It’s about to become subzero temperatures in New Jersey, which has got me thinking about warm vacations we had during the year. One of our favorite destinations of our trip was to Utah Olympic Park, located in the beautiful town of Park City.  This is where some of the 2002 Winter Olympic events took place.  This beautiful complex boasts many outdoor recreational activities and a very interesting museum dedicated to the competitions that were once held onsite. This park is open to the public and offers a wide variety of activities that thrill-seekers will love!

My husband was adamant about wanting to take our kids on an alpine slide during our visit and we found that Utah Olympic Park had an alpine slide, as well as an adventure course, ziplines, bobsled and more!  We took advantage of all their offerings and spent an entire day exploring the park, using a gold pass, which offers unlimited rides on all activities, with the exception of the bobsled (which my kids weren’t big enough for, anyway). I highly recommend getting this gold pass as it is the best bang for your buck.  One time on the alpine slide or any other activity is not enough!  We started the day by heading straight to the alpine slide.  We took a chair lift up up to the top of the run and then got our sleds to go down the track.  An alpine slide is track built on a mountain.  It has a center rail that your sled goes on to keep you on the track.  You can control the speed and the brakes on your sled to accommodate the ride that you would like.  Having never done this before, I will admit, I was scared!  But, I quickly found it was a blast!  Twisting and turning, sliding down the mountain  was so much fun!  Very little skill is needed and it’s hard to mess up.  Each one of my kids was able to go on their own and each had a fantastic time doing so!  At the end of each run, they were anxious to take the chair lift back up to the top and start again.

After many runs, we split up and my son and I braved the adventure course.  This obstacle course was challenging and fun and my son loved that he felt like Spiderman while tackling the course.  Each participant is given a helmet, harness, and zipline to ensure their safety.  As they climb the course, the zipline keeps them secure in case they lose their grip.  This was not a quick course, as it really is challenging.  But, children as young as three and four years old were doing it with their parents.  Children can even do it by themselves if the parents aren’t brave enough to try for themselves.  At the end of the course, you are able to do a free fall on the zip line taking you all the way to the start.  This clearly was a highlight and my son loved this!

My son talked me into a more intense zip line after he completed the adventure course.  Back on another lift, I found myself at the top of a very steep mountain in line to get into a chair harness and fly to the bottom of the mountain on the freestyle zipline.  I really thought about turning back, but I couldn’t let a 9 year old show me up.  I found myself strapped in the seat and being held back by a metal gate, waiting to be released for me to go.  I had a bit of anxiety about this and then the gate released and I was flying through the air.  It was incredible!  My son and I were racing high above the ground and it was really fun.  I am glad that I didn’t chicken out and that I did it because it was a great experience.

We spent our day alternating activities and enjoying each other’s company.  It was a really cool experience and one that you don’t get to do often.  I highly recommend visiting the park while in Utah and I would go back in a heartbeat.  You can learn more about Utah Olympic Park online.

*We were guests of Utah Olympic Park to facilitate a review.  All opinions expressed within are mine.