As some of you might still be hesitant to take a vacation this year, many of you are ready to take the summer by the horns and just go for it. I completely understand both points of view. We were definitely not ready to get on a plane yet, so we were happy to learn that the Park City, Utah resort we booked over a year ago was open for business. And since we were planning on driving anyway, we decided to put our faith over our fear and just go for it (with all the necessary precautions of course).

As I was posting pictures from our vacation on Instagram, I was surprised to receive many comments and questions, all of them positive. It seemed that some of you, who were unsure whether to travel this year, were encouraged by our experience. I couldn’t be happier! I love it when my personal experience encourages others to live their lives to the fullest. A friend of mine said, “do you mind if we just copy your vacation, we are just not good at the planning part.” I absolutely don’t mind so here I will try to answer all the questions and give you all the tips to make your vacation fun, safe, and as smooth as possible.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure here.

This was the second time we took a road trip to Park City, Utah. You can read about our first experience of traveling through five states (California through Oregon) in my other post titled Let’s talk road tripping with kids. 

This time we just traveled from Southern California to Zion National Park and then to Park City, Utah, where we spent a week.  

Since we have two small children who can only tolerate 6 or 7 hours in the car a day, we chose St. George, UT to be our first stop. This town is conveniently located right off the I-15 freeway and only about 50 minutes from Zion National Park. I might even recommend staying directly in Zion (town of Springdale seems to be the closest) if Zion is your final destination. There are plenty of hotels there, such as La Quinta in Springdale  (more budget-friendly) or the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott (for those who like to splurge). Keep in mind you will be paying a premium for staying so close to Zion.

We chose to stay in St. George because of its proximity to the freeway (easy to continue to our final destination), but also because the prices are half of what you’d pay in Springdale. Our two favorite hotels are the Hyatt Place and the new Hampton Inn Sunriver. Both are super clean, have pools, and provide free breakfast. You can even request your breakfast to go if you are trying to make it to the park early in the morning.

If you plan on visiting Zion National Park, make sure to check the Zion National Park Service website. It will give you all the latest updates, road & weather conditions, and will also give you information on opened trails including maps. A word of advice, get up early to beat the sun. When we visited Zion two years ago, we hiked in 100-degree weather, and let’s just say we learned our lesson. If you have smaller children, there’s plenty of easier hikes to choose from. I recommend an easy hike along the river (starting by the Visitors Center). This trail going along the river is lined with picnic tables so bring some refreshments. 

You can even ride your bikes and scooters there. The Visitor Center is a great place to get all the info you need. It also has a very cool gift shop with tourist memorabilia. Our kids watched a quick park ranger presentation and were sworn in to become Jr. Park Rangers. They now get to collect badges in every national park they go to. The visitor center and store practice social distancing and all personnel wear masks. 

If you are not a huge fan of hiking, you can explore the park in your car or you can use the Park Shuttle. The shuttles were not operating when we were there but I just found out they should be opening as of July 1st. You have to make a reservation in advance so check the site provided above. The Park entrance fee is $35/vehicle (valid for 7 days), but we lucked out and happened to visit on a no-fee day. I hope you are as lucky as we were!

If you are looking for additional things to do around Zion, I recommend stopping by Fort Zion in Virgin for a fun experience, good food, and an amazing gift shop. Other fun things to do while staying in St. George are the St. George Historic Downtown, the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site, and the St. George Children’s Museum. Two places we have not yet visited but are planning on for our next trip to Utah are the Arches National Park (about 4 hours from St. George) and Bryce Canyon National Park (about two hours from St. George). Both should be beautiful. In fact, there are five national parks in Utah, the third-largest number in any one state, behind Alaska and California. 

After our time in Zion, we headed for our final destination, Park City, Utah. Park City is about another five hours from St. George and I promise you, you will fall in love with this place. Park City is very different from the dry, brown, reddish Utah you have experienced so far. Once you get to Park City, prepare yourself for green, lush rolling hills, aspen trees, and breathtaking mountains. This town reminds me of Europe and you can definitely see some Swiss influence, especially by the Brighton Ski Resort, just a 30-minute drive over the Empire Pass (road closed in winter). While here, we love to stay at the Sunrise Lodge by Hilton Grand Vacations located directly in the Canyon Village. This location is perfect as the Canyon Village offers plenty of restaurants, shops, golf courses, gondola rides, and hiking trails. Our view from this place was one of the hills covered in aspen and pine trees. We decided to rent a two-bedroom unit with a full kitchen, two bathrooms, and even a laundry room. 

