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Welcome to Park City, Utah!
It's easy to reach
new heights of fun in Park City. (Photo: Park
City Chamber of Commerce)
The skiing is outstanding and the nightlife
is better than you think. Yes, there is nightlife in Utah.
Park City, home to many events of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, is
a warm, small community with the state's largest ski area both in terms
of skiable acreage and lift capacity. Utah is famous for its super-powerdy
snow and it's evident from the start of the first run. And in addition
to skiing and snowboarding, The Olympic Park has a bobsled course,
an alpine slide and at 7,130-foot ski jump (though you have to take
the lift back to the bottom).
Home to the annual
Sundance Film Festival, Park City is where celebrities
and artists park it for part of the year. So while there's a definite
mountain-town feel to the place, it has definite elegance.
Powder-Packed Mountain Facts
• Lift Ticket Price: 2-day pass $118
In addition to Park City, there are two other resorts in the
immediate area.
Deer Valley, is the Vail of Park City, an upscale place where
people rush out to take the skis off your car. From a performance standpoint,
its not as big or as tough as Park City.
The Canyons are the hot new spot,up-and-coming spot. Formerly
an old, small spot that locals used to escape the crowds of Park City,
it has undergone massive renovation and expansion. The terrain is a
bit tougher than Park City but is at lower altitudes so it may not always
receive the amount of snowfall found in Park City.
Getting to Park City
Park City is about an hour from Salt
Lake International Airport. Van transpiration for those not renting
a vehicle is available for $32-34 one way or $60-66 RT, depending on
the company. Buses, private vans for groups and luxury SUVs and limos
are also available. It's best to pop for the 4-wheel-drive vehicle if
renting a car.
Once in town, Park City's free bus system runs every 20 minutes from
7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The best transportation ticket for those staying
at downtown is the new Town Lift, which whisks people right from town
to the slopes (and back again).
Park City shines
at night. (Photo: Park City Chamber of Commerce)
Drinking in Utah
There's no real trick to drinking in
Utah, despite the Mormans' attempts to shovel it out of their driveway
like a snow drift.
First, most places are "private clubs," which is just a clever
way of circumventing archaic laws. A "private club" simply
means you must pay to get inside. Instead of calling it a cover charge,
it's known as a membership fee. This fee – part of which goes straight
to the Mormon church – varies from place to place. Some are good
for a day or several days, and a few allow up to seven people to be
covered with one "membership." Year-long "memberships"
are available at most places (for roughly 3-4 times the fee) which is
the best option for those in town for a week or more. The minimum Park
City price is $4; a place like Harry O's may charge $10 or even $20.
Beer served in restaurants and bars are 3.2%. The full-strength stuff
is available only in state liquor stores and the aforementioned private
clubs (usually imports in bottles). Liquor stores are open from 11 a.m.-10
p.m. and are closed Sundays. Beer is sold in grocery stores but it's
near beer variety. Interestingly, while the Mormons obviously consider
alcohol a vice, they put no vice grips on smoking. Many places are as
smoky as old-time Vegas
bars.
Ski Apres
Every good mountain needs a feisty bar
to chase down those ski bunnies or shredders who eluded you on the slopes
Park City is set up like a mini-city, Everything you need is in this
tiny "town" – restaurants, ski spots and shops and bars.
The spot off the slopes is The Brewhouse in the Legacy Lodge.
It's easy to find, as it's on the second floor of the dominant building
in the village and looks out to the mountain. It's large, has a patio
and a seating room in the rear. For those who like more of a pub atmosphere,
The Corner Store Pub & Grill is the place. It greets apres
skiers with an outdoor "hang out" area, which is quite popular.
The cozy pub awaits inside.
Other watering holes are the rather elegant Legends Bar & Grill
downstairs from The Brewhouse, Baja Cantina and, at other
side of the village, a place simply called Bar.
Those looking for Steeps, the large cabin-type bar that one could practically
ski into it right off the slopes, well, keep looking. It's gone, replaced
by The Brewhouse.
