Park City Historic Main Street

Park City was born from silver. In the 1860s and 1870s prospectors struck rich veins of silver in the surrounding mountains, and a mining town grew up along the gulch, becoming one of the most productive silver districts in the country. Fortunes were made in its mines, and the town swelled with miners from around the world, its Main Street lined with the shops, saloons, and lodges that served them.

The boom left its scars and its landmarks. A devastating fire swept through in 1898 and destroyed much of the town, which was quickly rebuilt in the brick and frame buildings that still stand. As silver prices fell through the twentieth century the mines faded, and by the mid-1900s Park City had dwindled toward a ghost town, its grand era seemingly over. This was homeland to the Ute people, who lived and traveled through these mountains long before the miners arrived, and who remain part of Utah today.

Park City's second life came from snow. In the 1960s, with the mines closing, the town turned to skiing, opening lifts on the slopes above Main Street, some of which used old mine workings and infrastructure to carry skiers up the mountain. The gamble paid off, and over the following decades Park City grew into one of the premier ski destinations in the United States.

The 2002 Winter Olympics, hosted by nearby Salt Lake City, put the area on the world stage, with several events held at Park City venues. Today the town anchors a cluster of major resorts, and its old mining buildings house the shops, restaurants, and galleries of a thriving mountain resort town, the industrial past and the resort present woven together throughout.

Each January, Main Street becomes the center of the film world. The Sundance Film Festival, one of the most important independent film festivals anywhere, takes over Park City's theaters and venues, filling the street with filmmakers, actors, and audiences and premiering films that go on to wide acclaim. For a few weeks the mining-era street hums with a very different kind of energy.

Beyond the festival, Park City has grown into a real arts town, its Main Street rich with galleries, public art, and a lively year-round calendar of events. The mix of a preserved historic street, a strong gallery scene, and a steady flow of visitors gives the town a cultural life larger than its size, layered over the skiing and the history.

Park City's setting is as much a draw as its street. The town sits high in the Wasatch Back, ringed by ski resorts and laced with mountain-bike and hiking trails that climb straight from the edges of town. In summer those same slopes turn green and open to riders and hikers, and the historic mining trails wind through the hills above Main Street.

Winter is the headline season, when snow blankets the peaks, the resorts fill, and Sundance descends on the town. Spring and fall are quieter and beautiful, with wildflowers giving way to golden aspen on the mountainsides, and summer brings warm days, cool nights, and festivals along Main Street. At this elevation the air is thin and the weather changeable, so a warm layer is wise in any season.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.