Park City, Utah is already one of the world's finest mountain destinations for both winter and summer fun. With the quintessential western mining town feel of Main Street, the # 1 rated North American ski resort—Deer Valley ,and the always popular Park City Mountain Resort, few resort towns have more to offer. When you consider that all of this is only 30 minutes from a major metro airport in Salt Lake City, its easy to see why Park City is one of North America's favorite ski destinations. What most people do not know, however, is that Park City continues to expand. The latest attraction—Newpark Resort and Redstone Village, billed as "The New Side of Park City." Located at the entrance to Park City, right off of the exit from Interstate 80, Newpark is often overlooked by visitors on their way into Park City. Locals and those "in the know" however, recognize this as one more jewel in the Park City crown. Last week, I was enjoying one of the free outdoor concerts that Newpark offers every Thursday night during the summer, when it occurred to me just what a great local secret this area is. Starting with the Redstone shopping village, visitors can enjoy a beautiful pedestrian village with a variety of shops with local character, a full-service movie theater, and plenty of terrific dining options. My family loves to combine a movie at the Redstone Cinema and ice cream next door at the Cold Stone Creamery. We also love the sushi at Hapa Grill.
Adjacent to Redstone is an extension of the pedestrian-friendly shopping village known as Newpark. This quickly developing center is anchored by a new bowling alley and family entertainment center on one end, and an outdoor concert venue on the other. While much of the shops in-between are still being built, the potential of the development was clearly on display as we sat and watched the sun-set over the Mountains. As we listened to the band, our kids ran along the bike path that wraps around the Swaner Nature Preserve, a beautiful 1,200 acres of open space that guarantees open, unobstructed views from most vantage points. To learn more about the wildlife in the preserve, we stop by the Swaner Eco Center a family friendly exploratorium that showcases the beautiful preserve, provides a bird watcher's dream boardwalk and observation tower and the latest in eco-friendly practices and technology. For dinner, we grab some of Park City's finest thin-crust pizza at Maxwell's, which has earned a cult-like following among the locals for its famous pizza and Italian style dishes, not to mention its sweet hi-definition flat screens that make it a terrific sports bar.
Visitors wanting to enjoy Newpark, can rent studio, one or two bedroom suites in the Newpark Resort starting at $99 per night, or rent a Two Bedroom Townhome with its own private hot tub overlooking the preserve for as low as $175 per night. Newpark has some of the most affordable lodging available in Park City. In addition, to the attractions in Newpark itself, staying there provides some of the most convenient lodging for visitors to The Canyons, as well as The Utah Olympic Park. Many skiers wanting to ski both Park City resorts and take day trips to Utah's famous Snowbird and Alta resorts also like the location for its close proximity to Interstate 80, making those resorts only 35 minutes away.