The chair lift to downtown is a little up from the Village but beverages
await at the bottom of the ride in the form of Doolan's Irish Pub.
This is at the base of Main Street, a five-block area of downtown Park
City that is the heartbeat of its shops, restaurants and bars. Starting
at Doolan's and the adjacent Marriott, it's all uphill from there.
Downtown Park City Main Street's Pubs and Clubs
Downtown Park City's Main Street has
several cool PubClubbing spots. They are all a short walk from one another,
making it easy to slip out of the cold and into a cold one.
The main nightlife on Main Street is halfway up – or down,
depending on one's starting point – the road. A good place to start
is O'Shuck's, not named so becauseit has peanut shells on the
floor but because it serves oysters by the dozen. But it's not a raw
bar, but a bar that is raw. No matter how chilly it may be outside,
there's no problem getting warmed up here because it's hot, crowded
and narrow. It's the young locals' hangout, especially on Tuesdays when
schooners of draught are just $3, and that's year-round.
Next door, conveniently, is the No Name Saloon. A fun little
bar with live music it's a little nicer decor than O'Shuck's.Like it's
neighbor, it's a casual hang-out-and-meet-the-patrons kind of joint.
It's definitely the place for pubbers and not clubbers.
Next door in the other direction is where the celebrities flock to
when they are in town, Harry O's. Wildly popular during the '02
Olympics, Harry O's is the hip hangspot, the dynamic dance club. With
a huge dance floor with live bands or a DJ and "Harry O's hospitality"
it carries on the legacy set by the original in
Manhattan Beach, CA. Look for lines, a finer dress code (nothing
official, but club dress is the call) and that hearty "membership
fee."
Just up the hill, Cisero's is a hot, sweaty dance club with
a carefree crowd. And crowd is the right word – this place
gets packed. Just throw down your coat and join the party, because this
place rocks. The club is downstairs; upstairs is a fine Italian restaurant,
and many people simply walk down the steps to the club after dinner.
For pubbers who like to become clubbers, this is the place for you.
For live music, the Spur Bar and Grill serves it up. And this
is no sweaty rock 'n roll joint but a nice bar with couches, a fireplace
and a small dance floor. Conversations are easy to come by here, making,
so we'll coin a new phrase to describe this type of establishment: an
"entertainment mingling bar." It's the only place in Park
City that does not allow smoking but there's a balcony to pacify the
puffers. Just getting there is kind of cool; it's down an alleyway across
from Harry O's.
Slightly off the path, on the second floor of the Main Street Shopping
Mall, is the Sidecar. It's an upscale martini bar (translation:
a date bar) with a balcony overlooking Main Street.
And guess what – Park City has a topless bar! It's
called the Monkey Bar, and it's in the No Name/O'Shuck's/Harry
O's corridor.
Park City Restaurants/Dining
The finest restaurant in Park City is
the Riverhorse Cafe. The menu features lobster, filet mignon
and rack of lamb and there is an extensive wine list. So if this provides
an insight into the type of place it is, then yes, bring the credit
card. If its nice out (say, in the summer), the second-level patio is
the prime dining spot. (Reservations: 435-649-3536.)
With items such as Teal Leaf smoked duck, Peppercorn encrusted tuna
and and Szechwan grilled filet mignon, all served an attentive staff,
Wahso is a highly-regarded high-end Oriental experience. (Reservations,
435-615-0300.)
Zoom, owned by Robert Redford and known for its cheesecake,
is newly remodeled at the base of Main Street. (Reservations: 435-649-9108)
It's not nearly as fancy but Bandit's Grill and Bar sure is
good. Hearty BBQ is the heart and soul of this place – the brisket
with steak fries will happily fill any belly growling after a grueling
day on the slopes. And go for the seasoned green beans as one of the
side orders. After dinner go downstairs to check out the lively pub.
For more casual dining, Watatch Brewing Company at the top
of the hill is a local brew pub that's a good dinner/post-food drink
spot.
 Rice
the Pubclub Party Gondola to Whistler
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