Deer Valley Rentals by Vacation Quest, Inc.

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In 2010/2011, Deer Valley resort was named the #1 ski resort in North America by the readers of SKI magazine for the fourth year in a row.

In the past 10 years, Deer Valley has never been rated lower than third.

It was #2 in 2001/2002, #3 in 2003/2004, #2 in 2004/2005, and #2 in 2006/2007. All the other years, it was numero uno!

Expectations are high again this year for a top overall ranking for Deer Valley. Ski Deer Valley and you won't be disappointed.

Aside from always being ranked at the top overall, it is consistently on top for grooming, service, access, on-mountain food, lodging and dining, lifts, weather, and family programs.

SKI magazine surveys approximately 20,000 of its readers for its Top Resort Guide using an independent research firm. SKI magazine’s survey is the most comprehensive and longest running in the ski industry.

But here is the best kept secret. The expert ungroomed terrain is not heavily skied like Park City and Canyons. After a good 2' to 3' storm, you can usually find powder stashes in the Mayflower Bowl or around the Lady Morgan area for 2-3-4 days.

With 3 ski areas within 5 miles of each other, Park City lodging and Deer Valley lodging is tricky. For help from local experts, call us at (877)808-6872 or Info@Vacation-Quest.com

Mariposa Restaurant in Silver Lake at Upper Deer Valley

Mariposa Restaurant at Silver Lake Village in Upper Deer Valley

One of my favorite sayings when it comes to dining is that "the best places are always the worst."

Many times you will go to a fine dining restaurant and be served a signature entree that can fit into a thimble or has some exotic sauce/garnish that would choke a horse.

Mariposa Restaurant is the exception.

Excellent food, perfect service, great ambiance, good wine are probably why Mariposa is rate #1 in the Zagat Restaurant Guide!

It is open 5:45 pm to 9:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday - call (435) 645-6715 to reserve.
If we at Vacation Quest can assist you, our phone is (877) 808-6872.

Deer Valley Layout

View of Arrowleaf, Flagstaff, Silver Strike, and Shooting Star Condos

There are two base areas at Deer Valley. There is lower Deer Valley which is called Snow Park and there is upper Deer Valley which is called Silver Lake.

Park City locals use the terms lower Deer Valley and Snow Park interchangeably.  Same goes for upper Deer Valley and Silver Lake.

If you are searching Park City vacation rentals, please call us (877) 808-6872 and we will be happy to help you better understand the exact location of the properties you are considering.

Snow Park Lodge sits at about 7100 feet, located about 1.5 miles from Old Town's Main Street.  City bus service makes it easy for skiers to get dropped off and picked up at Snow Park Lodge.

Silver Lake Lodge in upper Deer Valley is located at about 8100 feet.  One route to access it by car is via Royal Street - there are a series of switchback turns that make it an interesting climb. The other route to Silver Lake Lodge is via Marsac. Drive time is more or less the same using either route.

Properties in the Snow Park area (lower Deer Valley) are primarily ski condos. Rentals are easy to find - prices go from $300/night to $1000/night. The price difference is size, view, and private ski shuttle service.

Several condominiums in lower Deer Valley have a contract with Deer Valley Resort to provide for private shuttle pick up and drop off to Snow Park Lodge.  Prior to booking a lower Deer Valley unit,  check on if there is private shuttle availability. Condos with door-to-door ski shuttle service are similar to ski in/out properties and they cost less!

An advantage of lower Deer Valley lodging is that people are less likely to get altitude sickness at the lower elevation. While there is no guarantee that you won’t be affected by the altitude, your chances are better below 7500 feet.

Upper Deer Valley properties are comprised of condo-hotel, condominiums, townhomes, and incredible private homes.  An upper Deer Valley (Silver Lake) rental is  more expensive than a comparable lower Deer Valley property.  The price difference is usually about 40% to 50%.  A $500/night unit in lower Deer Valley may cost $750/night in upper Deer Valley.

