While there are still lots of things to do in Park City, anything marked with ** has been updated to reflect any temporary closings or limited hours due to covid-19.
Park City Restaurant Recommendations
Unlike my Park City Winter Guide where we ski, eat lunch on the mountain and then come home for dinner, summer is the time to explore all of the great restaurants and patios!
Harvest – This place is off of Main street and in my top 3 for brunch/lunch.
Vessel Kitchen – Another favorite for lunch. No view but the food is so good.
**Vinto – Our favorite pasta and salad! The beet salad is to die for and I get their traditional pasta. Omg so good. The boys LOVE the pizza. // now only open for dinner
five5seeds – Hands down my favorite brunch/lunch. Not scenic, but the food is SO good. I order the PC Superfood Grain Salad every single time.
Deer Valley Cafe – My 2nd favorite brunch place and is very scenic 🙂 you can sit outside on a pond and they have paddle boarding for the kids (or adults).
Hearth & Hill – A new place we tried this year, SO good.
Silver Star (lunch or dinner) – We go for dinner on Friday or Saturday nights. Kid friendly but we usually make this a date night because they have live music and we take our time eating, sit outside and watch the sunset over the mountains.
Firewood – Same kind of place as Tupelo, but in my opinion even a bit fancier. We took my Dad there and it was amazing.
Blind Dog (dinner only) – A summer only spot for sure. Amazing food (despite the odd name lol) and the patio is amazing! There is lots of sand out there for the kids to play… not sure if that is a good thing but the boys think it is 🙂
Restaurant Recommendations in Midway, Utah
Midway is a definite must if you visit Park City as it’s only about a 15/20 min drive. The little town of Midway has grown so much over the last few years and is now home to some amazing restaurants. So far, these are the two we tried and loved.
Where to Get Drinks in Park City
(You Do Not have to order food to have a drink at these places. More details on that below.)
- No Name Saloon
- The Spur Bar & Grill
- St. Regis – Ride the funicular up (it is such a neat experience) and have a cocktail with a gorgeous view.
- Stein Lodge
- Owl Bar at Sundance
Things To Do in Park City
- Drive Guardsman’s Pass to Midway, then eat at the Filler-Up while you are there.
- **Park City Library – If you saw my stories, the library is one of our favorite places to go for some down time. Besides having a 3d printer, virtual reality video games, and an amazing children’s book section, they have a cafe attached and right outside is a huge field and dog park. // Currently closed. Meeting rooms are the only part open.
- Ride the coaster and alpine slide at the base of Park City Mountain.
- Watch the Olympians practice their jumps at Olympic Park– they have weekly shows.
- Ride the bobsled (at Olympic Park) – however prepare for a headache. I won’t do it again but glad I did it at least once for sure! The boys LOVE the ropes courses and they have a huge tube they can ride down the mountain!
- Make the 25 min drive to the Sundance Resort (the view pictured above. It is truly beautiful and hike Stewart Falls (pictured below) so you can see the gorgeous waterfall! Bring a change of clothes so you can eat at the Foundry Grill afterwards.
- Rent an electric bike and cruise around for the day. Because lord knows it would take lots of training and killer shape to do it on a real one!
- Rent a pontoon or ski boat at the Jordanelle Reservoir. They also have an awesome inflatables area in the water that the kids love! You can check that out (here).
- If you want to relax by a pool and not staying at a hotel that has one, we love Silver Mountain. There is a lazy river and slide + outside grill and huge playground.
- On our to-try list, we heard the South Summit Aquatic and Fitness Center is super fun so we are also going to check that out this year. We are also adding the cave at Timpanogos, but tours for this are currently paused due to covid.
Kids Summer Camps in Park City
**If you have kids and want to have a day without them, we can’t say enough about Deer Valley Summer Camp. This is truly the best camp I have ever put my kids in. They go on amazing field trips, hiking, mountain biking (depending on age) and the list goes on. // Deer Valley Summer Camp is closed, but we have discovered new camps listed below that are amazing.
- Basin Rec – They do the summer blast day camp and it lasts all day.
- Woodward – There are so many options including: mountain biking, BMX, scooter, skateboard and more.
