Park City, Utah Mountain Hiking Adventures
Ski Resorts Offer Hikers and Mountain Bikers High-Altitude Views
Aug 24, 2009
In Salt Lake City’s valley, the sun can make it seem desert-like, but Park City is higher up in the mountains, where days are warm and nights cool. At about 6,900 feet altitude -- 700 feet higher than the top of Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast – Park City is ringed by mountains that rise even higher, to more than 10,000 feet.
Hiking Deer Valley
Most of the resorts in the Park City area offer a full range of outdoor options. At Deer Valley, mountain guide Chris Northcott leads a number of varied hikes to the slopes and peaks surrounding the resort. One of these starts at the ski lodge at the base of the mountain, heading up the broad slope toward the chair lift. But any hope that this is to be a ride-up-walk-down hike quickly vanishes.
Views of the Wasach Range with Wildflowers
Seeking the Deer Crest Trail, he leads to a gravel path that rises diagonally behind the base hotel complex. Almost immediately the views from the trail widen and as the trail turns back, it follows a grassy ski trail before plunging back into the woods. On these high mountainsides the woods include a few western conifers and generous displays of aspens -- slender gray-bark trees with elliptical leaves that whisper in the wind. Also lining the trail and covering surrounding hillsides are countless wildflowers. Though the best bloom is usually before mid-July, a rainy spring extends blooms well into August. A stop off at the Crest of the Deer Crest lift provides a spectacular view of the huge Jordanelle Reservoir, far below.
A Hike Ending with a Gourmet Lunch
The goal of this hike is The Royal Street Café, located mid-mountain at the end of the Silver Lake Express lift. While there are a few steeper sections of the trail that call for breaks, much of it is along more gently rising terrain through fields of grasses and flowers and tree-shaded forest. Reaching the Café after a trek of several miles is a double delight. The reward is a gourmet lunch -- perhaps a shrimp and lobster Margarita for a starter and Asian Chicken Salad. Perhaps it’s best to take the lift back down.
Guardsman Pass and the Tri-County Peak Trail
Another great hike is less well known than the trails at the resorts. Follow Route 224 out of Deer Valley (Ontario Canyon Road and Marsac Avenue). This will become Guardsman Pass Road to Brighton and Big Cottonwood Canyon. Winding up through the mountains, the route provides stunning views. At the top of the pass, where the road makes a V opposite Guardsman Peak, park in the gravel lot.
Two trails leave from here: the left down to Blood Lake and the right to the Tri-County Peaks. The latter is a short hike of perhaps no more than a mile, much of the way lined with wildflowers. It is a steep steady climb over a trail that is often littered with pieces of shale-like rock. In dry conditions, the earth around the rocks wears to an almost talcum-powder consistency, making the trail slippery. But the view from the top is worth the effort. From this open rounded peak there is a 360-degree view over the valley of Brighton and Solitude, with mountain tops in every direction.
Park City is a wonderful place for an active outdoor vacation. It has more than 325 miles of trails for hikers and bikers, wonderful accommodation and first class dining.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
