My solo snowboard trip to Park City
Highlights and tips from a Utah 🏂 adventure
The last time I was in Utah, it was 2018 and I was attending a late summer event hosted by Summit Series on Powder Mountain.
Summit first emerged in 2008 as an exclusive business-creative-artist-tech-innovation community thingy, where members were this fantastic mix of trippy, cool, smart, and curious.
Add a dash of woo woo and partying, and where everyone is super nice and mostly attractive, and well it was a moment in time.
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Like most maturing businesses, Summit needed to make more money.
And so it opened attendance to anyone willing to pay high, all-inclusive fees to blowout events around the world, including at Powder Mountain, where it operated as a ski resort in the winter.
But then Covid hit, and Summit pretty much died.
Their final large-scale event takes place this June in Detroit.
Luckily, the ski mountain remains, and was purchased in September 2023 by Reed Hastings, the former co-founder and CEO of Netflix.
His goal is to privatize part of the mountain for locals, bring in art installations, and limit public access to avoid overcrowding, which happens a lot at mountains managed by the two multi-pass conglomerates, Ikon and Epic (the latter managed by Vail Resorts).
I’d love to get to Powder Mountain again, but I snowboarded for the second time this season by heading to Park City, the largest ski resort in the U.S., and one of the premier mountains on the Epic network.
The queues were predictable, but moved swiftly.
The snow was soft, and conditions were springlike—there were plenty of skiers and riders in t-shirts and even shirtless.
What made my trip even better was meeting up with friends whose mountain time coincided with mine.
I left with a sense that I’ll definitely be returning for a future season—perhaps Women’s Weekend 2026.😉
Highlights of my snowboard adventure in Park City
How I got to Park City
It's easy to get to Park City, with most major airports offering direct flights to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
From SLC, it's then about another 45 minutes by car to Park City.
Where I stayed in Park City
I decided to rent an AirBnb closer to Canyons Village.
Initially, I was intent on bringing my almost 2 year-old cockapoo Mr. Bean, but because Bean’s grandpa loves him so much and offered to look after him, I went solo.
I like to have my own space and make coffee, breakfasts, and drink tea at night, so I generally prefer AirBnbs over hotels and resorts.
Of course, there are many lodging options in Park City, from major chains to rental homes; it’s all a matter of preference, taste, and travel style.
How I got around Park City
Uber and Lyft serve Park City, but I realized pretty quickly I’d want my own car to get around.
I was dismayed at seeing prices for a 6-day Hertz rental upward of $500 with pickup and dropoff at SLC, so I waited to get a lay of the land once settling into my condo.
Turns out there was an Enterprise nearby, across the street from Whole Foods, so I booked a Hyundai and got a Mazda (CX-30) for the duration of the trip.🤷🏻♀️
While there are free transit buses to and from the resort areas, getting to the transit station posed enough of a challenge because it was a far walk from my condo with gear, and I couldn’t see myself taking a free shuttle → transit station → resorts.
Driving to Park City for snowboarding was fairly easy; you can park for free at a huge Canyons parking lot, and then ride a teeny stand-up lift to get directly to the main gondola.
How I got around Park City mountain
As I usually do when I arrive on a new mountain, I like to spend my first day with a local guide/instructor.
This takes the guesswork out of figuring out where you are and where to go, and lets you warm up your legs and lungs.
Also, when you book a weekday group intermediate/advanced snowboarding lesson, chances are very high you’ll end up by yourself with your own private guide.
My guide was a 20-year local and helped me unlock some tips for smoother riding; I can confidently say I can get into and out of most things safely.
We explored mostly the Canyons side of the mountains; there was opportunity to discover the Park City side toward the end of the trip via “orange bubble” lifts.
Where I hung out in Park City and hot spots
I researched online and consulted a few friends for where to go and what to do, but in the end I don’t think I did half bad as a total noob:
Where I ate
Downtown Park City: Riverhorse on Main
Touted as Park City’s best restaurant, it was clear why after nabbing a stellar, front-window table for me, a girlfriend of mine, and her teenage daughter.
The food was spectacular from appetizer to dessert, and the service impeccable.
Also, the ambiance is that perfect mix of refined and elegant, but casual enough for (nice) jeans and (nice) t-shirt.
There was a live piano player the night we visited, and the crowd was a trendy diverse mix of millennial to mature types.
Closer to Park City mountain: Twisted Fern
A pleasant, bright restaurant loved by locals and offering new American-inspired dishes like pan seared scallops and Utah elk, but also a twist to traditional faves like General Tso Cauliflower, and a Nashville hot maitake sandwich.
Canyons Village: Kuchu Shabu
This cozy hot pot restaurant in Canyons Village was a delightful find. For roughly $40 pp we had plenty of veggies and our choice of steak. We also tried the yummy karaage chicken starter.
On the mountain: Tombstone BBQ had surprisingly delicious and tender brisket, while Club Dine at the top of the mountain offered donuts in the morning and typical lodge foods like chicken tenders and salads.
How I traveled with my gear
Outbound: As in previous years, I went ahead and shipped my gear via ShipSkis to a shipping center called Pack n’ Crate, which was walking distance to my condo.
Inbound: Realizing I could manage checking everything on the way home because I didn’t have Bean, I just flew with everything on the way back.
General observations
Park City is a big, big place. Hopefully they’ll manage one or two more snowstorms before the season ends.
The December strikes for higher ski patrol wages haven’t impacted instructors or lift operator pay either—so it’s business as usual for them, for now.
As for nightlife, there are plenty of nightclubs and bars on the main street.
As the night goes on, you’ll spot long queues of Gen Z’ers and younger millennials at dance clubs and live music bars.
I loved seeing how alive the town is at night…it’s truly bustling by day and night.
Also, I didn’t really mind the warmer mountain temps and even shed several layers, ditching a jacket or two behind some bushes.
“It’s okay, no one will touch it. I’ve left jackets hanging on ski racks overnight, and they’re still there in the morning,” said my guide.
I went with it.
After all who was I to question him?
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Until next time,
Shindy
On Instagram + TikTok
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