- Rancho luna Lobas / Dog Sledding – the kids get to learn how to train and take care of sled dogs. If you sign up for the week, each kid is assigned a sled dog.
Our Favorite Hikes
Thanks to some of you that live here, we have found some pretty amazing hikes over the years. This is probably our main activity when we are here. The boys love hiking. Feel free to refer to my Summer Hiking Checklist to make sure you have everything you need before you set out on any of these hikes.
- PC Mountain – An easy hike, but you get to go to the top where it say
- Stewart Falls – Mentioned under ‘Things to Do in Park City”, this trail might be my favorite.
- Donut Falls – On our list, we haven’t tried it yet!
- Silver Lake & Ontario – These are two popular trails and we do them every year. These are at Deer Valley and this is also where Mark takes them mountain biking. We eat lunch at Royal Street (mid mountain) after our hike.
- Bells Canyon – This is a long hike, but it takes you to a massive waterfall.
- Robs Trail – We just discovered this one. Love!
- Blood Lake – Absolutely stunning! (pictured below)
Helpful Tips for Your Trip
Drink lots of water when you arrive. The altitude can have its way with you and your digestive system doesn’t always work as well. Water helps! Magnesium sulfate pills help too.
Buy one of these for your picnics. We love ours!! Also our yeti backpack cooler has been awesome here! Ask if the house/condo you are renting has AC!! It can get pretty warm in the summer so even though it is 10 times better than Texas and the southern states, you will thank me later on this!
If you are looking for a hotel, The Stein Lodge, St. Regis, and Montage are gorgeous and the views are killer.
Utah has different alcohol laws. You cannot buy wine at grocery stores, Costco, etc. You will want to find a state liquor store to buy all of this when you arrive. Restaurants measure liquor out less than anywhere else in the states and the price of drinks is crrrazy expensive so I suggest wine when dining out! Also, most restaurants will not let you order a drink without ordering food.. even if it’s just an appetizer.
Weekly Specials
**Monday – Go to Grappa! This usually pricey restaurant has a “locals night” every Monday of the summer where they offer a special menu at a discounted price. They have one of the best patios on Main Street (might be THE best) and the food is delicious. // I’m not sure if they are still doing locals night, but they are open for dine or curbside pickup.
**Tuesday – Taco Tuesday at Windy Ridge Cafe. Who doesn’t love taco Tuesday’s?! This restaurant is a little hidden gem near but not on Main Street. It has a great patio, super kid and dog friendly and the kids love to run around. // Windy Ridge is open, but no Taco Tuesday. It’s still a great restaurant to visit!
**Wednesday – Deer Valley summer concert series. If ya’ll haven’t already noticed, Park City has a ton of live music during the summer. Every Wednesday there is a free concert at Deer Valley base where you sit on the mountain and eat dinner a la a picnic and BYOB (err wine). It is lovely and definitely a must! Also every Wednesday there is a Farmers market at the base of Park City mountain. Lots of fresh fruit, pastries, veggies, and live music. // Closed for summer 2020. Schedule shows have been postponed to summer 2021. Instead, there is an awesome farmers market at the base of Park City Mountain every Wednesday.
**Thursday – Free Concert at the base of the Canyons. Same as Deer Valley (however we like the Deer Valley one much more). We have only gone to this one once this summer mainly just because it’s not as convenient. However if you are here for the 4th of July they put on an amazing fire works show! // Closed for summer 2020.
**Sunday – Park Silly. Every Sunday Main Street is closed for Park Silly which is an open market where you can buy fresh produce (the BEST peaches and cherries we have ever had) homemade ice cream, roasted corn, the ever popular bloody Mary bar, and the list goes on. There is a different band playing every week and they have rock climbing, bounce houses, and face painting set up for the kids. // No Park Silly for summer 2020, but they are closing Main Street to cars Saturdays and Sundays. See Wednesday’s to-do if you are wanting to visit a farmer’s market.
Hope ya’ll found this helpful if you are planning on traveling to PC! For what to wear in Park City during the summer months, I put together an outfit recap in this blog post.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have questions!
xo, Jaime
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