Salt lake ski trip

if your wife wants to shop ( I assume ski town shop?) then Park City is really the only option. I also know I wouldnt enjoy a vacation out here as much if I were staying in SLC VS Park City.

if you just want to go ball to the wall skiing then stay in Sandy somewhere for quick access to Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood.

If your wife likes shopping then for sure stay in Park City or SLC. Park City has all the outlets which are super tight and really close to PC and Canyons but they don't really have the off piste advanced terrain as resorts in Little Cottonwood canyon like Alta/Snowbird but Alta and Snowbird is only like a half hour from SLC and then you get the shopping aspect as well.

yeah, that's what i'm, starting to see. the only appealing thing about the park city slopes is the terrain park, but really nothing else. the two most interesting resorts to us seem snowbird and alta. canyons/pc don't seem that they would provide the advanced, off-piste terrain.

Salt Lake City has a lot of shopping.... you just have to go further to get to it. Closer to Alta/Bird in the valley is Fashion Place Mall, and then downtown are tons of boutiques and City Creek Mall.

PC is definitely more of a ski town, and ski town shopping, and ski town prices. SLC is classic mall shopping.

As far as skiing goes, you have it figured out. PC = Park. Canyons is lame. Alta/Bird for pow/all mountain or even Brighton/Solitude for a couple days for less crowds.

When you say, "closer to Alta/Bird in the valley is Fashion Place Ma;;," What valley are you referring to? i'm geographically stupid for that area obviously. What's the name and are there places there I could check out to stay at? thanks for the help again guys.

For Utah, if someone refers to "the valley" it's likely just Salt Lake Valley. Both Big and Little Cottonwood come out of the valley in a town called Cottonwood Heights. If you choose to stay up by those resorts (alta/Bird or Brighton/PC), it's cool but there isn't much to do after skiing compared to PC or staying in Salt Lake City.
If your lady wants more nightlife/shopping/restaurants, and you have the budget, stay in downtown SLC. You'll be able to walk to places, and skiing is only like 40 minutes away.

dont let the name fool you. i now live in Utah after having vacationed here many times.


if you want to go on a vacation (in the traditional sense of eating out, shopping, being able to walk places, etc) stay in PC. salt lake is nothing special. if your wife wants to shop i assume she doesnt want to shop at Nordstroms or Macys because you can go to those places anywhere. That is what you will get in Salt Lake, the same stores you would find at any mall in the nation. why fly across the country to shop at some cookie cutter mall?

you really want to stay in PC if you want to "vacation"

the resorts up at Snowbird / Alta are great if after skiing you want to eat at a fancy restaurant or go get hammered at the bar. But other than that your options are nill. The options at Brighton are even more limited, but solitude has more than brighton

if you do decide to stay downtown, check out the Red Lion for good rates, decent rooms, and a decent walkable location for downtown. but i would stay far far away from vacationing in Sandy or cottonwood hights. which are at the base BCC and LCC

feel free to PM me if youve got anything else.

Talisker is the scum of the earth, but as far as mountains go, Canyons would be my first recommendation for all the things OP is looking for. Its not amazing at any one thing, but it offers a decent amount of everything. Park is good, groomers are good, 9990/Peak 5/Dream Peak area is good for off piste, good lodging, close to the Outlet stores, close to PC...

Sure, you're not getting an amazing park like PC, or amazing terrain like LCC, but if you can't make it into multiple canyons (LCC/BCC/Summit) while you're here, Canyons has the most to offer.

Then again, if great terrain is the main thing you're looking for, definitely do LCC.

yes, thank you all for your help.

I think that's your best bet. As was mentioned, she isn't going to be blown away by anything in Salt Lake...SLC is really just a sprawling suburb that could be pulled from anywhere in the country. Park City is what she'll enjoy, but don't stay there because the drive from PC to LCC/BCC is an hour +. (There is a mountain pass that cuts directly from PC to Brighton in like 20 minutes, but it's only open in the summer and early fall.) Stay close to the mouth of the canyons and youll be close to great skiing and not too far from PC for her.

Park City for park and snowbird/alta pow and bc

From your comments and my research, i'm thinking of staying somewhere in Sandy - seems like a suburb, but cuts down the time to alta/bird.

Stay at the Residence Inn in Cottonwood. Your at the mouth of BCC, 10 minutes from LCC and right next to the freeway to go to PC or Downtown.


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thanks for the help, cottonwood heights looks like a geographically sound area.

so i just booked and w're staying at the residence inn as noted above. thank you everyone for all of the help!!1