Once you settle in, there is plenty to do. You can spend all week exploring the area’s hundreds of beautiful hiking and biking trails and never take the same path. Or with a modest 30 to 60-minute drive out of town, You can spend the day by pristine mountain lakes, fishing, or participating in water sports. If sports and hiking are not your cups of tea, you can just stroll down historic Main Street full of restaurants and shops. We tried to do a bit of everything and here are some helpful sites to help you decide what to do:

• Rent a mountain or city bike – based on many recommendations from the locals, we used Jan’s Sporting Goods, conveniently located directly next to a wonderful rail trail. The staff here was super friendly and gave us tips for some great trails suitable for our young kids. We put our youngest in a bike trailer attached to my husband’s bike, who easily pulled her up and down the rolling hills with no problem!  
• Rent electric assist bikes from Summit Bike Share and explore the city. They have pickup and drop off locations on every corner. Just use your credit card to check your bike out and then drop it off when you are done (helmets or kids’ seats were not available with this option so bring your own).
• Hiking is one of our favorite things to do. We hiked 1-2 trails a day and everywhere we looked there was another trail we’d love to explore. To find hikes based on your preferred level of difficulty or length, visit MountainTrails.org. This site provides descriptions, reviews, and printable maps. 
• Golfing is not something we are into but if it’s your favorite past time, you will have no shortage of golf courses to choose from. One of the newest courses is Canyon Golf next to the Canyon Village where we stayed. You are surrounded by beautiful mountains and are only a short walk to restaurants and shops.
• Visit Utah Olympic Park where you can go tubing, alpine sliding, zip-lining, and complete a Discovery course. My son did the zip line last time we were here and had a blast! You can also watch members of our amazing US Olympic ski team practice their aerial ski jumps as they launch 40 feet in the air, doing twists and flips before landing on their skis in a massive pool specifically designed for their summer training. They looked fearless!
• Visit Alf Engen Ski Museum where you can try a simulated ski jump, get to experience what it feels like being caught in an avalanche, and learn all about the history of skiing. We had so much fun at this place, we ended up spending hours there.  From a woman’s perspective, it was also fun to see the evolution of ski clothing.  
• Take the Red Pine Gondola or one of the scenic lift rides to get a birds-eye view of all the canyons below.
• For guided fly fishing call Utah Pro Fly Fishing Company. They offer half and full-day packages on the world-class Provo River nearby.
• To fish on your own or to just enjoy the day at a beautiful high mountain lake, drive 30 minutes to the small town of Kamas to begin a beautiful journey along the Mirror Lakes Scenic Byway. There is a Chevron station at the corner of Main Street and Highway 150 where you can buy a three-day pass for $6 that you will need in order to use the parking and picnic facilities along the way. (BONUS TIP: Get the “Best donuts in Utah” at this Chevron station – try the apple or blueberry fritters…OMG!!!) There are many pristine lakes located along this 42-mile drive toward Wyoming that are easily accessible and many are regularly stocked with trout. But even if the fish aren’t biting, the views along the way is worth the drive. We checked out three lakes (Mirror Lake, Washington Lake, and Crystal Lake) and stopped by the Provo River Water Falls for a great photo opp.  
• For rafting or tubing down the Provo River call High Country Adventure company. To raft the Weber River (pronounce it Wee-bur if you want to sound like a local) contact the Park City Rafting Company. We ran out of time and didn’t get to do this but we are keeping it on our wish list for next time.
• Spend the day by a lake and rent paddleboards, boats, or jet skis from Jordanelle Rents and Marina. We really wanted to do this too but the weather turned cold and windy that day so we had to change our plans…not a problem with so many things to choose from!
• Spend the day horseback riding with Red Pine Adventures.
• Tour the caves at Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
• Visit one of the most photographed Park City Landmarks, the McPolin White Barn. There are also a few very beautiful and easy hiking trails right next to the barn. We did this on our last day and it was a lovely way to end our trip.  
• Hike to one of the two Brighton Lakes, Lake Mary or Lake Catherine. We hiked to Lake Mary and even though the hike was pretty steep, the views over the green valley below were worth the sweat.  
• Take a scenic ride to Antelope Island State Park to see an ancient herd of bison.
• Take a scenic drive to Provo Canyon to see the Bridal Veil Falls.

Honestly, I could go on and on, because Utah is one of those places that just begs to be explored. If you are an outdoor lover, young, old, single, married, with or without kids, you will have no shortage of fun things to do here. Just enjoy your time and soak up the beauty of this place. You will have the time of your life!

Until next time Utah!

A few last-minute thoughts:

• Bring Clorox/Lysol wipes and wipe light switches, door handles, and remote controls in your hotel. Keep your masks handy as they are required in most places to enter a store or restaurant.
• Bring layers, the weather in this altitude changes quickly so don’t always count on the sun in the forecast.
• Bring comfortable walking shoes. Unless you have well worn-in hiking boots, running shoes or sneakers are your best bet. New boots can cause blisters and ruin your trip.
• Talk to the locals. They are super friendly and are a wonderful source of information on just about everything.
• Due to certain types of liquor licenses, beware that some restaurants don’t allow children if alcohol is served (restaurant with the word bar or saloon in its’ name mostly).
• Due to COVID-19, some restaurants were on limited hours. Call in advance to find out hours of operation.