Summer at Park City Mountain Resort - Tips For Family Trips

When sticky, smoggy summer days start to feel old, it's time to escape to the mountains for some cool summer fun. For that, there is nowhere better than summer in Park City Mountain Resort.

Summer fun at a winter resort? You betcha. Cooler temperatures, clean mountain air and fantastic scenery make Park City a fun summer getaway.

My family has visited Park City Mountain Resort in the summer a couple of times – once when my kids were ages 5 and 8 and more recently when they were 12 and 15. There was plenty for them to do both times.

Here are our favorite things to do in the summer at Park City Mountain Resort, plus tips for success.

What to Wear

Many of the activities on this list require sturdy closed toe shoes. I also recommend comfortable clothing that lets you move and a jacket, just in case. Summer temperatures in Park City are usually warm, but not always.

Alpine Coaster

If you can only choose one ride at Park City Mountain, this is the one I'd pick. This coaster isn't as big or fast as most amusement park coasters, but screaming around a metal track on a sled with a lap belt feels plenty fast.

The ride starts at the bottom of the hill, so being pulled to the top is part of the fun. It's a good chance to enjoy the scenery and get a look at some of the wildflowers and maybe wildlife on the mountain. Then gravity takes over…

ZipRider

I don't like heights or free falls, so I had no intention of riding ZipRider on our first trip to Park City Mountain Adventure Park. My husband tried ZipRider early in the day and encouraged me to go, so I tried it.

I loved ZipRider. It doesn't feel as fast as it looks, so soaring through the air was exhilarating, not scary. I felt secure and the ride was smooth.

ZipRider is not currently included in the Adventure Pass.

Flying Eagle

This two-passenger zip line looks more exciting than it is. I rode with my 8-year-old daughter and both of us were a little let down because it wasn't very thrilling. She wasn't heavy enough to ride ZipRider.

The Flying Eagle was perfect for my 5-year-old son. It took us all day to convince him to try it, but it was his favorite ride when he finally did.

Alpine Slide

Park City's alpine slide is one of the longest in the world, so if you're going to try one alpine slide during a visit to Utah (there are several), it should be this one.

The really exciting thing about the alpine slide is that you can crash if you go too fast around the turns. The alpine slide is the ride for real thrill seekers, as long as you don't get stuck behind a slow poke like me. It's not difficult to control your speed

We wanted to ride the Alpine slide on our return visit, but it was closed. The smallest amount of rain makes the track unsafe and closes the ride.

Scenic chair lift

Three scenic lift rides are included in the Adventure Pass. Lift rides may be included with other activities, since you will need to ride it for the alpine slide, ZipRider and mountain biking.

Children under age 4 can get a complimentary ticket for scenic lifts.

Related: 12 Fun Olympic Venues in Utah

Legacy Launcher

My daughter had been longing to try a bungee trampoline since she first saw one at Snowbird. The Legacy Launcher was all she hoped and dreamed it would be. My kids did this one twice, and on the second try, my daughter mastered the double flip.

Each turn is only a few minutes, but the trampoline is more exhausting than it looks, so it's enough.

Adventure Zone

This play area includes a climbing wall, zip line and ropes course. My kids liked the climbing wall and my daughter was elated when she finally reached the top. The zip line and ropes course are new since our first visit.

Mini Golf

Mini golf is also available as an a la carte activity or as part of the Adventure Pass. We'd rather do a zip line or alpine ride any day, so we haven't tried it here yet.

Ways to Save

All-day Adventure Passes for a family can add up quickly, but there are a couple of good ways to save money on summer activities at Park City Mountain Resort.

Buy online – Save 10% when you buy Adventure Passes at parkcitymountain.com in advance.
Buy a la carte – You can buy smaller activity bundles or single activities.

On our most recent trip, we bought the Double Play, which includes the Alpine Slide and Alpine Coaster. When the Alpine Slide closed for rain, we were able to get a refund on that portion of our ticket.

Conclusion

There's a lot more going on year-round at the largest resort in the United States. In addition to the Adventure Park, families can enjoy golf, scenic lift rides, mountain biking, hiking, disc golf, spa, concerts and more.

We love visiting Park City in the summer and hope that your family will too.

Happy travels!

Disclosure: Park City Mountain Resort provided us with complimentary passes on our 2012 visit, for the purpose of review. We paid our own way in 2019.

Allison

Hi there! I am the founder of Tips for Family Trips. I am a married mom of two children, ages 14 and 17, living near Salt Lake City, Utah. We took our first child on a two-week road trip when she was four weeks old and we have been traveling as a family ever since. We love to get out of the house to see and do fun things, both far away and in our own neighborhood.