10 Things I Loved About Utah
In late August, we took a trip to the Park City, Utah area with some of Steven’s family. I can’t stop thinking about it.
The beauty.
The August weather perfection.
The multitudes of evergreens.
The lifestyle steeped in nature.
Utah…who knew? What a gem! I’ve know people who’ve gone to Utah for skiing, and I drove through Salt Lake City once on the way to Kanab, Utah to volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary with my mom (SO. MANY. CATS.). But I had no concept of what else was notable about The Beehive State.
It’s truly a natural wonderland! This end-of-summer trip to Utah not only confirmed but enhanced every ounce of my being that needs wildflowers, adventure, rest, connection, waterfalls, and bike rides through hills and meadows. And we didn’t even make it to one of Utah’s 5 (!) National Parks.
There’s so much to share, so I’m just gonna jump right in. Definitely bookmark this if you intend to visit the Park City. Utah area anytime in the near future!
Here’s everything I loved about our trip to Utah…
1) Driving on open roads through the mountains.
True to his motto, “It’s all about the memories,” Steven made the great call to pay just slightly more to rent us a Jeep Wrangler instead of a regular sedan.
“I regret driving through the mountains in a Jeep with wind blowing through my hair” said no one, ever.
The Wasatch Mountain Range in the Park City area is part of the Rocky Mountains (again, who knew?). I took approximately 847 photos of Utah roads and landscapes while either a) hanging out the side window of the Jeep, or b) holding my phone in a death grip while I took a photo out the open roof.
2) No bugs in August. I repeat, no bugs in August.
Coming from a farm in Tennessee with multitudes of bug bite scars, this was unfathomable to me. I wore my own self out saying, “I can’t believe there are no bugs here. THERE ARE NO BUGS!” And by bugs, I mean pests. I like pretty ones. I saw 3 insects the entire week - a honeybee, a cricket, and this butterfly. I’m sure there were many more honeybees and butterflies earlier in the summer, but it was already getting chilly in the evenings at 7,000-10,000 ft elevation, which I would guess affects the amount of bugs. I’d love to go back earlier in the summer and see more butterflies!
3) Alpine lakes.
There were so many nearby lakes to choose from where you could go hiking or swimming. We chose Mirror Lake, which was about an hour drive away through winding backroads of Mirror Lake Scenic Highway lined with evergreens. Heavenly.
Newbie mistake: we didn’t realize we were going to be in 3,000 ft higher elevation. Park City is at 7,000 ft, and Mirror Lake is at 10,000 ft. As we crept up the mountain, it got cooler and cooler out the sunroof window until it was downright cold. We were in shorts and tank tops, but thankfully we’d packed pool towels from the hotel in case we were going to swim in the lake. BAHAHAHA! It was 56 degrees when we got there.
In the background, you can see Bald Mountain (11,949 ft) in the Uinta mountain range in the Wasatch National Forest.
Mirror Lake, you are near perfection. I could have stayed here forever and breathed this cool, fresh mountain air.
Mirror Lake has a boardwalk around it, which made it super easy with small children. Steven’s sister has a toddler who was able to run around the whole thing without tripping over tree trunks or rocks.
There are SO MANY more lakes like this just in the Park City area, I definitely want to go back!
4) Wildflowers galore.
If you know me on any level at all, you know my enthusiasm was sky-high searching for mountain wildflowers. In cool weather. And again, with no harmful bugs. Basically, I’m an alpine mountain mama now.
5) The Rail Trail.
The day we rode The Rail Trail was one of THE MOST FUN DAYS of my life, much less of the Utah trip. I’m not even kidding. Afterwards, Steven said, “You were perma-grinning the entire time, weren’t you?”
This was our last day in Utah, and we wanted to do something adventurous that we’d never done before. We saw several electric bike rental places around town and thought it would be fun to try. We chose Pedego Electric Bike Rental and blocked off the entire morning for a 4-hour ride on The Rail Trail, a 28-mile bike trail that follows the historic Union Pacific train line. It starts in Park City and winds through the region, up and down elevation, through canyons, wildflower fields, and even the town of Park City.
Our 7-year-old daughter wasn’t quite tall enough to have her own electric bike, so Steven got a bike that had a tandem back seat with her own handlebars and foot rests! Our 11-year-old daughter and I got our own bikes.
