What better to do in the middle of a hot week in Utah, than take off for a couple of days to the Unita Mountains and Park City. The Unita Mountains and in particular the hikes along the Mirror Lake Scenic byway were recommended to us last year by the workers at Park City Visitor Center. This area is off the beaten track and only accessible a few months of the year. Park City, on the other hand, is a ski mecca and year-round resort destination with endless outdoor activities and always crowded. However, the mountains east of it are remote and rarely visited. So on the 22nd of July (Reva’s birthday) when the temperature was hovering around 90 in Layton, Utah we took off (masks in hand and wine in trunk) to enjoy the 55 degree temperatures just a short drive away.

Park City is about 20 miles up in the mountains from Salt Lake City and was the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The area is a year-round playground for families as well as celebrities. In January, it hosts the Sundance Film Festival and claims to have the “Best Powder on Earth.” Of course my travels are more about off-the-wall activities and traveling on a budget, so Park City is not really my favorite place. That said, however, its a great location to stop after a day of hiking around cold mountain lakes in drizzle ……and a great compromise with the wife.

The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway extends from Kamas Utah across the Unita Mountains into Wyoming. Mirror Lake sits at the base of Bald Mountain, 32 miles from Kamas at an altitude of 10,000 feet. In this area, there are hundreds of alpine lakes which can be reached fairly easily. This is a fee-area for the National Forest Service but a three-day pass is only $6…no charge if you have a National Park Pass. Information regarding the area can be found on the Nation Forest Webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recarea/?recid=9908.

In the summer, we spend much of our time in Layton, Utah next to Hill Air Force Base and that is where we began this short trip. Mirror Lake is almost exactly 100 miles from our condo and the drive takes just over two hours without stops.

Since the drizzle picked up, the 55 degree temperatures were a little too cool for us and we decided to continue our journey on to Park City and our evening at the Sheraton Resort.

One of my intentions for my posts to to let you know how we reduce costs when we travel. I will have a separate post covering hotel costs in detail later but in this case, we booked a Priceline Express deal for a 3.5 star hotel in Park City proper. It was easy to determine that this was the Sheraton Resort before we booked it. The cost after we used a 10% off Priceline Coupon was $52.20 (with taxes and fees, the total for the night was $69.17.) The regular price before taxes and fees on the Marriott website was $107……Priceline was more than 50% less! A room at this hotel during ski season is $249. Now we didn’t get to pick our type of room and I didn’t earn credit or points for this stay, but the price was too good to pass up.

Olympic Park is free and was the site of the ski jumping and toboggan racing at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Now it is where athletes train year-round and you can pay to participate in various activities, including sliding down the ski jump course on an innertube (not off the jump of course).

This was just a quick overnight to explore the area, but it is a wonderful part of the country to visit and spend some time. You can purchase day passes for the various ski lifts throughout the Park City area for hiking and mountain biking. Also, there are many alpine slides, ziplines and coasters to play on in the area. For more ideas check out their website: https://www.visitparkcity.com/things-to-do/summer-activities/

So when you are traveling in the west consider this area for stop…..you won’t be disappointed. Travel maps and dirrections from the Salt Lake City Airport can be found here: https://goo.gl/maps/wdSZpkvRAW1qFwe27