Category: USA

Park City is a top-ranked Utah skiing resort belonging to Vail Resorts. Not only do they own the long-independent Whistler Blackcomb, but their Epic Pass will get you high up at resorts in Colorado, Utah, California, Michigan, and even Australia and Japan.

It was in 2014 that Vail acquired Park City Mountain. After investing significant amounts of effort and time,  they connected Park City with the adjacent Canyons Resort and created the biggest ski area in North America. If you’re considering a Utah family holiday, this could be just the right place to go.

Introduction to Park City

The resort sprawls across 7 300 hundred acres of white space. Quicksilver Gondola takes visitors with lift access from Park City to Canyons all under one lift ticket. Perhaps the best part is that you’ll be at just a stone’s from Salt Lake City no matter what resort you stay at. It will take you no more than 45 minutes to drive from downtown Salt Lake to Park City.

You’d be hard-pressed to ski the whole area in one day but that would be a mission impossible. Instead, go to a separate hill each day and that way, you will be able to dive deeper into the terrain on each side. Park City Mountain and Canyons have a very different feel to them although they are now very close neighbors.

By taking wide, looping turns from nine separate peaks at the Canyons, you’ll find yourself at the base of a different lift each time. Numerous bridges connect the mountains and you can easily ski under them. Given the vastness of the area, it is surprisingly easy to get around.

Very little time is spent getting from point to another because everything is so neatly organized. As you take the Red Pine Gondola going up from the lively base area, the top panorama will reward you with wide expanses of the terrain slowly coming into view as you climb. You really can’t get the real impression of how big the area is until you go all the way up.

Read more: Things to Do in Colorado in Winter

Getting There

Getting around Park City is plain sailing, even without a car as everything is so compact.  You can use the Town Lift to get from the town to Park City, so you actually don’t need to have a mountain home in order to go full-throttle on ski-in, ski-out experience.

Unless you’re taking a direct shuttle, allow an hour and a half each way to get from Salt Lake City to Park city with a public bus. You can check the schedule here.

Read more: Best Skiing Family Destinations

Where to ride

The setup of the terrain in Park City Mountain is incredible and much of it is right near the base.

If you love unique park rides, then you should definitely check Neff Land off the Eaglet lift. Going down, you’ll be swishing through Candy Land all around you.

If you prefer a more powdered terrain, head for Jupiter Peak.

But be warned! There is some hiking to do off McConkey’s Express until you reach the Jupiter Peak summit.

Adventure seekers will be thrilled to discover Pinecone Ridge which has some of the most challenging runs of all. What’s special about this run is that it provides an additional challenge of being near the lift.

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The Canyons side is much more mellow. There, you can take your time at the long runs.

Red Pine Bowl and the chutes will take your breath away. Steep and quick, there isn’t much margin for error but staying on your feet isn’t hard to do as long as the line is scoped out before dropping in.

Where to eat and drink

On-Mountain:

Red Tail Grill – The base area at Canyons is swarming with activity, particularly on weekends. They’ve got a great patio overlooking the ‘beach’ and local beer on tap.

LookOut Cabin – located off the mid-load of Orange Bubble Express. This is not your average cabin because the full bar and food are a head above the typical ski resort cafeterias. An added bonus is that they have wait staff so you can relax and have a couple of drinks and a sandwich.

In town

High West Distillery & Saloon – Well worth the splurge even if you’re tight for money. Gourmet, handmade food paired with their awesome whiskeys or vodka, all served in an old-saloon setting.

Davanza’s – affordable tacos, pizza, and burgers.

Wasatch Brew Pub – Utah is climbing the ladder in the craft beer category. Their food is delicious and it pairs perfectly with their cold beer. It might get crowded, though.

Read more: Where to Celebrate Christmas in the US

Where to Stay

Park City Hostel – right in the center of Park City. It’s the cheapest option in town, with rates starting at $44 a night. However, they offer other great lodging options so make sure to check all of them, especially if you’re visiting with your crew.

Heber City –  situated just 20 minutes south of Park City, this town has many hotel options way cheaper than in town. Park City’s hotels are expensive, so this is a good way to save some extra bucks for lift tickets.

Salt Lake City – you’ll be spoilt for choice with hotels and hostels here. There is something for every budget.

Summing up

Park City is incredibly diverse and culturally unique. It’s a perfect winter destination no matter if you’re visiting with friends or family. It offers a perfect balance of luxury and comfort but also a wide range of options for those traveling on a budget.

San Francisco recently commemorated the 83rd birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge, which was started in January 1933. This is probably the most pictured bridge in the world, not to mention its most breathtaking! So, while crossing this iconic bridge, you can enlighten your pals with one of these 15 remarkable facts about the Golden Gate Bridge:

1. The Golden Gate Bridge Isn’t the World’s Longest Suspension Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge between 1937 to 1964. In 1964, one of several bridge developers, Othmar Hermann Ammann (a man with lots of ms and ns), proudly constructed the 60-foot longer Verrazano Narrows Suspension Bridge in New York City. The Golden Gate Bridge is currently the world’s 9th longest bridge.

2. Do Not Ever Let the US Navy Choose Your Colors

Just before engineers decided to go with international orange, and the bridge color debate was looking using black and gray, the US Navy was campaigning hard for gold and black stripes, similar to a warning signal that could alert passing vessels. Fortunately, the US Navy’s suggestion was sidelined.

