This summer I had the great privilege of attending the wedding of one of my “little sisters.” I used quotes because we are not blood sisters, but it might as well be. Hailey was something like 5 when I became friends with her older sister and I’ve been in her life ever since. She and I share the privilege of being cancer survivors, but we are also both dreamers, and romantics and goal chasers.
This summer she got married in Park City and I got to fly in and help with day-of wedding details and directing. In my former life, I got to do a lot of that, but it has been a while since I got to be this intimately involved with a wedding and it was not my own.
The setting was beautiful, the time with their family was not nearly long enough, but she was a beautiful bride and we partied.
One afternoon, while we had a little downtime, I walked down the hill from the house we were staying in an explored around Park City. It is a beautiful place and the whole time I was there, I was texting Mr. McKinney pictures of all. the. things. and telling him we needed to come back and spend some time there together.
If you are like me and are not super familiar with the area, Park City is an old mining town. Some big wigs and investors in 1868 literally struck silver in those mountains. But, that type of thing eventually runs out. And, in order to survive, the city had to rethink their mountainous advantages and completely rebrand themselves.
So, they reinvented themselves as a ski resort town and once winter hits these same roads and streets are covered with coats and ski boots and winter bunnies. This town is also known as the host of the Sundance Film Festival. As the festival literally outgrew Sundance, it had to find a new home and Park City hosts many of the events related to the film festival each January/February.
One interesting thing is that Park City area was discovered during a map-making expedition “across the west” in 1840. Brigham Young, and a group of followers fled to this area seeking religious freedom in what was then considered part of the Southwest States and California that became part of the US in 1848.
The promise of a fresh start and entrepreneurial opportunities with the 49ers headed to the gold rush or took the Oregon Trail headed NE. I’m telling you after this summer’s trip, I’ve really determined there is so much of the US I still want to explore.
In the 1960s skiing took off nationwide and new ski resorts were sought after. Especially ones that included ski lift technology and a place to get away by plane. One of the ways the dying town helped themselves grow was to take the old mine routes and turn them into ski lifts. While the passengers nearly froze in those old chutes, it was a built-in way that already existed to get them to the top of the mountain.
While I was in Park City, I made a few notes for my next trip back, and to share with you, who like me, may have no idea this needs to be a destination on your list.
Top Reasons why Park City, Utah should be on your list of future destinations:
- Communication enthusiasts will enjoy the story of telephone, local newspapers, post office lines and communicating with the world.
- Entrepreneurial spirit abounds and is demonstrated by discovering the best or the western world, avoiding trouble and discovering the dream.
- Romantics will love the quiet streets and a perfect place for an afternoon stroll or a nook to just enjoy the view.
- Sociologists, researchers, and historians will be surprised by the artifacts and stories of the billionaires who invested, set up structures and created and recreated this place!
- Coffee lovers and foodies will find rich opportunity to sit on a patio (in summer months) and sip a cup or enjoy dinner to the melodies of a live band.
- Businessmen and entrepreneurs will be intrigued by the stories of investment, pushing through the Great Depression and rethinking land into new possibilities. Oh and meat. It was a big deal at local markets. Necessary to feed homes turned boarding house and average worker, families
- Media, movie and Entertainment fans would learn more about the history behind the centerfold of the Sundance Film Festival.
- And of course, the adventure and thrill seeker will learn the roots of the ski resort life and maybe find an opportunity to play.
Places to see while you are in Park City:
- Park City Historical Museum
- Historic Main Street
- Marriot’s Summit Watch – this is totally where I would want to stay to be in the middle of everything, but you can take advantage of
- The silver station
- Barbershop and spa
- LL Bean and Patagonia stores
- Stroll and dinner – all day every day!
- The shops at the Village on Main Street
- The Fieldhouse by Basin Recreation – Splash pad
- Bike Trails and city loop
- Wander around Olympic Park
- Alpine Coaster
I seriously cannot wait for us to plan a trip here. I think for me it would be a fall or spring trip. I want some easy quiet mornings on the mountain. And, there were so many vacation rentals and new condos going in. It’s a fun place that always seems to have something going and something new they are trying. My little tourism brain was turning all kinds of wheels.
