Utah Olympic Park
Just outside of downtown Park City, at 7,300 ft. elevation, the Utah Olympic Park still buzzes with excitement and enthusiasm that one might have expected 15 years ago when the Park hosted five events during the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games: bobsled, skeleton, luge, and the Nordic combined events. During that time though, the Park looked much different than it does today. Hundreds of media vans, buses, and semi-trailers filled the parking lots where dozens of nations broadcast race results across the globe of their athlete's success' and frustrations. Fans from around the world crowded the mountainside to cheer and support their nations and compatriots. And although the two weeks of those games have long passed, the exhilaration of those sports is still electric in the brisk mountain air.
Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center
Today, where all those media and equipment vehicles parked stands a beautiful glass building, the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center. Inside is a gift shop boasting collectibles and memorabilia from the games and the Alf Engen Ski Museum that traces the history of winter sports in Park City. Full-body ski suits from decades past stand like colorful sentinels against the wall. Looping videos explain the quality of snow, the formation of ice crystals, and pressing environmental issues. The second floor of the museum pays homage specifically to the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games where sections of the massive floats and brilliant, iridescent costumes used in the Opening Ceremony still hang on the walls. The space is beautifully curated and frequently updated with funds from grants and donations. This attraction is free to the public and as a non-profit organization, each year hundreds of fourth-graders are bused up to the Park to learn about the legacy of the Olympics and winter sports.
Comet Bobsled Ride
Carved into the hill to the west is the granddaddy of them all: the bobsled track. The track is 1,335 meters of pure, icy exhilaration with over 15 turns and 103 feet of vertical drop. This incredible track is maintained with 54 miles of piping and 110,000 pounds of refrigeration to keep the track at -14 F during the winter. In the cold months visitors can ride three at a time with a professional driver down the track.
You can also experience the track in the summer when the it is defrosted and the sleds are equipped with wheels. Ripping down the track at 70+ mph, screams of terror and joy echo through the Park. While some of these attractions are available by purchasing a day pass, the entire Park is open to the public to roam and wander the grounds, reliving the Olympic experience.
When you visit the Utah Olympic Park there are numerous activities to experience that will fill your day with fun and excitement. There are banquets and venues available for corporate events, private parties, family reunions, and so on. The Park is educational and entertaining, for everyone in the family. But what still resides at the Park, and what you'll leave with despite what activities you choose to enjoy, is the spirit of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The motto for those games was Light the Fire Within, and that flame still burns bright, fifteen years later.
Tubing down Nordic Jump - Summer Only
If you want to really up the excitement you can buy a day pass and expand the experience, and up the adrenaline, with more activities. When the Nordic jump isn't being used for practice, dozens of tubers race down the massive, steep landing zone and skim to a stop on the grass. Above them, four zip lines send visitors squealing down the mountainside two-by-two experiencing the same view as an Olympic Nordic jumper. If poise and agility is more your game, near the landing zone is one of the two ropes courses where you can test your mettle against heights and balance.
Watch World Class Athletes
As you exit the museum through the café, you might want to grab some hot cocoa and a snack as you sit on the balcony and watch national ski teams from around the world practice on the Nordic and aerial jumps. Olympic athletes spin thirty and forty feet in the air and splash land into a pool as they train during the off-season for their events. Their coaches call out instructions from the sidelines in numerous different languages and one can't help but feel transported to the world community of the Games. A recently-added slope-style jump attracts talented athletes in both snowboarding and skiing where they launch into the air spinning and flipping and land into a massive inflatable pad, one of the largest of its kind.
Discovery Zone
Keep exploring and find the Discovery Zone where youngsters can swing from ropes and maneuver through nets and suspended wires. Or bring your bike to the Park and traverse the miles of hiking and biking trails surrounding the Park and get a view of the bobsled track from above. All of these events are free to the public and make for a day of non-stop fun.
Museums & Historic Tours
Park City is a unique blend of the old and new. Sixty-four of Park City's buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, many of which are located along the town's Main Street, and more than 1,200 miles of tunnels wind through the surrounding mountains, remnants of the mining era.
An interactive pictorial of Park City's colorful mining and ski history is on display at the Park City Museum , located at 528 Main Street, in the heart of Park City's historic Old Town district. If like ghost stories, don't miss the 75-minute guided tour, with Park City Ghost Tours , and learn about the many haunted buildings around Park City's historic district. The Utah Olympic Park pays tribute to Park City's role in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and is home of the Alf Engen Ski Museum which features films, interactive exhibits and museums, and Olympic memorabilia highlighting Park City's involvement in winter sports.
Take a short drive up Interstate 80 towards Coalville and its unique history as a farming and entry corridor for mid 1800's westward migration through Utah. Don't miss the Summit County Courthouse Museum , a real treasure of antiques and memorabilia from the Wild West days.
Preserving, protecting and promoting Park City's history & heritage. Interactive exhibitions explore Park City's colorful mining and ski history. Located at 528 Main Street, in the heart of Park City's historic Old Town district, the award-winning Park City Museum is full of surprises.
Park City Ghost Tours takes you on a 75-minute walking tour of historic Park City sharing ghost stories about the many haunted buildings around Main Street. Tours leave every day from Miner's Park (across from 415 Main Street); 8:00pm.
Featuring interactive exhibits depicting the history of skiing in the Intermountain West, a virtual-reality ski theater and 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. Located at the Utah Olympic Park.
Hours: M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Located in historic 1904 Summit County Courthouse. Escape from the modern day and reminisce with Summit County's early ancestors. Docent guided tours of the museum and courthouse.
Free WiFi & Valet Parking
High Speed WiFi Internet. Valet Parking at front of Hotel
Dining
Courchevel Bistro located next to Hotel
Spa
Puravida On Main-Aveda Spa
on site (plus in-room massage treatments available)
Meetings and Weddings
Meeting, Event, Wedding, space for up to 200 guests including Rooftop
Free WiFi & Valet Parking
High Speed WiFi Internet. Valet Parking at front of Hotel
Dining
Courchevel Bistro located next to Hotel
Spa
Puravida On Main-Aveda Spa on site (plus in-room massage treatments available)
Meetings and Weddings
Meeting, Event, Wedding, space for up to 200 guests including Rooftop