So the fun thing about electric bikes is that there are several options: 1) you can ride them like regular bikes, 2) you can use “pedal assist” to make pedaling easier at different levels, or 3) you can use “full throttle” at 20 mph with zero pedaling.
THROTTLE UP, friends. Because there is no way we could have ridden that far or through such varied elevations without the throttle feature. It was the closest thing I’ve ever done to driving my own moped, and I could have gone allllllll the livelong day.
Along the way, we passed the McPolin Farm, where you can look inside all the buildings and see how they looked in the early 1900s. We also stopped for lunch at Vessel Kitchen, which was ridiculously good. This is the fuel-filled salad I built from their menu:
Sigh. Still dreaming about this day. I will return and ride this trail again!
6) The Homestead Crater.
This was truly a one-of-a-kind experience. In Midway, Utah, not far from Park City, the Homestead Resort has a 10,000-year-old limestone crater on the property with a hot spring where you can swim! You reserve your 45-minute swim time online so there are only a small number of people inside the crater during your appointment time. Homestead Crater supplies the life jackets, because the crater is over 60 feet deep. The water is 90-96 degrees at all times and loaded with minerals, so it’s super relaxing to just float and soak up the goodness. It was mesmerizing to float in this cave with the light coming through the hole in the ceiling high above. There were even some people scuba diving.
One of my favorite moments of the trip was also at Homestead Resort while we waited for our appointment time. We found this gorgeous weeping willow tree on the property, and all of us (our family of 4, and Steven’s sister’s family of 5) all sat under the willow in this perfect, cool, cushy grass for about an hour. Meanwhile, the kids built “houses” with whatever sticks, flowers, sand, and leaves they could find.
I lied down in the cool, cushy grass and just stared at the limbs swishing in the breeze. I looked over at the rest of the family and everyone seemed so peaceful and content, like they had all taken a huge exhale. It was so simple and meditative and beautiful. It reminded me once again that when given the time and space to slow down, this is what humans really want and need, and time in nature is good for the soul.
7) Downtown Park City.
Downtown Park City reminded me a lot of Telluride - it’s kind of narrow and tucked between mountains on all sides. It was colorful and rustic with lots of fun shops. It felt more down-to-earth than other mountain towns I’ve visited. we had ice cream at Java Cow. While the setting was lovely, the service was very un-friendly, and the ice cream was just okay. We loved walking around and seeing all the art and animal sculptures.
Dolly’s Bookstore was a definite highlight - the quintessential smalltown bookshop. I got the most “me” journal there ever was that says “She’s made of big dreams, bold plans, and blue skies” and found my friend Andrea Debbink’s book, The Wild World Handbook and purchased a copy for our homeschool.
Park City also hosts the Park Silly Sunday Market, which we walked to from our hotel on Sunday. We saw many cool artisans and met the artist who creates these retro National Park posters. He and his wife told us all about the 5 National Parks in Utah. Will definitely have to return to visit a few of those!
8) Downtown Salt Lake City.
Again, who knew? I never knew SLC was so beautiful and well-kept. After we left the airport when we first arrived, we were craving wrap sandwiches, so we went to Spitz in downtown SLC. Our wraps were so hearty that none of us could finish them, but they hit the spot. I noticed how clean and overflowing with flowers Salt Lake City was.
9) The rainbows.
I was undone by these. We were driving near the Jordanelle Reservoir in Park City in a rain storm. Suddenly, it all cleared, and I gasped when I saw this rainbow. It took my breath away, and you better believe I hung out the window of the Jeep to get a photo of it.
10) Park City Mountain.
We stayed on Park City Mountain at a Marriott resort right at the spot where you enter the ski lifts. In fact, the ski lifts were so close that you could see the shadow of people passing by on the lift from our bedroom window. We loved staying at Park City Mountain with the combo of warm, cozy outdoor fires at night with swimming in the day, surrounded by evergreens. We saw elk grazing on the ski hill outside our window, mined for gems, and hot-tub hopped.
So grateful for this trip filled with both rest and adventure. We’ll be back, Utah!
For more Utah travel ideas, check out this post on Nesting With Grace - she has lots of great info!