Ski in-out  from your accommodations in upper Deer Valley is not a given fact.  Some units are almost ski in/out, and many others are not ski in/out at all.


Use care when you book upper Deer Valley lodging to make sure you understand ski run access.  It is a bummer to pay $1000/night thinking the accommodations are ski in/out, then find out that you have a 100 yard hike to the lifts.   Call us at (877) 808-6872 and we can usually explain the exact access from any property you are considering.

There are two other development areas in upper Deer Valley, but are not part of Silver Lake. The prestigious Deer Crest area is located to the east of Silver Lake and is comprised of high-end mountain homes ranging from 6,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet – keep in mind this is the normal size range as there are monster mountain mansions that are much larger! Home rentals here are usually $1500 to $3500/night. Deer Crest homes are usually best suited for large groups, and prices are often highly negotiable.

To the west of Silver Lake is the newest development area in upper Deer Valley which is called Empire Canyon. New slopeside condominiums (Shooting Star, Arrowleaf, Flagstaff, and Silver Strike) surround the Silver Strike lift. Also located off the Silver Strike lift is a Talisker club facility for dining. Condo rentals here are usually $700 to $1200/night.

Tip to Prevent Altitude Sickness

Deer Valley Ski Area from Flagstaff Mountain

Here is a good tip to help prevent/minimize altitude sickness.

In a previous trip to Park City, a friend of mine landed at the airport and we headed right up to the house at an elevation of 7000 feet.  She had mild symptoms of altitude sickness for a couple of days after arrival.

This trip, we went to a Salt Lake restaurant for lunch.  We drank a couple of glasses of water with to Park City.  We spent about four hours in the city before driving on to Park City.

The next day she told me that she had no symptoms of altitude sickness.  She felt that the time we spent in Salt Lake at lower elevation helped her acclimate.   Apparently, spending a short time in Salt Lake City helped her adjust to the elevation.

Altitude affects every person differently.  The rule of thumb is to acclimate 1000 feet of elevation every 24 hours beginning at 4000 to 5000 feet.  Many times on a ski vacation it is not feasible to do this, but if your schedule allows you to spend several hours at a lower elevation it may help you prevent or minimize the onset of altitude sickness.

When we place people in Park City lodging, a criteria in selecting a property is the elevation of the property.   If you are affected by altitude, obviously the lower your accommodations, the better.

Approximate Park City altitudes are: the Canyons (6400 feet), Park City proper (6900 feet), lower Deer Valley (7100 feet), and upper Deer Valley (8000 feet).

Feel free to contact us if we can help you with Park City accommodations.

Ski Boot Fitting

I have been a recreational skier for 40 years now. I happen to have a high arch and high instep, so I have never had a pair of ski boots that fit me comfortably. At least, not until now.
Last month I went to my friend, Dan Baber, at Jans Sports in Park City, when it was time to replace my ten year old boots. Dan has been custom fitting ski boots for about 15 years, so he told me that his fit was "guaranteed." I told Dan I wouldn't hold him to it, all I wanted was some boots that didn't kill my feet at the end of the ski day.
Wow, was I amazed. It started by Dan putting me in a boot that was about 1.5 sizes smaller than my old boots. The length was OK, but the fit was tight - I could barely get the bales to snap on the first slots. He told me to ski the boot for a day, then come back.
After day one the boots killed my feet. I was thinking that Dan was a goof ball, but when I took them back he asked exactly where they hurt. He then proceeded to carve out plastic on the inside of the boot to make the boot cavity bigger at the exact points of pressure. After the carve out work, he sent me back out to ski them again. I came back again and he did more carving and a bit of stretching.
After about 10 days and 4 total adjustments, I have a pair of boots that fit like a firm handshake. The firm handshake fit, which is what a custom fit is all about, instantly improved my skiing. Imagine that, 40 years of making turns, and a custom fit improved my ability.

