Utah Logistics advice for a boys trip out to SLC.

[surfandski]

Last season our family spent 3.5 of our 8 week Ikon roadtrip in SLC and loved it. My 12 y/o and I are wanting to make a trip in late March or early April and tonight I gave him the choice of CO or SLC and he chose SLC. His 2 reasons are they have In and Out and Altabird is his favorite (other than J Hole). Last time we were there we had our own car so we never road the buses. Are they even running with covid or is it a total nightmare where they only fill half of the bus and it takes twice as long? Anywhere else we go we always rent a car for the flexibility but I know there has been a big push for mass transit in the canyons the past few years. How much of a hassle is it taking the bus vs driving up (parking is no problem as I have a handicap pass)? With my fused ankle, I literally can't be in my boots for the bus ride so that adds the issue of having to rent a locker. If the buses are a hassle and we do rent a car, I assume it can snow anytime and that we'd want a SUV? If buses are actually convenient and don't add to much time to the day, where are the most convenient loading spots to see if we can't find a hotel close by? Fingers crossed, we get some dry powder on this trip as all of the storms during our last trip produced fairly dense snow. Thanks!

 

[VickieH]

You may want to check with the places you plan to ski to find out if lockers are available this season. I've been to only Loveland and Copper this season. Loveland's lockers are not operational. Copper's are available.

 

[jmills115]

Last season our family spent 3.5 of our 8 week Ikon roadtrip in SLC and loved it. My 12 y/o and I are wanting to make a trip in late March or early April and tonight I gave him the choice of CO or SLC and he chose SLC. His 2 reasons are they have In and Out and Altabird is his favorite (other than J Hole). Last time we were there we had our own car so we never road the buses. Are they even running with covid or is it a total nightmare where they only fill half of the bus due to people being all paranoid about covid and it takes twice as long? Anywhere else we go we always rent a car for the flexibility but I know there has been a big push for mass transit in the canyons the past few years. How much of a hassle is it taking the bus vs driving up (parking is no problem as I have a handicap pass)? With my fused ankle, I literally can't be in my boots for the bus ride so that adds the issue of having to rent a locker. If the buses are a hassle and we do rent a car, I assume it can snow anytime and that we'd want a SUV? If buses are actually convenient and don't add to much time to the day, where are the most convenient loading spots to see if we can't find a hotel close by? Fingers crossed, we get some dry powder on this trip as all of the storms during our last trip produced fairly dense snow. Thanks!

Buses are running and the story is they are running more buses while limited the number of riders on each bus. In the past boarding the bus earlier in the line (closer to I-15) would give you a better chance to get a seat, I doubt that’s an issue now but have heard from a few people that ride regularly that the buses are overfilled occasionally.
For me, the biggest hassle with the bus is sitting in an enclosed space with 15-20 other people for 45 minutes. The bus means you don’t have to worry about driving in winter conditions or worrying about parking. With 50+ days at Altabird this season I haven’t been in a lodge and am mot sure what the locker situation is.
I would think the bus might add 15 minutes if you boarded at 7200 S I-15. With reserved parking at Snowbird and parking at Alta being arrive early to get a spot before they turn cars around, the bus might save time.

edit: I think you would want a car to use for warming up, eating, or just taking breaks.

 

[Après Skier]

The Park & Ride lot at 6200 S & Wasach Blvd is more-or-less hassle free when taking the UTA bus to either LCC or BCC. Driving in either of the canyons is sometimes annoying but not always. Snowbird‘s parking reservations system is helpful... at least you‘re guaranteed a spot. Parking at Deer Valley is always easy and convenient and Deer Valley really is a wonderful ski area.

Personally I wish SLC would get their act together and provide infrastructure rivaling the French mega resorts.
Imagie the pleasure of arriving at the ski resort, skiing for 100’s of miles from Canyons to Snowbird without ever needing a car. I personally always rent a car in Utah but if thé infrastructure was better I would much prefer to spend the week car free.

 

[RJS]

If you do early April, make sure that the buses are still running while you are there. I've done two early April trips where I stayed in Midvale near the Denny's, and the second time I was there I happened to be there for the weekend when they stopped running the bus for one of the canyons.

Some benefits for staying in Midvale: it's cheap, it's the first or second stop (depending on the canyon), so you're pretty much guaranteed to get a spot on the bus. If you're doing things on the cheap, you can even take TRAX from the airport to the same stop you'll use for skiing that's close to your motel. It's a pain with your ski equipment, but I've done it. There are some decent places to eat within 15 minutes of walking (the Denny's is right next to the motels), and with the long days, I've found it fun to take TRAX into downtown for even better dining options. SLC has surprisingly good Mexican and Thai food.

As far as renting a car, I don't know how much better an SUV would be versus a compact. AWD can be helpful, but chains or snow tires are what truly make a difference in heavy snow. For better or worse, your chances of that are going down by early April, but it's still a possibility for sure. If it snows a lot, worst case you could take the bus for the day and deal with the hassle to have a stress-free ride up.

Have a great trip! I miss SLC. I cancelled my trip there last season, but would love to get back next season.

 

[Jwrags]

Book a lance at the Cliff Lodge and stay at the mountain

 

[Après Skier]

The Park & Ride lot at 6200 S & Wasach Blvd is more-or-less hassle free when taking the UTA bus to either LCC or BCC. Driving in either of the canyons is sometimes annoying but not always. Snowbird‘s parking reservations system is helpful... at least you‘re guaranteed a spot. Parking at Deer Valley is always simple and convenient, in fact Deer Valley really is a wonderful ski area with delightful and diverse terrain. Personally I wish SLC would get their act together and provide infrastructure rivaling the French mega resorts. I know it is controversial to say on this forum but in the Wasach we can have the same level of excellence found in Europe... arriving at the ski resort in a beautiful train and skiing for 100’s of miles and never needing a car for an entire week. If anyone is planning to make One Wasach a reality, please let me know. I would like to be the first investor. Skiing from Canyons to Snowbird will be a great pleasure, and let’s face it we all deserve a bit more pleasure these days.

 

[KingGrump]

Book a lance at the Cliff Lodge and stay at the mountain

The SLC has been the last few seasons. That is the only way I am doing it.

 

[raytseng]

. Skiing from Canyons to Snowbird will be a great pleasure, and let’s face it we all deserve a bit more pleasure these days.

Have you done the tour? I looked into it a bit in prev seasons and was got to the checkout page before deciding against it. So if you want to do it, its available for you to knock off as a paid guided excursion.

While in concept maybe it seems cool, in practice I think it'll be a slog when half your day would be wasted spent traversing the resorts, so its more of an achievement rather than actual pleasure. Even in the paired resorts, it already takes so much time to get from 1 end to the other.
I'm not against it but I don't think its quite a gamechanger and skiers won't be doing long tours, at most more likely just traversing 1 resort border per day.