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Wasatch Mountains

Giant saw-toothed peaks on the eastern edge of Utah's urban centers, these forested slopes provide a popular haven. The Wasatch Mountain Range is nature's playground year-round, but in winter a fabulous low-density, low-moisture snowfall – 300in to 500in yearly – blankets the terrain. Perfect snow and thousands of acres of high-altitude slopes helped earn Utah the honor of hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics. Skiing in the Wasatch range is some of the best in North America.

Resort towns cluster near the peaks; Park City, on the eastern slopes, is the most well known and quasi-cosmopolitan. Salt Lake City resorts, on the western side, are easiest for townies to reach. Ogden is the sleeper hit and Sundance is known as much for its film festival as its ski trails. Most areas lie within an hour of the international airport: leave New York or Los Angeles in the morning to be skiing by noon.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Wasatch Mountains.

  • See

    Utah Olympic Park

    Visit the site of the 2002 Olympic ski jumping, bobsledding, skeleton, Nordic combined and luge events, which continues to host national competitions. There are 10m, 20m, 40m, 64m, 90m and 120m Nordic ski-jumping hills as well as a bobsled-luge run. The US Ski Team practices here year-round – in summer, the freestyle jumpers land in a bubble-filled jetted pool, and the Nordic jumpers on a hillside covered in plastic. Call for a schedule; it's free to observe. The engaging and interactive Alf Engen Ski Museum, also on-site, traces local skiing history and details the 2002 Olympic events. Experts offer 45-minute guided tours on the hour. Not content to just watch the action? No problem. Reserve ahead and adults can take a 60mph bobsled ride with up to an incredible 4 to 5Gs of centrifugal force. The summer Quicksilver Alpine Slide is suitable for drivers over eight years old and riders who are three to seven. Clip on a harness and ride the 50mph Extreme Zip Line. Saturdays and Sundays in summer there's a Freestyle Show that takes off at 1pm. Inquire about bobsled, skeleton, free-jump and freestyle lessons year-round.

  • See

    Park City Museum

    A well-staged interactive museum touches on the highlights of the town's history as a mining boomtown, hippie hangout and premier ski resort. There are fascinating exhibits on the world's first underground ski lift, a real dungeon in the basement and a 3-D map of mining tunnels under the mountain.

  • See

    Alf Engen Ski Museum

    Interactive exhibits tell the history of skiing in the West. There's also a virtual-reality ski theater and 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. It's at Utah Olympic Park.

  • See

    Banksy Art

    British street-artist Banksy left behind several cool works of art off Main St when his acclaimed documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. The most popular stencil, on the Java Cow building, depicts a cameraman filming an uprooted flower. You'll find another of his works, Praying Boy, at 537 Main St. The stencils were later vandalized and had to be restored and put under protective glass. A third piece, Dirty Rat, lies in storage at the Egyptian Theater and there are plans to display it publicly at a new black-box theater. Created on an old theater door, it depicts a rat wearing 3D glasses.

  • See

    Albion Basin

    From July to August, Albion Basin is abloom with wildflowers. July, when an annual wildflower festival is held, is usually peak season.

  • See

    McPolin Farm

    This 1886 white-barn farm was purchased by the citizens of Park City in 1990 to protect and enhance the entry corridor and maintain open space. There's trail access along the upper edge of the property and seasonal events on-site.