Park City has a number of activities for visitors to enjoy, it's just a matter of how adventurous you are. You don't have to be an Olympic level athlete, expert skier or snowboarder, or even be in shape for that matter, to at least try out the best of Park City, Utah's attractions. Since 2002, Park City has steadily added its Olympic legacy, which includes medal carrying residents, and you're likely to see some of the USA's best skiers and snowboarders cruising around town or training at Park City resorts.
Utah Olympic Park at Kimball Junction
You'll spot the five interlocking rings on the mountain side as you drive into Kimball Junction, the gateway to Park City center. This world-class competition facility was built for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics, and is now the home base for many winter athletes training to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. When you're visiting Park City in the winter, the best attraction at the Olympic Park is the bobsled, skeleton and
luge track, which features 15 curves and is 1,335 meters (8/10ths of a mile) in length. You'll see insane-o skeleton athletes (which include a couple of my closest friends) hurtling themselves face first down the track at speeds reaching 80 miles an hour. Of course, you really only see them whiz by you for a few fractions of a second.
Two and four person bobsled teams careen down the same track, pushing the speed record of 88mph - I want to know, was Doc Brown driving a delorean style bobsleigh that day? Even if they don't take you to the future, today's bobsleighs are heavily engineered with sleek lines to reduce drag and increase speeds. Luge competitors are the craziest of them all, topping out at 90mph and taking some of the hardest hits. Every winter, Park City host several major sliding competitions, including the World Cup and America's Cup, check the schedule to see if your vacation dates overlap, and make a trip up to the park to watch.
Insider tip: Turns 6 and 12 offer the best head-whipping viewing opportunity, and is especially interestng if the sliders smash off the wall in turn 11.
If you're not the type to sit around and watch, you can always take your own ride, at relatively low risk. The Olympic Park offers bobsled rides to the public (with advance reservations), introductory training camps and fantasy camps for adults and kids, where you push your own speed limits. Even if you find yourself scared at first, you'll find yourself wanting more - believe me. My first skeleton ride was short but sweet, and I like to believe my friend when he said I probably hit about 50-52mph. The need for speed gives me a good excuse to sign up for the fantasy camp.
You Might as Well Jump!
The park also houses the nordic ski jumps, at 7,130 feet in elevation, they're the highest jumps on earth. Two olympic distance jumps, the K90 and the K120, launch ski jumpers into the air at speeds up to 55mph - and a safe landing spot. A 2.3 kilometer cross country ski course provides an opportunity to hold 'nordic combined' style events.
In summer, the Olympic Park opens up the ramps and the pool, a cool training spot for freestyle skiers and halfpipe snowboarders, and the pool doubles as a stage for the aerialists to show their stuff to visitors. In the winter, you can catch the action on snow, with US Ski Team sanctioned events and international competitions at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort.
Park City Mountain Resort gets several gold stars for the best freestyle terrain to ride, and it should be, since Olympic Gold Medalist and snowboarding phenomenon Shawn White is part of the Park City All-Stars, it's one of his favorite places to ride pipe and hang out. You can catch any number of freestyle skiers and snowboarders on the slopes and in Park City's terrain parks and the superpipe. Some sections are for pro's only, so it's better (and considerably safer) to stand on the sidelines and watch in awe.
This Park City insider information was contributed by local skier and snowboarder, Elisabeth Ostrander.
Put your mettle to the test at the Utah Olympic Park and Park City ski resorts, followed by some good rest! Find a comfortable vacation home rentals in Park City, or a luxurious slopeside condo with a hot tub to soothe your sore muscles.