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he resorts of Utah are remarkably varied. They range from spa-oriented resorts in spectacular red rock settings, to world- |
class ski resorts that have hosted the Olympic Winter Games and other international competitions.
One notable resort, that is less than a year old, is Zermatt Resort in Midway, 15 minutes from Park City. It has 250 rooms and suites furnished with down beds, fireplaces, alpine furnishings, and Swiss folk art. There’s a spa that offers massage, herbal, body-wrap, and facials, and facilities that include aromatherapy, Finnish sauna, steam, and solarium. In addition, there’s a par-3, nine hole executive golf course, golf simulators and clinics, year-round swimming pools, whirlpool spas, geothermal springs, and both Indoor and outdoor tennis courts. Also available are meeting rooms and convention facilities.
Moab, about three-and-a-half hour drive from Salt Lake City, is perhaps the world’s most famous location for serious mountain bikers (as well as a 10 minute drive from Arches and Canyonlands national parks). It hosts two notable resorts. One is the Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge, located 100 feet above a bend of the Colorado River. The resort includes the Castle Creek Winery and a movie museum that has memorabilia from the many movies shot in the area, including a number of John Wayne films and the more recent Thelma & Louise and Breakout. All rooms have outdoor patios facing the majestic Colorado River. The resort’s facilities include a pool, exercise room, and spa.
Sorrel River Ranch Resort is a four-diamond hotel and spa resort located on the banks of a spectacular, isolated stretch of the Colorado River near Moab. It has a gourmet restaurant and a new health spa.
Moab is near the southeast corner of the state. At the southwest corner sits the booming city of St. George, one of the nation’s fastest growing areas. St. George, about two hours by car north of Las Vegas and five hours south of Salt Lake City, also boasts two superb resorts. One is Red Mountain Spa, located in Ivins, just outside of St. George, in the southwest corner of Utah. Framed by huge cliffs and red rock formations at the entrance of Snow Canyon State Park, this 84 room/11 suite resort offers a wide selection of activities.
Also in Ivins is Green Valley Spa. Ranked in 2005 among the top 10 spas in the world by Travel & Leisure magazine, this luxurious spa boasts racket ball and basketball courts, 19 indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a wide range of fitness activities, five swimming pools, yoga classes, body treatments and healing therapies. The Coyote Inn features one- and two-bedroom suites. Rock climbing instruction is available throughout the week. For the tennis buff, there’s the Vic Braden Tennis College, and the golfer has access to one of the largest indoor golf facilities in the country that includes 10 indoor golf-driving ranges. The St. George area hosts many first-rate golf courses.
L.C. Ranch, in Altamont, is home base for the trout fly fisherman. Located on 2,600 acres at the base of the Ashley National Forest in the Uintah Mountains, in the northeast corner of Utah, the resort has over a dozen still water lakes for guided fly fishing. There is also elk hunting from August to April. The resort has several cabins with one to 10 beds. The High Uintah Wilderness area where the resort is located has over 500 lakes and more than 460,000 acres.
About an hour from Salt Lake City and 15 minutes from Park City is the classic Homestead Resort in Midway, which is in the heart of the beautiful Heber Valley and a neighbor of Zermatt Resort. On its approximately 200 acres, The Homestead has a golf course, hot springs, horseback riding, snowmobiling, volleyball, tennis, plus 142 rooms.
Ski Resorts
Utah’s most famous resorts are usually covered with snow. Among the world’s most revered ski areas, the state has an abundance of facilities for skiers of every ability and taste. Utah’s ski resorts are always consistently ranked high among the resorts of North America. |
Snowbird and Alta have been named the No. 1 ski resort in the United States by SKIING Magazine for four years running, for example.
Little Cottonwood Canyon, in the south-east part of the Salt Lake Valley, is the site Snowbird and Alta. The ‘Bird’s terrain is loved by intermediate and advanced skiers, and is covered by, on average, upwards of 500 inches of snow a year. It has an aerial tram that takes you up to 11,000 feet above sea level, plus 10 chairlifts serving 2,500 skiable acres. Snowboarders are served by the exciting Terrain Park. A new day lodge opened in time for the winter 2005-06 season, and in the fall of 2006, skiers will be able to ride a “magic carpet” in the newly built 600-foot-long tunnel that will make access to Mineral Basin easier.
About two miles further up the canyon is Alta, the second oldest ski resort in the nation. It, too, averages about 500 inches of Utah’s legendary powder. The vertical drop here is 2,020 feet and the skiable acres total 2,200. More moderately priced than other major ski resorts, Alta has kept a lot of the old-time feel of traditional ski resorts, and well as some new, such as its new day lodge. Alta is never filled to over capacity because it limits the number of skiers to maintain a quality experience. Note, Alta and Snowbird now sell a joint pass that allows you to ski both resorts.
Park City, up Parley’s Canyon on Interstate 80 from Salt Lake City, boasts three world-class ski destinations. Park City Mountain Resort, with over 40 years of experience, spreads over 3,300 acres and enjoys an annual average snowfall of 350 inches. Park City Mountain Resort was the venue for the giant slalom as well as snowboard events at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Deer Valley, often ranked among the top three North American ski resorts by the ski-industry press (it was ranked for the 2005-2006 season the #1 ski resort in North America by the readers of SKI magazine), was the venue for the slalom, mogul, and aerial events at the 2002 Games. It averages 300 inches of snow a year, and has 1,750 acres of skiable terrain and a 3,000 foot vertical drop. Deer Valley is justly renowned for the luxury it envelopes its skiers with and its cuisine, arguably the finest of any ski resort, anywhere. Like Alta, this is a skier-only resort.
Eight years ago, The Canyons had another name and another history. For years a sleepy, locals-oriented resort, new ownership, which spent tens of millions of dollars, transformed it into a world-class facility with 3,500 skiable acres stretching over seven mountains. It is now one of the largest ski resorts in the country by acreage. Average snowfall is 355 inches and the vertical drop is 3,190 feet.
Another resort that experienced a major transformation in recent years is Snowbasin, which underwent a total makeover in preparation for the Olympics. Located above the Ogden Valley, a little over an hour from Salt Lake City, Snowbasin was host to the 2002 Olympic downhill and super G events. It has 3,200 skiable acres which are covered on average by a robust 400 inches of Utah’s powder a year. It claims the largest automated snowmaking system in the world. The vertical drop is 2,959 feet. This is terrain aimed primarily at the intermediate and advanced skier.
One of the most famous of Utah’s resorts is also one of its most intimate and luxurious. We’re talking about Sundance, created by Robert Redford and located 20 minutes from Provo and about 70 minutes from the Salt Lake International Airport. Sitting on the flanks of 12,000-foot Mt. Timpanogos, this is truly a year-round resort, with skiing in the winter and spectacular hiking and horseback riding in the summer. But it is more than just a resort. It has a strong arts orientation, with workshops for those who want to learn crafts. It is also home to the Sundance Institute, an internationally renowned home-away-from-home for film makers and playwrights, and it is, of course, the namesake of the most influential film festival in North America, the Sundance Film Festival. In case you are hungry, some of Utah’s finest dining is available at Sundance’s restaurants. Suites, ranging in size from 450 to 900 square feet are available, along with even larger houses having up to four bedrooms. |
