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High Altitude Happiness in Park City, Utah

Shandana A. Durrani
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Park City
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Park City, Utah is one of our favorite four-season adventure stops. From hundreds of miles of singletrack trails for mountain bikes and running, to world class powder skiing, it is a haven for adrenaline junkies all year around. However, outdoors adventure is just one draw for a long vacation weekend. Every year Park City hosts the venerated Sundance Film Festival, and features an ever-growing nightlife scene, as well as one of our favorite distilleries in the country.

PLAY

Skiing at Park City Mountain Resort
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Your first stop in town should be Park City Mountain Resort. Vail Resorts recently merged PCMR with The Canyons to create one of the largest ski resorts in North America. In the winter the resort boasts over 7,300 acres of skiable terrain. Come in the summer, and you’ll be treated to a world class golf course, mountain biking trails that host professional enduro and downhill races, and other mountain activities. You could spend your entire vacation on the resort property, and still not see everything available.

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SHOP

Main Street Shopping
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Historic Mainstreet shopping features everything from high end art galleries to typical tourist dives. No matter if you’re making the mountain town souvenir grind, or looking for something a little more cultured, you should stop in at Burns Cowboy Shop. From custom western hats and boots to locally made leather goods, Burns might not make you a legitimate bronco rider, but you’ll look the part. Further from downtown, Backcountry.com, one of the largest retailers of ski, bike, and climbing gear in the country, has a large showroom. Make sure to stop in if you need a last minute essential for a day of hiking.

EAT & DRINK

High West Saloon
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A trip to Park City isn’t complete without a visit to High West Distillery. Founded in 2009, High West is Utah’s first distillery since 1870. Their saloon on Park Avenue boasts a general store (get a bottle of Rendezvous Rye to take home), and in the winter, expect to see crowds for the après ski scene still in their ski boots and pants.

SLEEP

Stein Eriksen Lodge
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The best place to stay is easily the Stein Eriksen Lodge. Voted the best ski hotel in the world for two years in a row, the Lodge boasts an award winning spa, views from every room and outdoors space, and positively the best ski-in-ski-out access of any hotel in Park City. If your goal is to hammer downhill on skis or a bike, and be pampered during your downtime, you won’t find a better option.

Updated by Austin Parker October 21, 2016. Photos Courtesy of Visit Park City, Vail Resorts, and Stein Eriksen Lodge

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Shandana A. Durrani
Shandana A. Durrani
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Shandana A. Durrani has been a magazine editor and travel writer for more than two decades. Her work has appeared in numerous…
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