Our recent post on season ski passes being available for the 2010-2011 skiing and riding season at Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort and Deer Valley may have left out a few things to consider when buying lift tickets.

            For a local resident or property owner that uses their Park City home or condominium often during the winter season, a ski pass is an integral part of life in Park City. For many, a ski pass is the reason we moved here and having one is a reminder of that and a great reason to stay, it is part of the lifestyle that we all enjoy. Which resort you choose to hold your pass is a question of taste, proximity and cost.  Having a pass means you’ll ski or ride more; mostly because you’ll be willing to just take a few runs, an option you wouldn’t necessarily consider if you had to purchase a pass for the day.

            Beyond the personal pass for an individual resort, there are some other pass options available. Ski Utah – the marketing entity for all of Utah’s ski resorts offers two pass options: The Ski Utah Silver Pass allows you to ski at a different resort in Utah everyday with a maximum of 30 days at any one resort for $2400. The Ski Utah Gold Pass allows for the same with a maximum of 50 days at any one resort, and is transferable (lend it to a friend when you aren’t using it) for $3400. Check out http://www.skiutah.com/ for more.

            Similarly, Deer Valley sells its popular ‘bolos’ (hospitality pass) which allow for unlimited skiing at Deer Valley as well as use by anyone for the day are available for $3975. Canyons Resort is also offering a Platinum pass which includes access to the new “Canyons Club” with new luxury dining and concierge services as well as ski/board storage and priority lift access.

            For visitors to Park City, there are a few “tricks” to know and explore when it comes to your daily lift tickets. The first is the Quick START program available through the Park City Chamber of Commerce / Convention & Visitors Bureau. The program allows you to receive a free day pass on for the day you arrive in Park City by registering before you get here and showing your boarding pass and out of state driver’s license at the ticket window of a Park City ski resort. Go to http://www.parkcityinfo.com/ for more. Other considerations should include obtaining discount passes before you get into Park City through Salt Lake City area ski shops, and Costco stores.

             Lift ticket prices and season pass pricing for Park City’s three ski resorts have been announced. Season pass changes have been made at Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons while Deer Valley has stayed relatively the same as last year.

            Canyons has seen the most significant season pass offerings change and now offers 3 adult pass options starting at $999 (prior to Oct. 15). Passes will include on mountain perks for the pass holders including:

• Complimentary day tickets
• The ability to purchase buddy passes for $59
• Complimentary Lodging nights
• Rental and retail discounts
• Complimentary ski lessons
• Complimentary Meals
• Summer Lift Privileges
• And More

            Mid-week passes (good every day but Saturdays) start at $799. Young adult passes (18-25 yrs and Utah college students) start at $449. Utah student passes (7-12 yrs) start at $179 with ages 13-17 able to buy a season pass for $209 (for honor roll students). Coupon books can offer daily tickets at under $45 per day.

            Canyons Resort has many different season pass offerings go to: http://www.thecanyons.com/seasonpass2010.html to view them, and make sure you do so before Oct 15^th.

            Park City Mountain Resort season pass pricing this year starts at $699. Pricing at Park Mountain Resort has stripped the extras like night skiing, free parking and express lift access (Fast Trax) which can be added back to the pass for $200 per benefit. Young adult/college student passes start at $450. Teen season passes start at $175 while youth passes start at $125. Utah resident or property owner coupon books get daily passes down to $54 per day.

            As with Canyons Resort, Park City Mountain offers many pass options, to see which is best for you go to: http://www.parkcitymountain.com/winter/tickets/season_passes . park City Mountain resort season pass prices go up after Oct 31.

            Deer Valley Season passes are $1630 for an adult pass, with a second pass (same family) for $1320. Teen passes are $675 and midweek adult passes (good Mon.-Fri. except Christmas -New Year’s week) are $830. Locals coupon books get daily ticket options down to $51 per day. For more info go to: http://www.deervalley.com/activities_skiing/skiing/lift_tickets.html  make sure to purchase before October 31^st.

                  If you are looking for a Park City Condominium with easy access to skiing but in a setting that is a little off the beaten path without the “hustle and bustle” of condos within the Park City limits, you may want to consider the Jordanelle area when searching the web for Park City Real Estate. There are a couple of great options on the south side of the Jordanelle Reservoir that are just a few minutes from Deer Valley Ski Resort’s gondola.  Access to the Jordanelle Reservoir is quick as well if you like water skiing, boating, fishing or sailing. Another advantage to the Jordanelle area of Park City real estate is that you are only about 15 minutes from Park City’s historic Old Town or Kimball Junction when you decide you want to do a little shopping or enjoy one of the many exceptional restaurants. Heber City and Midway, UT are also just minutes away to the south. The Jordanelle area has the ability to at some point become a viable base area for Deer Valley Resort and a community of its own with restaurant and retail facilities and multiple hotels and housing options. As with most homes or condos in Park City, the south side of the Jordanelle is only about 35 to 40 minutes for Salt Lake International Airport.

