Explore the top 15 things to do with kids in Park City
Park City is a stunning mountain area that’s home to ski resorts, outdoor adventure centers, and rich historic sites for the whole family. If you’re planning a trip with the kids, you could make memories with fun outdoor activities like skiing, snowshoeing, and dogsledding in winter. During warmer months, the mountain becomes an outdoor playground for fishing, hiking, biking, and horseback riding. You can also have quirky and fun family experiences, such as taking a ghost tour or riding the alpine coaster. No matter how you want to spend your time, check out the best things to do with kids in Park City.
1. Ride the Park City Alpine Slide
The Park City Alpine Slide is one of the longest alpine slides in the world. Boasting over 3,000 feet of luge track and 2 separate slides for different ages, heights, and thrill levels, the alpine slide is perfect for the whole family. The slide itself travels down one of 4 tracks on the route you choose, so you can stay close to the kids or race your family members. There’s also an alpine coaster that ascends the mountain and rides down the side, letting you control your speed and take in the views of the landscape.
2. Take a sleigh ride at the Viking Yurt
Few experiences are as memorable as Viking Yurt sleigh rides. When you book a tour with Viking Yurt, you’re treated to an 1,800-foot ride up the side of the mountain in a sleigh pulled by a snowcat. The sleigh is big enough for 32 people and offers dinner, blankets, and views of the mountains. One of the biggest benefits of taking a snowcat sleigh ride is that it can go to places that are difficult to reach by horse-drawn sleigh or on foot, so you’ll get unparalleled views of the landscape in the evening.
3. Enjoy the outdoors with All Seasons Adventure
All Seasons Adventure is an exciting adventure center for older kids and teens looking for an adrenaline rush. The facility offers outdoor tours for all ability levels, including mountain biking, fat biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, trapshooting, and fly fishing, depending on the season. One of the best experiences you can have at All Seasons Adventure is an invigorating dogsled tour that takes you out into the backcountry led by a team of adorable huskies. You could also ride horses, whitewater raft, or book tour packages that include a few different adventures.
4. Explore the Jordanelle State Park
Jordanelle State Park is a vast parkland along the shores of the Jordanelle Reservoir. Perfect for all types of outdoor adventurers and nature lovers, Jordanelle State Park offers 3 types of recreation areas for different activities: Hailstone, Ross Creek, and Rock Cliff. Hailstone is a well-developed water recreation area with boat launches, boat slips, beach areas, campsites, and amenities like a playground and geocache center. Rock Cliff is all about nature and offers boating areas, a nature center, and wildlife walking trails, while Ross Creek is the prime fishing area with loop trails, boat ramps, and fishing spots.
5. Go skating at the Park City Ice Arena
If you want a magical winter experience any time of year, Park City Ice Arena is a fun, family-friendly destination. The Park City Ice Arena is an indoor, year-round ice rink that offers ice skating for recreation, private lessons, group lessons, children’s workshops, and other activities. The arena is also the home of the Park City Pioneers, the USA hockey team. You may be able to catch a game while you’re in town.
6. Take a ghost tour
Ghost tours are a fun and spooky way to learn about the history of Park City. You’ll have a variety of ghost tours to choose from that take you to the reportedly haunted buildings in the city and tell you their stories. Ghost tours focus on the silver-mining era and the violence and crime that filled the streets. As expected, ghost tours begin after dark and travel through Main Street to abandoned buildings. The best part is that the guides telling you the stories of the hauntings, some of which are backed up by historical records.
7. Check out the Alf Engen Ski Museum
The Alf Engen Ski Museum is a fascinating museum that focuses on ski history and culture in the Intermountain Region. Named for the famous skier and outdoor enthusiast, the Alf Engen Ski Museum has a variety of exhibits that chronicle the history of skiing around the world and in the region, such as the 2002 Olympic Games, Wasatch Mountain, the history of freestyle and alpine skiing, and highlights of famous skiers. You’ll find some unique attractions as well, such as the Mountain Sport Simulator and Avalanche!, an exhibit all about avalanche science and safety.
8. Find adventure in the Wasatch Mountain State Park
The Wasatch Mountain State Park is a vast state park with over 21,000 acres of land that’s home to deer, elk, moose, wild turkeys, and other wildlife. Whether young or old, you can take the kids to the park for outdoor fun and recreation like camping, hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, and ATV riding. In winter, you can snow tube, Nordic ski, and snowmobile in the park. You’ll also find the Soldier Hollow golf course and the Wasatch Mountain resort in the park.
9. See wildlife at the Swaner Nature Preserve
The Swaner Nature Preserve is a nature preserve in the Snyderville Basin with 1,200 acres of natural scenery and wildlife, a farm, and nature trails. The preserve is a great place to take the kids to teach them about nature and get some fresh air and exercise. You can book weekly nature tours, wildlife-watching tours, environmental lectures for children, and art classes to create eco-friendly art. The preserve has numerous outdoor activities, including snowshoeing, biking, and hiking.
10. Cool off at the AQUA x ZONE
AQUA x ZONE is an exciting inflatable-watersports park that’s fun for the whole family. Located on the Jordanelle Reservoir, the water park has an array of inflatables and obstacles for all ages and skill levels. You can choose the appropriate path across the water to run, jump, swing, and swim your way to the other side. The park allows children who are 6 years and older, at least 48 inches tall, and capable swimmers.
11. Walk the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail
The Historic Union Pacific Trail is a fun-filled trail that travels along the Echo Reservoir from Park City. The trail is 28 miles long, and you can walk, bike, ski, or head out on horseback to traverse it. When you’re on the trail, you’ll see wildlife, wildflowers, and historic sites in the Wasatch Mountains. Along the length of the trail, you’ll come across historic plaques that illustrate the history of the trail, such as Mormon settlements, Ice Age mammoths, the Donner Party wagon train, and the intersection of the Lincoln Highway.
12. Explore the backcountry at Solitude Nordic Center
If you want to explore the backcountry with the family, the Solitude Nordic Center features miles of pristine trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing through the backcountry. You can choose from classic and skate styles of Nordic skiing, snowshoeing tours, and private or group tours and lessons. The center also offers clinics and workshops, equipment rentals, and a park for snow tubing and snowmobiling on mini snowmobiles for kids.
13. Ski or snowboard at the Deer Valley Resort
Deer Valley Resort is one of Park City’s top-rated ski resorts and the best place for skiing and snowboarding. The resort has 101 ski runs, 20 chairlifts, and amenities like a ski school and rental shop. You can visit the resort for the day to ski or snowboard, or you can make an experience of it with organized ski tours. If you want some time for après-ski activities, the resort has a childcare facility.
14. Find thrills at Utah Olympic Park
Utah Olympic Park was the location of the 2002 Winter Olympics and a current official training site for future athletes. You can see a variety of Olympic history sites, such as the Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter games Museum, or get an adrenaline rush from the Discovery Zone obstacle course. There’s also the Mountain Challenge course, hiking trails, ropes tours, zip lining, and more. For a truly unique experience, take a ride with a professional driver on the Comet bobsled to get the rush of being an Olympic competitor.
15. Take in nature views at the Guardsman Pass Scenic Byway
If you want a low-key family activity in Park City, the Guardsman Pass Scenic Byway is a stunning drive in the countryside. The 14-mile drive travels through the Wasatch Mountain Range to the Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Park City Mountain Resort. On the drive, you’ll find spots to pull over and take short hikes on easy trails to see wildlife, wildflowers, and wide-open spaces.