When I had the opportunity last October to visit the Park City/Deer Valley area—Utah's premier ski destination and site of the 2002 Winter Olympics—I didn't mind that there'd be no snow, skiing, or frosty outdoor activities. Despite living in New Hampshire all my life, I don't ski and was perfectly content to investigate the non-winter possibilities at Hideaways' Great Escapes in Utah.

Olympic preening

A renowned high-altitude hideout, Stein Eriksen Lodge sits mid-mountain at 8,200 feet in the Silver Lake area at the Deer Valley ski resort. It's usually an easy jaunt from the Salt Lake City airport to Park City, but thanks to massive road-building projects in preparation for the winter games, the 45-minute drive took us 2 hours. If you'll be driving in the area, be sure to get up-to-date directions from the resort or your automobile club.

We wound our way up the mountain road, past condos and homes scattered on the hillside, until we spotted the discreet sign to Stein Eriksen, where we encountered more pre-Olympic spiffing up. Work on the lodge's own expansion, including 11 new condos and an Olympic conference facility, was slated to be completed this spring. Among the features: a 6,000-sq. ft. outdoor plaza that will be transformed into a skating rink in the winter. A new spa and ski locker room should be ready by the end of the year.

Spring 2001