This post contains affiliate links. We may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
We are still talking about how awesome our time in Dear Valley/Park City was and today I am sharing how to spend 72 hours in in the Park City area. Thanks again to Montage Deer Valley for hosting us on this wonderful adventure!
We have found that 72 hours to be a good amount of time to spend in each city we visit.
Of course we would love to spend more time, but with everyone’s schedule that seems to be a good compromise. We have a good amount of time to explore, but we aren’t away for too long. It also makes it possible to take more adventures each month since we can break up our 8+ days of travel into at least two trips.
Planning this trip was really easy.
We’ve heard amazing things about Deer Valley and more specifically the Montage Resort so we knew where we wanted to stay. The resort is about 45 very easy to drive miles from the Salt Lake City airport and there are direct flights from many different cities, including our home airport of San Diego. We could have stayed at the resort the whole time and filled our days with tons of fun… but because we were only 10 minutes from Park City we decided to venture down that way too.
This is just a sampling of what you can do and see in Park City over 72 hours:
After we checked in to the Montage Resort we headed down to historic Main Street.
There is shopping, dining, museums, art galleries and more. Start at one end of the street and walk all the way down, then switch sides. If you get tired there are buses that run up and down the street and they are free to ride. They are funded from the revenue from when the Olympics were in town.
Take a tour of Main Street while you are there. The Park City Museum has guided history tours and evening ghost tours. We took the guided ghost tour (don’t laugh) and we loved it. The girls all enjoyed it too. It wasn’t scary, more educational and spoke of different historical events that happened in the town. Our guide made it really fun. I’ve learned that the girls absorb more about history from these types of experiences than just reading about them so we try to include them whenever possible.
Go see the BANKSY artwork on Main Street.
It’s well preserved (after it was vandalized last year) and really fun to see.
See the Egyptian Theater.
This is the premier destination during the Sundance Film Festival and really fun to see during the off season. It hosts numerous live performances throughout the year too!
Spend an afternoon in the Park City Museum.
This was one of the best museums we’ve ever been to. From the perspective of a five year old to teens and then to us adults, we all really enjoyed it. Emmy loved the hands on activities and learning all about the mines and the miners that worked in them.
They had exhibits that showed what a general store would look like at the turn of the century and an interactive mine shaft that showed how it worked… and how dangerous it was.
Pete and I found the area about the great fire of June 1898 very interesting (and sad). Having experienced wild fires here in San Diego we couldn’t even imagine the destruction to the lives of these hard working people with this fire and it was a good history and humanity lesson for us.
The museum has been many things in the past including the fire station and the jail. You can tour the jail in the basement and it is still in it’s original condition after surviving the fires that brought down much of the original city.
It appears that the girls did not enjoy the jail… but Pete did?
The museum has a very robust gift shop and the girls all brought home rocks!
After a day spent on Main Street we were hungry.
Thankfully there are many fine dining options. We even found some vegan options! To pick our meals we just noted different restaurants (after checking out their menus because they change often and with the season) and then went back when it was time to eat.
Early morning hikes are a must!
Pete and the girls did a couple on their own and I joined them on some too. The beautiful trees and the smell of the forest were something I’ll never forget. We were advised to steer clear of any Moose we might run into… and thankfully we didn’t have any close encounters on our hikes.
However, on our first night I Was sitting out on this balcony and it was just about completely dark outside when I noticed something moving right below me… it was a HUGE Moose. There wasn’t enough light to take a picture of it but it was a magical moment. I whispered to Emmy and Ashley to come and onto the balcony and they too were able to see it before it meandered around the side and out of sight!
No trip to the mountains is complete without s’mores. Make sure you have one or two or three!
Bring your cameras!
Emmy wore one to record us going on slides and the chair lift for a scenic experience. Different activities are open at different times of the year. From skiing (of course) to sledding, roller coasters, slides, climbing, bike riding and more!
Back at the Montage resort we played ping-pong in the sports store and then did archery! They offered many other activities too so plan some time to enjoy the resort.
Never been to Utah myself but have friends close by who have talked about Park City before, looks like a lovely place!
I want to go to Park City Utah one of these days. It sounds like you had so much fun. I know it is a huge ski junction in the winter time. I think 72 house is a decent amount of time but I would enjoy a few more days though.
That resort and small town look like a place that I would enjoy. I have only ever transferred flights in Salt Lake City. One day I will go back and spend some time actually travelling around.
It looks like you had a really great time. I am such a sucker for museums, and trying to find every bit of culture to soak in wherever I am. It looks like you were able to do that and more in Park City. I would so love to see that Banksy art.
These really looks a fun and relaxing place to visit. Looking forward to visit there soon. Perfect place to visit with the whole family.
I’ve never been to Utah but I used to have a penpal from there when I was in middle school. It seems like a beautiful place to visit.
Beautiful I love the photo’s . Your family looks like they had a great time.
I have never been to Utah before, but I have always wanted to visit! Utah seems to have such beautiful scenery and landscape.
My husband has been to Utah once & the pictures he has captured in his camera was worth to know more about the beauty of the city. I think it is wonderful place to visit with family & kids in particular.
What a fun place to visit! The Egyptian Theater sounds really fun. I also enjoy BJ Thomas. I like that he is still touring. 🙂
I have always wanted to visit Utah. The pictures you captured make me want to go there even more!
Park City is such a great place to visit. Sounds like you and your family had a fabulous time!