Summer Day in Snowbird, Utah
We love everything about the mountains, but we are not big skiers. Over the past many years the ski resorts in Utah (among other states) have done a great job to convert the ski resorts to true playlands in the summer
On this day we drove down the hill from Park City and then up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird Ski resort to play for the day. Once again we had one of our daughters and her family with us. Having the “littles” around always creates an extra special day of fun.
You can buy an all day pass that includes, the mountain coaster, alpine slide, chair lifts, tram and various bounce houses and climbing apparatuses. We were there for about 6 hours total, so it’s a full day of fun.
It’s difficult to get a picture of these 4 together as they are so busy! Snapped a shot of this beautiful little family on this sparkling sunny day.
Snowbird is just one of many resorts up Little Cottonwood Canyon.
There are even more ski resorts up Big Cottonwood Canyon. This entire area is a true skiers paradise. But on this summer day it was a great place to play outdoors with temperatures a bit cooler than down in the valley.
The Mountain Coaster was up first. This is not Disneyland so the lines are not super efficient. This seemingly short line was about an hour’s wait.
No filters! The sky was really that blue!
Snowbird opened as a ski resort in 1971. Like much of this area, the canyon was a large mining area for years. What makes this area so great for skiing is that Snowbird, and other resorts, get about 500 inches of snow a year. Part of that snow is “lake effect” from the great Salt Lake just below in the valley.
It was finally our turn to get on the coaster. You have to be 36” to ride and smaller kids have to ride with an adult. The coaster gets going pretty fast and has some great sharp curves, all through the tree line, elevated on a track.
Up, up we went!
Look at Steve coming down the hill!
Coming in for a fast landing!
Next, it was time to take the chair lift up to the Alpine Slide.
This slide goes down the Chickadee ski run
There is no motor, just a brake to use around the curves. Of course, you don’t have to use the break, for a faster ride down.
After the alpine slide it was time for a quick picnic lunch then up the mountain on a gondola ride.
This tram can hold 125 people and ascends 2,900 vertical feet in about 20 minutes. Once you get to the top, you can, hike down, have lunch in the restaurant or just hang out for a while. The trams in the summer ride until 8PM. I’ll bet sunset up there is beautiful.
Little W was scared a bit so his big brother J, held his hand on the way up.
The tram from the top. It was a little chilly at 11,000 ft. but not too bad.
Just breathtaking views. This is looking back down into Salt Lake City.
One last picture at the top. It was only about 75 at the time while down in the valley it was close to 100.
After hanging out on the top for a while we took the tram back down. Next time we will hike down. Overall a great day in Snowbird in the summer. I would highly recommend spending a day here in the summer for tons of activities, incredible views and an overall adventurous day!