3. The ‘Little Guy Who Constructed the Big Bridge’ Was Kind of a Prick

Joseph Strauss, a 5’3 drop-out college football player from Cincinnati, was the infamously prickly mastermind of the venture. His initial suggestion for the design in 1922 was very unappealing. The press compared it to an ‘upside rat cage’. Thankfully, Charles Ellis, a math genius, saved the master plan, and he is the one who is mostly accountable for turning the bridge into a beauty. Strauss terminated him because of it, making sure he didn’t get any recognition at the time. However, a plaque commemorating Ellis was placed on the bridge in 2012 for the very first time.

4. The Golden Gate has Absolutely No Association to the Gold Rush

John C Fremont branded the strait spanned by the bridge ‘Chrysopylae’, or ‘Golden Gate,’ referring to Istanbul’s Golden Horn, in 1846, just a couple of years before gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, California. Incidentally, Vladivostok even had a curving bay labeled after the Golden Horn. One may ask why Istanbul appears to keep the copyright on curving bays.

5. The Bridge’s Greatest Risk was Posed by a Party

Many people doubted whether a bridge could get across a mile-wide strait, especially when they considered the hurdles of tides, wind, corrosive fogs and the risk of earthquakes. However, the greatest risk that the bridge has experienced during its record, was posed by its 50th celebration, when at that moment, 300 000 people crossed the bridge. This was way over the estimated capacity, as 300 000 made up about 30 million pounds of humans. The bridge compressed, but it wasn’t stressed, as engineers point out, perhaps because it had been strengthened the year before.

6. Spain, Hurry! Look East, Look East!

The San Francisco Bay, reached via the Golden Gate Strait, was passed over for 227 straight years by passing Spanish vessels. It was eventually spotted in 1769, when weary hunters crossed overland and discovered the bay. Three years later, finally, the strait had been discovered from present-day Oakland.

7. The Golden Gate Bridge is the Second 83-year-old Bridge in San Francisco

Let’s keep in mind that the Bay Bridge linking San Francisco to Oakland (striking through Yerba Buena Island along the way) celebrated its anniversary a few months earlier, even though it’s a ‘mere trestle,’ based on Golden Gate Bridge’s chief engineer (and notable trash-talker) Joseph Strauss. (Yeah, I know he’s a real prick.)

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8. Fort Point Was Never Removed, They Built a Bridge Prequel Instead.

Constructed in 1861 to safeguard San Francisco’s harbor, Fort Point still stands – at the place where Kim Novak leaps in the bay in Vertigo – since the engineers genuinely wished for it to remain. For this, they constructed a ‘prequel to the bridge:’ an arched framework that conveniently towers over the fort.

9. Most Popular Suicide Spot

Although Strauss brushed off issues of the fairly low hurdle within the pedestrian crossing lane, the bridge regrettably became a well-known location for suicides very soon after its its opening. In fact, its notoriety as a suicide spot was cemented only three months after it opened, when H.B. Wobber said ‘this is where I get off’ and jumped. More than 1300 people have leaped ever since, but several survived. The Golden Gate Bridge is regarded as the most favored suicide location on the planet. Even though crisis advising phones have already been installed across the bridge, the thought of putting security nets have been kept in local debates and, at this moment, no approved projects for safety nets are in place.

10. Fairly Few Workers Lost Their Lives Building the Bridge

It’s horrifying to be aware of the fact that civil engineering work has a tendency to presume one worker dying for every US$1 million invested. The Golden Gate Bridge cost US$35 million, but only 11 passed away while it was being built – lower than several similar works (in fact, Melbourne’s little Westgate Bridge saw 35 worker deaths). Nineteen people fell, but they were luckily caught in the safety nets. Those nineteen people are now referred to as the ‘Halfway to Hell Club.’

11. Workers Got Free Hangover Juice

Engineers gave free sauerkraut juice every morning to help workers fight hangovers. A primary reason, a few believe, for the outstanding efficiency of the build.

12. The Car Toll is US$6, or Dentures

Toll collectors have allowed several vehicles to pass without having to pay the fee, but sometimes they require an exchange of some strange items instead. A few examples are canes, shoes and even dentures.

13. The Bridge’s 75th Birthday Also Marked the 75th Anniversary of bad Golden Gate Bridge Poetry

Joseph Strauss, who had often not been present throughout the building of the bridge, read a poem to commemorate its opening on May 27, 1937. Let’s just say it didn’t have the impact he was hoping for.

14. What’s the Name of the Color?

A few tourists ponder why the bridge isn’t gold, or created from real gold (or at best gold colored). Other folks, like me, have incorrectly identified the color as red. It is, in fact, known as ‘international orange’ – a deviation on the color widely used for several astronaut jumpsuits. It was definitely a good looking mishap. The steel pieces came in an orangey-red paint primer, which instantly proved to combine best with the surroundings.

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15. Art Can’t Seem to Capture its Beauty

From his book Golden Gate, Keven Starr remarks that the Golden Gate Bridge has ‘not yet inspired any paintings comparable to Joseph Stella’s freestanding Brooklyn Bridge,‘ neither has it influenced any poetry similar to ‘league of Hart Crane’s ‘The Bridge’.

The rock band Journey composed ‘Lights’ in 1979, which features the line: ‘when the lights go down in the city, and the sun shines on the bay.’ This is often considered to be associated with the bridge, but there’s hardly any guarantee. In fact, Singer Steve Perry has in the meantime revealed that the track was initially moved by the bay-less Los Angeles. On the other hand, keep away from the band Train, which put this blooper of a rhyme in the song ‘Save Me San Francisco’: ‘Everyday so caffeinated, I wish they were Golden Gated.’