Utah Olympic Park
4.6(4.7K)google
4.0(324)yelp
SportsSkiingInteractiveAdventurousFamilyEducational
Overview
Located near Park City, the Utah Olympic Park is a world-class winter sports complex built originally to host the exciting bobsled, skeleton, luge, and ski jumping competitions during the historic 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Today, this high-energy athletic center operates as a vibrant year-round training and recreational playground for global athletes and traveling families. Visitors can tour the fascinating Alf Engen Ski Museum, ride the thrilling Comet Bobsled down the actual Olympic track with a professional pilot, experience alpine zip lines, and watch elite freestyle aerial ski athletes perform summer training flips into a massive swimming pool.
Practical Info
Every day9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Suggested Duration2-4 hours
Best TimeExcellent year-round, but summer (June to August) is spectacular for viewing extreme water ramp shows, while winter offers true bobsled action. Enter right at 10:00 AM opening; mid-morning sun lights up the massive Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool beautifully, letting you watch world-class aerialists launch into the water flips under crisp visibility, while locking down early bobsled slots.
Getting ThereSituated atop the ridge northwest of Park City at 3419 Olympic Parkway. Driving is effortless from Salt Lake City: take I-80 E to Exit 145 for UT-224 S toward Kimball Junction. Proceed south for 1 mile, make a quick right turn onto Olympic Parkway, and follow the scenic uphill grades for 2 miles to the summit welcome center plaza, which provides an immense, complimentary paved parking lot.
Travel Tips
- Pre-Purchase Summer Extreme Adventure Passes: Park access and Olympic museum browsing are free, but high-demand seasonal attractions like the Alpine Coaster or extreme tubing drops require advance timed passes; walk-up activity slots sell out daily in summer.
- Strict Mechanical Weight Scales for Ziplines: The high-speed Xtreme ZipRider and dynamic ropes courses enforce unyielding physical cutoffs. Every rider must step onto official baseline scales at check-in; anyone charting under 100 lbs or over 275 lbs is automatically locked out by safety hardware.
- Olympic Competition Facilities Closed to Public Skiing: The massive Nordic ski-jumping complexes and icy sliding tracks are strictly dedicated training hubs for international elite teams. General visitors cannot bring personal skis to train here; winter public access is limited to booked commercial bobsled rides.
Reviews
Positive
- As a 2002 Winter Olympic venue, the massive ski jumps and bobsled track yield great visual impact; riding the summer bobsled is thrilling fun.
- The free Alf Engen Olympic Museum is neatly arranged; multilingual interactive media and warm veteran guides deliver immense historical value.
- Driving here from Park City takes just 10+ minutes with a massive free parking lot; operating hours are reliable with seamless accessible paths.
- Live extreme sport shows and training are managed professionally with watertight safety; tickets offer stellar value to absorb athletic heritage.
Heads up
- Beyond the free museum, trying any thrill ride like zip lines or the bobsled requires highly expensive separate extra spending, risking sticker shock.
- Weekend camp tours trigger explosive crowd density; major attractions face waits over an hour, turning the alpine valley noisy and chaotic.
- Without a car, local mass transit bus schedules are rare and require clunky transfers, making transport convenience low for non-driving global guests.
- The process for signing paper liability waivers is rigid and tedious, lacking digital multilingual translation screens for foreign tourists.