                If you want a condominium, the Fox Bay condominiums may be a great option in the area and are definitely worth considering.  These 1028 square foot two bedroom two bath condos have many amenities including underground parking, a pool, spa, recreation room, fitness room, playground and a fenced basketball court.  The recreation room comes complete with a big screen television, pool table, ping pong table and small kitchen.  The fitness room and play ground are well equipped if you or the kids have any energy left after a day of skiing. Fox Bay has an active HOA working hard to ensure the safety and cleanliness of the area as well as encouraging community activities.

                The price for a Fox Bay condominium currently range from around $210,000 to S244,900.  Fox Bay prices reached a high of $347,000 in 2006 and represent a very good value now.  Be aware that if you see a price significantly below this price range it may be a deed restricted condo. Deed restrictions are base on average household incomes in Wasatch County, UT.

                For photos and property searches of Fox Bay condominiums go to the Fox Bay at Jordanelle page of the YouInParkCity.com website or call (888)968-4672.

              Park City, Utah boasts nearly 400 miles of trails running through and around the town. These multi-use trails range from paved cycling and walking paths to repurposed railroad lines to equestrian trails to single track mountain bike downhill courses.  Trail use in Park City is a year around activity as many trails used by summer hikers and bikers are equally well used during the winter with snowshoes and cross country skis.

            All three of the local ski and snowboard resorts (Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort) offer lift assist access for mountain biking or hiking. During the winter all three resorts boast at least 100 named ski trails each.

            Active trail maintenance in the Park City area is done by the Mountain Trails Foundation as well as the Snyderville Recreation District. Both of these entities have upcoming events that can play a large part in their roles in town. The Snyderville Basin will have a bond initiative on the upcoming November ballot seeking a $20 Million bond earmarked for open space purchases, recreation and trail support. The Mountain Trails Foundation will be holding its annual fund raiser Tour De Suds mountain bike ride.

            The Tour De Suds ride this year is the 30^th annual. The ride starts at City Park and climbs the road and trail to the top of Guardsman Pass. The 7 mile hill climb gains 2700′ feet in elevation. Some will tackle this as a race while others make it a leisurely cruise while donning costumes.

            The Park City Point 2 Point mountain bike race was held last weekend. This is a crazy hard endurance race of 78 miles which took the winner just under 7 hours to complete. In a prerace interview the race organizers noted that their intention was to make a course which did not repeat any terrain or cross over itself; this they said proved much easier than they had thought. In fact they put together a course meeting this qualification that was nearly 100 miles long and nearly all on single track trails. Daylight was a limiting factor of race length rather than trail limitations. I believe that this says a lot about the trail systems in Park City, Utah.

            The abundance of trails in and around Park City, UT is one of the many things that add to the value of Park City Real Estate. For assistance in locating and purchasing a home or condominium in Park City, Utah contact a realty professional with at YouInParkCity.com at (888) 968-4672.

             The Park City Luxury Estate Auction that was held trough August finished on the 27^th of last month. The final results of the auction are still to be seen as the properties work through the sale process.

            This Park City, UT real estate auction was somewhat different than other recent area real estate auctions. It featured 11 luxury estate homes in the greater Park City area. Each home had a minimum posted reserve bid. There was a buyer’s premium of 2% added to the final sales price. Each property taking part in the auction reportedly paid $30,000 as a marketing fee to participate. This fee produced a twenty six page full color brochure with insert for the 11^th property as well as website and national advertising campaign.

            Some REALTORS® in Park City felt that there might be somewhat of an “auction fatigue” as the auction hype was met with a certain blasé. Previous Park City area real estate auctions have resulted in sales and have also produced lower sales prices for similar real estate opportunities after the sale.

            Potential luxury real estate buyers did not flock to the auction properties and offer a flood of sealed bids. In the end, three properties were put “under contract” and there is rumor that we may still see an offer or two coming for some that are left.

            The sale of the Lookout at Deer Valley (min bid $2.55M) is in line with other auction sales of this development.

            The sale at 816 Woodside in Old Town (this sale was completed last week for $3.4M ($95K under the “reserve price”)) places an interesting price tag on Old Town with its $775/sq ft. sale price.

            The pending sale of the “manor” in Midway is also of interest as it will become one of the few properties to ever sell in the Heber Valley for over $1M.

            For more Park City Real Estate information, statistics and assistance in negotiating the purchase or sale of a Park City, Utah area home; contact the YouInParkCity.com Keller Williams realty professionals at (888) 968-4672.