with Campfire, Ron Zacapa 23, Carpano Antica + Ramazzoti. I also sampled the whiskeys in Bob's flight - High West 101 ($13) - the Campfire is sweet, spicy and smokey.

Zoom is Robert Redford's restaurant located on Main Street inside a restored train depot. Pictured is my entrée of Smoked Chicken ($28) accompanied by cheddar grits, chicory lettuces + puffed farro. I was a big fan of all the appetizers we shared like Hamachi Crudo ($16) with citrus, pear, kimchee chips + a cilantro emulsion, the Fried Brussels Sprouts ($9) with dates, almonds + a fennel hatch chili mostarda, and Grilled Meatballs ($12) made with wagyu, roasted chicken, stewed chickpeas + peanuts. Zoom was a crowd pleasing and noteworthy meal.

Continuing with the Park City town recommends:

Shabu - an intimate subterranean sushi spot ideal for date night. With two seats at the raw bar we watched ski movies playing overhead and noshed on specialty maki rolls. The Coco Loco ($18) with albacore tuna, cucumber and Thai basil topped with maguro tuna, salmon, tobiko and sweet wasabi coconut aioli was indeed crazy (loco) good! The Nitro Roll ($19) with tempura shrimp, avocado and pineapple, topped with maguro, tempura flakes and eel sauce was another exceptionally creative maki. We paired our rolls with fun Sake Flights. 

Riverhorse on Main - Friends dined here for their date night and were raving. I ate here ten years ago and remember it fondly! Riverhorse is actually one of the oldest and most distinguished restaurants on Park City's Main Street and continues to set the standard for fine dining in Utah.

Rock n Reilly's - more of a warning and not a solid recommend. With a divey alpine ambiance it worked just fine to watch the Patriots playoff game but the food was supbar. Wings came out cold, they were out of about half the menu, and the meals they did have were drab and disappointing. If you do end up here - skip the food.

O'Shucks - Inexpensive beers, shuffleboard, pool and pinball. They also have a nice selection of hot beverages - I'm drinking a Hot Buttered Rum!

No Name Saloon - I love this place! In fact, adding to my list of best ski town/après bars. (Alongside Chambre Neuf in Chamonix, France and Merlin's at Whistler Blackomb, BC.)

The photos below are from Alta and surrounding mountain views in Little Cottonwood Canyon which is about an hour drive from Park City. This was my first time skiing Alta and it was beyond impressive. (I've skied Alta's adjoining neighbor, Snowbird, amazing in its own right.) 

I'll leave you with this article as it describes what truly skiing Alta is all about.  

"In fact, some of the most fun and challenging terrain at Alta isn’t off the high-speed quad, it’s off a double and triple chair, Wildcat and Supreme respectively. On top of that, Alta makes you work for it."

Final Tips: Goldminer's Daughter at Alta is a sprawling saloon with floor to ceiling window views of the slopes, cozy fireside seating, and really, really good loaded chicken nachos. After a beer to two there head next door for one more at The Peruvian. The cozy locals bar on the second floor of this hotel has live music, boxed wine, and the.best.shot.ski ever (legit ski boots, eight of them, that clip into adorable little bindings.) It was a fun spot to end the trip before catching a red eye home.