Spring Break SLC/Utah help
 

We are taking 17yo son to SLC this March. He is a beginner snowboarder. So we don't need awesome snow. I know some resorts don't allow snowboarding. We will be staying in SLC. For 7 days, we will probably ski/snowboard 3 or 4. Need some other suggestions. Son loves nature. But we also want to snowmobile and have him do a bobsled run.


1. Other things to do in the area? We'll have a vehicle so can travel.
2. Current plans include snowmobiling, so any suggestions?
3. We want to have him do the bobsled course. Pricey, but looks fun. Any feedback?

Thr national parks sre farther than a day trip away. I’d suggest splitting and say see Moab for 3 nights thrn do the snowboarding.

I lived in Kamas, Utah for much of my childhood. Kamas, east of Park City, is the jumping-off point for several snowmobile rental companies.

https://www.unchartedsociety.com/us/...amas-utah.html

https://highcountrysnowmobiles.com/

One trail takes you up the Mirror Lake Scenic Highway (which is closed to motor vehicles other than snowmobiles during the winter). Beautiful scenery, although I have only done the drive in the non-snow time.
https://www.visitutah.com/things-to-...ys/mirror-lake

While in Salt Lake City itself, try doing some urban hiking. https://www.slc.gov/transportation/urban-trails/

A very popular hike goes from downtown Salt Lake City into near wilderness in just a few miles. I know of no other major city where such a hike is possible.
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-...y-creek-canyon

I personally like to hike along the Jordan River Parkway Trail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_River_Parkway The trail is much too long to hike all in one day, but the stage of it that I do the most is the segment that runs between two light rail stations, River Trail Station and Fairpark Station. There is lots of free parking at the River Trail Station, so one option would be to park your rental car there and hike to the other station and then ride the train back. One caveat, you will likely encounter homeless people camping out along the river. But I have never had a problem with them and it would be educational for your son.

If you have time Hill AFB aviation museum up in Ogden is worth a visit. It’s even free.

If you get up to Ogden, and if you're carnivores who also like carbs, you might go a little further north for a meal at Maddox. It's closed on Sundays and Mondays, and you'll want to either make a reservation or get on their waitlist (both can be done from their website, if they're available). Their steaks are extremely good, and their rolls and raspberry butter are yummy.

In SLC itself, we enjoyed our visit to the Museum of Natural History, although you may have already seen similar depending on where you are visiting from.

Brighton will be a good place to take your son snowboarding. The Learner lift ticket allows access to all runs off of the Majestic Explorer lift, which includes good greens, a few blues, and the terrain park, which is popular with boarders.

Just 2 SLC-area resorts don't allow boarders, Alta and Deer Valley. Traffic into and out of Deer Valley and Park City nowadays is crazy, not to mention PC now charges $30 for parking. Snowbird next to Alta does allow boarders but it's not really suited for beginners.

Two more requests:

1. Dinner at downtown SLC restaurants - We get in Saturday evening - something good, not too fancy. Teen son in tow, but he always find something.
2. Feedback on spending a day in Park City, but not skiing. Is it worth it? Is it insane to do it on a Sunday?

This food hall https://hallpassslc.com/ has lots of choices (8 restaurants and 2 bars) and is open until 11 pm on Saturdays (haven't eaten there yet myself but I have heard good things about it). It is in the Gateway, which also has a movie theater complex https://www.megaplextheatres.com/gateway and a live music venue (in an old train station). https://atthegateway.com/ It is across the street from the arena that the Utah Jazz play at. There is also a planetarium there that does late-night laser music shows. Tomorrow night, they are doing Rock The Dome at 9:00 pm and Dark Side of the Moon at 10:45 pm. https://slco.org/clark-planetarium/shows/?th=hansen

There are two blue line Trax light rail stations (Planetarium and Old Greek Town) at the Gateway and Trax is free in downtown SLC. https://rideuta.com/-/media/Files/Ri...e_Dec2022.ashx

If you're willing to go a couple of miles from downtown SLC, check out Red Iguana, which is well known for its mole sauce. Ask for a sampler to try many of them out before you order. Just make sure you make a reservation as they're always busy. If it has to be downtown, I recommend Takashi for its sushi.

Market Street Grill is pretty good, as is Sapa on State st if you like sushi.

All perfect suggestions. All work for the week we are there. Food hall sounds great for first night. Will definitely hit Red Iguana.

One last, I hope request. For locals.
we did Brighton on Monday. It snowed while we were there and the drive down was okay. We have a good all wheel drive vehicle. But I drive in snow a couple times a year and rarely in mountains.
But it is supposed to snow all evening and most of the day tomorrow. Seems like the drive up to Brighton would be a challenge. Do they sometimes completely shut the road?
Alternative slopes for green/blue skiers that isn’t Park City, but easier to access?

They do sometimes close the Cottonwood Canyon roads for avalanche control (Brighton is in Big Cottonwood Canyon). For real-time updates, follow this account on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/UDOTcottonwoods