Wonderful snowmobile ride + scenery + store + restaurant + staff !!!…read more
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November, 2022 Visit
For Thanksgiving we visited Park City, UT and had a great time.
Snowmobiling at Daniels Summit Lodge is one of the trip's highlights... we all enjoyed skiing and also agreed that snowmobiling at Daniels Summit was the best part of our trip!
The snowmobiling is safe and fun and easy for anyone to pick up... and the scenery + views are A M A Z I N G !!!
We'd give it six stars if we could!
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Background / Planning
My wonderful wife had an idea that we should enjoy some snowmobiling on our trip, and after a brief talk with Lori, the Concierge at Marriott's Summit Watch (awesome Lori!!!!), we were introduced to Daniels Summit Lodge and Snowmobiling.
To learn more and to make our reservation, we called and spoke with Jed, who was very helpful... Jed shared that they offer 2-hour and 3-hour self-guided tours in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National forest. You can drive your own snowmobile (!!!), and those under 16 can choose to ride tandem with someone else. Rides start at various times of the day... when we were there, Thanksgiving week, the start times were 8am, 10am, 1pm & 3pm. We booked 10am.
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What is / Where is... Daniels Summit
Daniels Summit is the name of the mountain pass and the town - the log cabin homes across the street and Daniels Summit Lodge + Restaurant + General Store + Snowmobile Rentals.
The town sits at 8,020 feet elevation, up about 2,000 ft from the ~ 6,000 ft in Heber City; the drive to and from Daniels Summit is beautiful - hillsides, valleys and far-away snow-covered peaks... and more beauty awaits along the entire snowmobile trail.
Daniels Summit is south-southeast from Park City; drive time is about 40 minutes from when you get onto Utah Highway 189 / 40 East (yes East... though on a map the highway is almost due south, but it turns easterly further south).
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Arrival & Check-in
When you arrive, enter the General Store to sign-in by completing the riding wavers, etc. Dawn was great, providing friendly help, getting us signed in.
You then proceed to the lower level to pick your helmet (they also offer riding gear) and to watch the safety video.
Becky then escorts you to the snowmobile and goes you moving.
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The snowmobiles
Becky will make sure you understand how to start the snowmobile - red button up; ignition on; pull the cord (like a lawn mower). There's a separate button for backing up, which we didn't need (the one u-turn we needed our son and I pulled and lifted and turned his around).
The snowmobiles are easy to drive... right-hand thumb level for gas / acceleration; left hand brake (just like a bike).
The handles are heated, and so is the thumb accelerator!!!
The snowmobile will start accelerating after you get the engine to ~ 3,400 rpm... the RPM are top on the dashboard, and the mph right below that.
While my wife and I mostly drove around 20 mph, and sometimes up to 30 mph or so, our son and daughter went much faster (safely) - it was fun to go slow to enjoy the view, and the speedier times were also exciting just because of the speed in the beautiful Utah outdoors.
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The ride...
Beautiful
Wonderful
Amazing
Slow... Fast... in-between - you set your pace, via the thumb on the throttle
The trees, the trail, the views...
The sky, such a deep blue... with your own eyes it looks like the deep blue typically only visible using circular polarized (CPL) lenses on your camera... but here you should see deep blue skies with your naked eyes... the contrast, especially, of the birch trees against that beautiful blue sky... so beautiful
The trees, so tall... birch and evergreens... sometimes completely separate - a couple places we stopped to enjoy the scenery had one grove on the right and the other on the left; other places the birches and evergreens are mixed together... God's handiwork!
The snow so beautiful... and the shadows, even in mid-day, due to the sun being low in the winter sky.
And if you stop and turn off the engines... it will be so so still.
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The trail
Elevation... You start at 8,020 feet and get up to at least 9,800... that's almost 2,000 feet total elevation... and while the trail has quite a few hills going up and down, none are dangerous. (We have two teenagers and a mom and dad old enough to vouch for the safety)
The trail is 27-miles long.
The trail is roughly a figure-eight... with one side loop much larger than the others.
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Comparison...
For spring break 2020, we riding ATVs off-road at a course in Palm Springs / Palm Desert, and will return on our next trip there.
AND
Snowmobiling at Daniels Summit was EVEN MORE FUN - all four of us loved every aspect of the day!
THANK YOU Jed, Dawn, the entire restaurant staff, Becky and everyone else for such a wonderful day !!!