As we enter my favorite season in Utah I thought I would share with you a great idea for a fall adventure. My dad recently came in town and I took him to Park City- first to the outlets (this was more for me since I can’t get enough of the Jcrew outlet there), then we walked Main Street, then to the Alpine Slide (more for him because his ‘inner-child’ loves alpine slides), then we drove up Guardsman’s Pass through Deer Valley and over the ridge into Big Cottonwood Canyon. We finished off our eventful day with a nice dinner at one of my favorite places, The Silver Fork Lodge.I’ll start from the top: The Outlets in Park City. When I used to work in Park City I hardly ever went to the outlets but now it seems like because they are less available to me whenever I get a chance to go to Park City I have an urge to just at least peak in a few stores to see if there is anything worth buying. I especially enjoy the JCrew outlet and occasionally Bebe (usually still pretty pricey) and sometimes Banana Republic or Gap (often not that great of selection). A little tip for you: if you go to the Tanger Outlet info desk, near the Mrs. Fields Bakery, you can pick up a coupon book. Or you can check their sales online at Tanger Outlet, Park City.

At Park City Mountain Resort, during the off season, there are several fun family activities for kids of all ages (or even mature adults, as in my dad’s case). They have a Mountain Coaster, one of the first of its kind, wizzing people through the fall colored trees at top speeds, and they have the Alpine Slide, a long slide taking you down the mountain slopes in a self controlled 1-2 person sled. They also have big trampolines, miniature golf, zip lines and more.

If you go to Park City you absolutely must go to Main Street, you have no choice! It is a great place to take visitors or just to get away for an afternoon. Lining the historic street are shops, quaint cafes, coffee shops, fine dining restaurants, and art galleries. You can see the remnants of mining shacks above the shops and you can learn more about the history of the town by visiting the new museum (re-opening in late October). And from what I’ve read the new museum is going to be super fun with interactive displays and new historic pieces like the old stagecoach that used to take people from Park City to Salt Lake. A few of my favorite spots on Main Street: Purple Sage Cafe, Phoenix Gallery, and Java Cow.

After some good exercise from walking up and down Main Street we hopped back in our car and headed up the Miner’s Road towards Deer Valley and onto Guardsman Pass. This, partly paved/partly dirt road, takes you up and over the scenic mountains of Park City spilling you into Big Cottonwood Canyon with access back to Salt Lake. There are several great overlooks where you can park and take photos of the magnificent views (and beautiful fall colors this time of year)! It takes about 30 minutes to get back into the city. By this time we were hungry so we decided to stop off and grab dinner.

Which leads us back to food, my favorite subject. The Silver Fork Lodge is a special place for me- the place I had my bridal lunch before we got married, the place some friends of ours got engaged, plus the place we’ve had several memorable breakfast outings with friend on their patio overlooking thousands of aspens. On this particular trip we ate inside because it was a bit rainy outside (as you can see from the picture). But they started the fire right up so, we chose a cozy table by their fireplace. I ordered the Chicken Linguini with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Artichokes while my dad tried the Vegetable Lasagna. Their portions are mountain-sized and their prices are too but it was all well worth it. This was my first time there for dinner; this is usually a place we enjoy brunch at.

Here is a great resource for more scenic fall drive in Utah: Fall Colors Tour by Utah.com

**All of these pictures were taken with my new cell phone (pretty awesome for a cell phone) but the food looked a lot better in person.