Fall is officially here. Dots of red and gold are seen on every hill, pumpkin spice flavor is added to everything, and fog covers our valley most early mornings. PC Locals call this the shoulder season – the few short weeks between the super-charged action of summer and the bustle of the holidays. Now is the time we like to gather our family close and spend time relishing calm and quiet. At Chin-Fleming-Harris, we polled the office and came up with three of our favorite family-day outings that will deepen your appreciation for our unique Park City lifestyle.
Drive through our history
It’s often been said that you can’t appreciate where you are until you stand in the shoes of the people who made it possible for you to be there. Load your family in the car with a picnic lunch and spend an easygoing afternoon getting to know our community’s history. Your respect of the courageous people who originally settled Park City and Snyderville Basin will heighten as you visit the many sites they established and are now preserved by the Historical Society. You will see in your mind’s eye what it must have been like to look out over the mountains and valley as they would have seen them over a century ago. You’ll imagine what drew them to this place long before the ski resorts were here and the gutsy pioneering lives they led. Summit County’s website has several driving tour maps available online.
Parks in PC
There’s a reason it’s in our name – Parks! Park City and Snyderville Basin have dozens of neighborhood parks and playing fields. These can provide the perfect setting for a quick family outing to throw a ball around, share a whatever’s-in-the-pantry buffet, or just lay on a blanket and stare at the clouds together. City Park in Old Town has a play ground for the little ones and one of the best skateboarding facilities in the state. Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter in Kimball Junction is perfect for wildlife watching. Willow Creek Park has tennis courts, volleyball, and a pond. Check out these and many other neighborhood parks maintained by Park City and Basin Recreation.
Apple picking at Huber Grove Apple Orchard
Wasatch Mountain State Park is located just outside Midway. Mostly known for its golf courses, cross country skiing, and awesome tubing hill, it is also the custodian of the century-old homestead Huber Grove Apple Orchard. Swiss immigrants, Johannes Huber and his wife Maria planted the trees in 1885 as part of their ranch. 125 years later, every fall you can picnic and pick apples in the pastoral serenity. The apples are heirloom varieties not found in stores that pop with juicy crispness. The grove is open on weekends through September, but you need to make a reservation through Wasatch Mountain State Park.
All of us at Chin-Fleming-Harris wish you a gloriously relaxing shoulder season. The morning nip in the air has already started to stir our winter dreams, but before we jump back into another season of hectic activity, let’s take a couple of weeks to just chill.