Deer Valley Expert Terrain

Deer Valley's Ontario Bowl

Many skiers who have never skied Deer Valley have a preconceived misconception that Deer Valley is a place full of beginners who snow-plow down groomers and spend more time in the restaurants than on the slopes. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Deer Valley accommodates entry level skiers, and many folks that don’t have a snow boarder in their group love the fact that Deer Valley is exclusively for skiers. However, the expert terrain at Deer Valley is out of this world.

If you are coming Deer Valley ski vacation, print this out and locate the spots referred to on a trail map.

At the western end of Deer Valley ski area is the Lady Morgan lift. At the top of the lift, to skier’s left is the Centennial run, a double diamond glade run. At the top of the run as you enter the conifers, there are usually fairly large well-formed bumps and the steepness is like a single diamond. It is the bumps and trees that make it a double diamond. You transition from the conifers to an aspen glade that is moderately cleared so it is like intermediate steepness with the tree obstacles making it more difficult. Centennial is a great area where you can make 2-3 runs on slightly different lines.

Also off the Lady Morgan lift, to skier’s right, are two runs side by side. The first is Argus and is quite steep at the top. The next run over is Magnet and is perhaps the best place to reconnoiter this side of the Lady Morgan lift. These areas are usually not groomed so you can get quite a bit of powder and chunk on this face.

Off the Quincey Lift, you access the Ontario Bowl by going on the Ontario road, over the ski bridge, then veer left toward the Hidden Treasure run. Stay right and you will see obvious tracks crossing Hidden Treasure that take you into the trees. There are a number of tree shots to the left that will take you back to the Hidden Treasure groomer, but if you stay high you will come to the Ontario bowl at the end of the track. There are 7-8 good lines in the Ontario Bowl. On powder weekdays, the powder may not get skied off for 2-3 days.

The Triangle Trees is accessed off the Tycoon run. You can take Tycoon from the top of Bald Mtn (where the Sterling, Wasatch, and Sultan lifts all unload) or you can rip it down the Ruins of Pompeii run, then get left to enter the Aspen glade. The glade at the top is fairly open and relatively flat. The glade then ends in a drop for 100-150 yards that is reasonably steep usually with good powder. Most people do Triangle Trees just to ski this shot. After the steep shot, you can bail out to the Perseverance run to skier’s right, or continue into the forest of large conifers.

There is some good single diamond terrain in the Empire Canyon area and Mayflower area. The Mayflower area is a slightly higher difficulty than Empire Canyon.

To get to Mayflower Bowl, as you come down Steins Way (a slip and sliding cat track) pull up short of the offload area of the Mayflower lift. To skier’s right at the offload area there is a gate that you can go into to access the more difficult runs off the Mayflower Bow. Keep in mind that even though it is called a “Bowl” it is more of a wide ski run at the top.

Come ski with us in Park City. Take a look at our Park City vacation rentals, then give us a call to discuss lodging options. You can always reach us at Info@Vacation-Quest.com or (877) 808-6872.

Deer Valley Dining at Snow Park Lodge's Seafood Buffet

Snow Park Lodge in Lower Deer Valley

Snow Park Lodge is the main facility at the lower Deer Valley base. Skiers are dropped off in front of Snow Park Lodge where they can buy lift tix, rent skis, pick up skis from free overnight storage, get skis tuned, have breakfast/lunch, etc.
At night, the restaurant offers a signature Seafood Buffet which is rated by Zagat as one of America's top restaurants.
The seafood selection is grand: shrimp, smoked salmon, crab legs, oysters, sushi rolls, calamari, mussels, clams and just about anything your heart desires! In addition, there is a prime rib carving station, glazed duck, and a variety of roasted veggies. Desserts are to die for and there are fine wines and cocktails.
To reserve, call (435) 645-6632. If you need any help with Park City vacation rentals call us at (877) 808-6872 or email Info@Vacation-Quest.com. You can view our Park City rentals and Deer Valley rentals at www.Vacation-Quest.com