Summertime in Park City is amazing

Here are some suggestions from Uncle Byron to enjoy your time in the area:

Yo – there’s a world-class gorgeous mountain just outside your door, and a crap ton of super fun stuff going on.  That’s why we’re holding the meetings here! 

 

The Mountain:  Here’s the Park City Mountain Resort summer trail map.  And here’s a link to an interactive Park City Trails Map:  On the map look for “Canyons Resort” – that’s where our venue is and closest to the trail system.  If you can’t find it on the map, do a search for “Holly”.  That returns the closest trail to our venue, and you can go for there. 

 

Want to take the easy way to the top?  I recommend the $39 all-day gondola pass.  The Red Pine gondola will take you half way up the mountain where you have instant access to world-class hiking, trail-running, and mountain biking. Note that with your gondola pass you can take your bike up to the top and ride it down as many times and on as many different trails as you like.  Of course, Trail Forks and Alltrails also have awesome, up to date maps and trail descriptions as well.  If you want a personal mountain bike tour with the NemaDude, get a bike and a gondola pass and I’ll show you around.

 

Bikes:  Get an e-bike or cruiser and tool around on paved paths and explore beautiful and historic Park City.  Or get a trail bike for some awesome all-around mountain biking.  Hard-core downhill enthusiast?  No prob.  You can get a bomber high performance bike, complete with all the safety gear.  There are a lot of shops in the PC area, but one place to start is here.  Road biking or a bike tour more your thing?  This is for you.  A simple internet search of “bike rentals park city” returns a whole bunch of options. 

*Most bike rental companies require you to wear a helmet, so you might want to bring your own protective equipment if you don’t want to rent theirs.

 

Golf:  Literally, there’s an incredible golf course right next to the venue. This is an 18-hole, par-70 course with seven par-3 holes that features over 550 feet of elevation change with memorable shots and dramatic views.  Four sets of tees per hole.  Hole 10 has a 297 foot elevation change from tee to green.  Hole 18 has a true island green, 100% surrounded by the Willow Draw Stream.

Turf: Fairways—Bluegrass; Tees and Greens—Bentgrass; Rough—Bluegrass; Margins—Native grass mix.  While there check out their fertigation and other sustainability practices.  This is Utah, yo.  Green fee for 18 holes in the afternoon is $75.  Sign up for tee-times online. 

 

Off Road Motor Sports:  Prefer getting dirty powersports style?  There are thousands of miles of incredible OHV trails in the area to bust it out on.  These folks can set you up.  If you are new to the area or don’t have much experience with these toys, I suggest the guided tour.  Heber City is a 30-minute drive from our venue.

 

Paddleboarding and OneWheeling:  Enjoy some awesome SUP!  These folks will help you keep your toes wet and your head dry.  It’s only a 15- minute drive from our venue. OneWheels and SUP boards are $30/hour or $60 for all day.

 

Whitewater Rafting:  If the 2010 SON meetings in Boise Idaho left you hankering for more whitewater (shoutout to Saad Hafez), this is for you, ye scurvy dog!  The trips are just over 2-hours long and they have several launches a day, so no prob fitting this into your schedule (but sign up early to get the launch slot you want).  Cost is $70.  Launch site is a 37-minute drive from our venue. 

 

Olympic Park:  Love the Olympics?  One of the coolest things you can do while you’re out here is check out the Utah Olympic Park, ground zero of the 2002 Winter Olympics.  There are a whole bunch of super cool things you can see and do here for free:  The two museums in the Welcome Center are complimentary.  Tour the Alf Engen Ski Museum and 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games Museum. The Discovery Zone is open for the little ones.  It features a climbing wall and active playground structures.  You have to pay for great seats to watch the ski jumpers doing acrobatics into the pools, but I got a pretty good view for free from the deck outside the museum.  But note that there’s a bunch of other stuff to do here too – like riding in an actual Olympic style bobsled (Marci took a ride in it, said it was crazy fast, but maybe not worth $100).  An afternoon Gold Pass Session goes for $99 and includes 3.5 hours of unlimited use of the Alpine Slide, Extreme Tubing, Extreme Zip, Freestyle Zip, Discovery Course, Canyon Course, Summit Course, Drop Tower, Airbag Jumps, Action Tower + Scenic Chairlifts.  That’s a lot of adrenaline rushes.  A quick Uber or other ride share provider will get you there and back for about $45 each way.

 

Alpine Slide/Mountain Coaster:  Do you have the need for speed?  Try the Alpine Slide and/or Mountain Coaster.  $32 or $59 for both.  (These are close to the venue, but if you’re really into this kind of stuff I think the Gold Pass at the Olympic Park is the better value)

 

Fishing:  There’s a bunch of world-class trout fishing here.  A quick internet search will give you lots of suggestions for places to go.  If you are new to the area, or can’t have fun unless you have a guide at your side giving you pro-tips on gear selection and setting you up on the best holes, then I recommend going with Mayfly Fly Fishing.  They are top notch and offer great value for price.  But an internet search will return a bunch of others that are also terrific.  If you want me to point you to a few of my favorite spots just drop me a line (see what I did there? ).

 

Artwork:  If you’d like a curated tour of Park City’s art galleries, try Soltesz Fine Art.  They offer a two-hour tour of over 20 galleries.  Alternatively, take a self-guided tour of all the public installations (including three pieces by Banksy, my all-time favorite).  

 

Shopping:  Historic Main Street is lined with quaint shops and galleries - everything from handmade furniture, books and sportswear to art collectibles and Western antiques. If you need to get your shop on, this is the place.  Seriously, you can go just as hard shopping here as you can a bomber downhill on the mountain.

 

Do Nothing. Well, sort of. What I’m advocating for here is making time for Idle Thinking. We live in an age of constant distraction—rarely are we ever bored anymore. Have you noticed how, the moment you have even a few unassigned seconds (waiting in line at the store, waiting for an elevator, waiting for the kettle to boil, etc.), the first thing you do is pull out your phone? If you never allow yourself to get bored, you'll never tap into your creativity. Avoiding boredom prevents us from using it to create a life full of meaning and purpose. It can also hinder incredible scientific discoveries. Alfred Russel Wallace independently developed the theory of evolution and its primary mechanism, natural selection, while lying in bed in the Malay Archipelago, sick and bored. Stop distracting yourself from life and start living it.  #benefitsofboredom

 

Review those overdue manuscripts.  Sit in your room and review manuscripts.  Hey, no one is here to judge you.  Unless you are reviewer #2.