Over the weekend, Roman and I flew to Salt Lake City to head up in the mountains for two days. It was a spur of the moment “I had Southwest points,” type of trip and I’m glad we went! Utah is gorgeous, and I’m so happy I got to see a small section of this beautiful state.

In this post, I wanted to do a quick review of this trip and describe some of what we saw in Utah. It was a quick weekend trip, but the perfect amount of time to touch on what northeastern Utah has to offer.

Park City, Utah – A View from the state capitol

Flight

First off, flying to Salt Lake City from Chicago is expensive. I think roundtrip from Chicago it’s around 350 dollars, which is pretty pricey compared to cities like Denver and Los Angeles. However, we booked with Southwest points, and I had a companion pass so Roman could come along. The flight is about 3 and a half hours from Chicago to Salt Lake City.

Park City, Utah – Flying out of Salt Lake City

Getting In

With about a two-hour delay we landed in Salt Lake City late on Friday night. Let’s be honest, it sucked to show up that late, but we were able to get our rental car quick and head east towards Park City. The drive was super easy, and it only takes about 45 minutes to Park City from the airport.

Location

Park City is a small alpine city tucked in the Wasatch Mountain Range. At around 7,000 feet it’s usually always 20 degrees colder than neighboring Salt Lake City. And we had happened to pick a more freezing weekend with temperature highs topping at 50 to 60 degrees. So a jacket was needed, and there was still snow on top of the surrounding peaks.

We decided to explore both cities as well as the northeastern part of Utah and into Wyoming. It’s a beautiful part of Utah and Wyoming filled with surprising mountain ranges, canyons, lakes, and wildlife.

See

I think this trip for us was about experiencing and so having the rental car to explore the area was vital. We drove around the Park City region, including cities like Kamas and Midway. Midway sits at the base of the Wasatch National Park and a beautiful place to take pictures. Most of these places were not in a guide book, and we happened to stumble on them only because of the beautiful mountains we wanted to get closer to.

Park City, Utah – Resort in the mountains

The northeastern part of Utah is beautiful and surprising in many ways. From one mountain range to the other, the landscapes can change dramatically. For instance, we drove from Park City to Evanston, Wyoming, and in that short distance it from mountains to a canyon to rolling hills with no trees. Mountain viewing alone is enough for me! Salt Lake City is a beautiful city tucked in the middle of two high mountain ranges with snow-capped peaks. From the Utah State Capitol, there are fantastic views of the valley and peaks.

Park City

By far the most popular thing to do in Park City is skiing, and we were surprised that there still was snow on the peaks. But by early June all the ski lifts are closed, and it seems like Park City was preparing for the summer months. Just so happened that we were there a week too early as it’s about mid-June when all lifts are opened from downtown. The ski and lift area is enormous in Park City, and I would love to come back to ski.

Obviously, we could have gone hiking, biking, or camping and that would be fun, but given our short time, we decided to walk around the city. Park City Mountain Resort has an activity center including an Alpine Coaster that was so much fun. If you’re not familiar, the Alpine Coaster is pretty much a toboggan coaster, and you get to glide down the mountain in a single car. A little expensive at 27 dollars per person but still fun.

Park City downtown is a charming mountain village that evokes a mining past. There is a mix of new and old, and I love the combination of colors. I wouldn’t say there is much to do beyond drinking, eating, and shopping but it’s an enjoyable stroll up and down the city center.

Park City, Utah – Shawn in downtown Park City

There are also several resorts with great views of the surrounding valley. Deer Valley is probably one of the top areas of Park City, and there is the St. Regis Hotel overlooking the ski slope. The cool thing about the St. Regis is the funicular to get to the resort. Although we didn’t stay at the St. Regis, we decided to get some drinks in the sun, and it was perfect. A great way to spend an afternoon.

Wyoming

From Park City, the Wyoming border is only about an hour away. Although we didn’t go too far into Wyoming, just to Bear River State Park, it’s a fantastic drive from Park City. I-80 crosses through lakes, mountains, and canyons and end up in sparse Wyoming. At the Bear River State Park, in Evanston, there is bison to view as well as stunning mountains in the background. It really made this drive worth it!

Salt Lake City

We didn’t stay in Salt Lake City, but we were able to view a large portion of. I would say there is actually much to do in Salt Lake City in terms of viewing, but the state capital and the LDS church are unique buildings. The mountains from the city are gorgeous as well.

Park City, Utah – Utah State Capitol Building

Beyond that Salt Lake City, I’m sure has tons to do but a lot of that is biking or hiking. We did drive to the west of Salt Lake City to see the Great Salt Lake, and it was better than I expected. There are places to walk on the salt and view the large lake.

Eat

I have to say that Park City is certainly more expensive compared to Salt Lake City. While we were staying in Park City meals were routinely 15 plus dollars for the main menu item. However, all of the restaurants we ate at in Park City were delicious.

We started at Five5eeds, which is a brunch type of restaurant, mostly serving breakfast food items. It is the top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor, and we loved it. I had a matcha latte with a grain salad, while Roman had a turmeric latte with chicken and waffles. Really well done and we enjoyed our meal.

In downtown Park City there a couple of options to eat at. We decided for a more casual restaurant called the No Name Saloon and we did enjoy our burgers. Beyond that, there are many places to grab a quick drink. We recommend the High West Distillery and The Spur Bar.

Park City, Utah – High West Distillery Bourbon

We didn’t have much time in Salt Lake City, but we did eat at Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade. A really trendy restaurant that had a delicious vodka limeade drink served with impressively large sandwiches.

Stay

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Park City, north of downtown, and was a pretty good hotel to base our stay. The hotel isn’t designed in a cabin style like you see many of the hotels in Park City, but it does its job. Also, free breakfast! Staying in downtown Park City would have been cool, though, as it’s a cute downtown area.

Park City, Utah – Shawn and Roman in Wyoming

My Thoughts

I had a great time in Park City and the surrounding area. Park City is a beautiful, although expensive resort town, and we had fun touring for a day. I would love to come back to do a ski-in or ski-out at one of the resorts.

I do think a weekend was actually somewhat perfect. Staying for an extended amount of time would have been too much as we did not plan to hike or do outdoorsy things. Next time I would like to come back when it’s warmer and perhaps explore another part of this area as well as other parts of Utah!