Short Weekend Getaways in Utah

My brother, Dallas, requested a post about weekend getaways within a couple hours' drive of Utah County. 

Romance is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  Some may think of a romantic getaway as a night in a themed bed and breakfast, while others a night under the stars, for this post, I will stick with affordable, bed and breakfasty stops.

Since my husband works a consulting job in southern Utah, near Bryce Canyon, I will focus on that area.  I welcome posts adding other areas. 

Panguitch:

I have stayed in the quintessential small town bed and breakfast many nights in Panguitch.  Panguitch is a two and a half to three hour drive from Provo.  We tried staying in some of the smaller motor inn style motels in town when Steven first started working in the area.  We found drab bedding, stale smells, and generally, a not very romance inspiring stay.  

After a few shots at finding an acceptable motel in our 75-100 dollar range (and most there are clean, not fancy)  we came upon the  Panguitch House Bed and Breakfast.  http://www.panguitchhousebandb.com/

We stayed there last night and Kim's breakfasts are still just the right mix of fancy, healthy, and yum.  

Our breakfast was an individual quiche type dish with potato, egg, cheese; Steven had two huge pieces of texas toast; and we both got a small parfait of yogurt and fresh strawberries, along with a goblet of orange juice. 

Our room was "Peachy" and has an ensuite bathroom with a shower. The owners have stayed with the historic theme, with patchwork or country style quilts with European duvets for winter weather, but have added a small flat screen TV tucked away in a wardrobe style entertainment center, dish tv and free wifi included.  

The mountain view room as a claw foot tub if you are looking for the truly antique experience.  

From Panguitch you can drive to Panguitch Lake, Brian Head, and Duck Creek.  The summer wildflowers are inspiring; the fall leaves are as well, and the views from Cedar Breaks National Monument are breathtaking.  

There is also some good liftserved and non lift served mountain biking in this area.  http://brianhead.com/summer/mountain-biking/

Duck Creek

We have also tried a few nights at the Pinewoods Resort at Duck Creek (http://pinewoodsresort.com/ looks like they have changed owners since last fall, a few changes happening..), at the top of Cedar Mountain.  

Duck Creek is one of my favorite mountain getaways.  We got to know it well in 1994 when Steven worked a summer job chasing goshawks for the Forest Service.  Duck Creek has several lodging options, most of them very casual and rustic.  

Pinewoods is a very basic resort where we found a clean room, no frills, but surrounded by forest, and a well supported continental breakfast.  

Since this resort has experienced a recent change of owners, here is the duck creek village website with other lodging options:  http://duckcreekvillage.com/lodging.htm  We have stayed at the Alpine Forest Lodge and had a very quaint, clean, rustic room with real wood paneled walls and a french door to the outside.  

You usually have to plan ahead for the lodging in the village as they have a big following out of Las Vegas and book up quickly.  

The best hikes in Duck Creek (if you are not in to ATV rentals and trails) are from the village, take the ATV trail head to Aspen Mirror Lake.  It is a short, half to three quarter mile walk to a pristine mountain lake. 

 Fishing is good there and at Duck Creek pond.  

Bryce Canyon

We have also stayed right at the entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park, both at Rubys Inn http://www.rubysinn.com/ and the new Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel http://www.brycecanyongrand.com/index.html.  

Ruby's Inn is older, rustic, has an indoor pool, and the rooms, last time I stayed, were a bit dated but clean.

  The Grand Hotel, is new, modern, has a great breakfast buffet, and right across the street.  The Grand has an outdoor pool and hot tub and guests can access the indoor pool at Ruby's. Prices from either range from 80 to 200 per night depending on the season and the size of your group.  

The general area has a cute little mock historic main street with store fronts and pony rides.  In summer there is a small rodeo (the international visitors are as fun to watch as the local cowboys and cowgirls), hiking in Bryce Canyon (of course), four wheeler rentals, there used to be a chuckwagon dinner, not sure if it is still around.  

All of these areas are family friendly, it will cost a bit more, of course, but kids are welcome.  

Best easy romantic hikes in Bryce Canyon:  The Navajo Loop thru Wall Street http://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=634FBC94-155D-451F-679EB72AA3CF3B42

And Bristlecone loop at Rainbow Point: http://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=634FBC94-155D-451F-679EB72AA3CF3B42

Park City, and the Cottonwood Canyons

My latest favorite for finding a good deal for Park City is checking out the KSL deals, last minute travel website https://www.ksl.com/public/deal/lastMinuteTravel.   

The prices in the off season can run from 50 dollars to 365 per night.  We have stayed at the Park City Peaks hotel on the edge of town, and on a scenic walking trail that can take you past a big white barn in a beautiful field at the bottom of a forested hill.  

We also like the Best Western Plus.  We ask for a room by the pool when we have the kids with us because, though it is an indoor pool,  the poolside rooms have a sliding glass door right out to the pool.  They have also had a good sized breakfast included.  

There are nine options on the ksl website, and I have stayed at about half of them.  The Carriage House condos are a mixed bag.  Some units are updated, and others need updating.   The ksl deals site has a two or three week out limit on bookings, it is truly last minute.

Park City has trails and mountain biking and shopping and foods...about everything a couple or family would want.  One recent favorite of our family is the Canyons Ski Resort summer activities.  We rode an enclosed tram car up to mid mountain where we bought a popsicle then rode up a ski lift and took a short walk to a newly built pond.  At the pond you can rent paddle boats or fishing gear by the hour.  Watch out for downhill mountain bikers, they are fun to watch and they go fast! http://www.canyonsresort.com/summer_activities.html

The Park City Mountain Resort also has several activities the kids love.  The Alpine Slide and Coaster, kiddie rides, etc.  http://www.parkcitymountain.com/site/summer/activities

One note about Cottonwood Canyons, Iron Blosam lodge rooms facing south are best.  The pool is only family friendly in summer, and it is small. That said, Iron Blosam and surrounding condos have a stillness and mountain view that I often prefer over the busyness of Park City.  If you stay at Iron Blosam, take a drive up the rest of the canyon and try the Cecret Lake trail http://www.utah.com/hike/cecret-lake-trail.  It begins in the campground and is only a mile and a half round trip.  We saw a moose in the willows when we went a few years ago.http://www.snowbird.com/

You can also hike the Marys Lake trail from Albion Basin to Brighton.  http://www.utah.com/hike/mary-martha-and-catherine-trail.  

One of my favorite trails near Brighton, in the "other" cottonwood canyon, is the Solitude Lake trail.  Talk about a walk through the forest, cool in summer, incredible views, flowers, trees, and we saw two moose, with a great destination.  http://www.utah.com/hike/twin-lakes-and-lake-solitude-trail

Heber/Midway/Sundance

Provo Canyon and Deer Creek offer several getaway options.  

Sundance and Aspen Grove, we have Sundance Lodgings (shoulder season specials bring the prices into realistic ranges for us locals.)   Sundance Activities http://sundanceresort2-px.trvlclick.com/explore/summer.html

BYU owns a lodge at Aspen Grove.  You can get a simple hotel style room for a reasonable price, but there is no restaurant on site.  You will have to either bring your own cooler or eat at Sundance.  http://aspengrove.byu.edu/

I like to hike to Stewart Falls.  You can reach it from the trail head by Aspen Grove, or from the ski lift at Sundance. Both are scenic.  One is obviously cheaper. 

Midway, near Heber, has The Homestead Resort and Zermatt Resort.  The Homestead is more historic, traditional, and Zermatt has a swiss, european flair, boasting a european bakery with authentic tarts.  And don't forget the Crater.  A warm water crater where you can swim in warm mineral water, and even scuba dive.  http://www.homesteadresort.com/ 

http://www.zermattresort.com/

This is only a scratch at the surface of possible weekend getaways.  

When I find a useful trend or theme, I will post again.  Feel free to post and add your faves.