USA Travel Guide

I’ll keep it short and sweet so you can get on with your Friday. Weekend plans? Oh, I might go see Harry Potter … again. (It’s awesome, if you were, uh, on the fence about it)

This evening marks the official kick-off to the Deer Valley Music Festival in the Salt Lake City/Park City area of Utah. Poorly named, this “festival” is really more of a month-long concert series hosted by the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera and starring a cadre of special guests.

Starting today, the DVMF will put on 3-4 shows per week through August 15, and you better believe they run the gamut. Program highlights include The Symphonic Hits of ABBA, Mozart’s Last & Beethoven’s First, a Tribute to Rogers and Hammerstein, Rhapsody in Blue (a personal favorite), and Saturday night shows with Leann Rimes and Elvis Costello (those are separate shows, to be clear).

Performances are held at the Deer Valley Amphitheatre at Deer Valley, an upscale ski resort in Park City. General admission is self seating, so be sure to bring either a blanket or a lawn chair. In fact, go ahead and read the tips.

Depending on the show, and your ticket choice, admission can run from $25 to more than $75, and all tickets are sold by event. You can purchase VIP tickets that include better parking, a meal of some kind, and choice seating.

Learn more about the Deer Valley Music Festival here.

It’s more of a local gig, but if you happen to be traveling into the area, consider the SpringHill Suites Salt Lake City Airport. We’ve come around to this brand lately, having great luck at locations in Salt Lake, Oklahoma City and the west coast. Here’s been the takeaway: if they say they have it, they have it. If they say it works, it works. We’ve never had to fight for service, and that’s reason enough right there.

Have fun!

Here at USA Travel Guide, we’ve got amusement parks on the brain (so check back soon for a big feature), and today we’re going way, way back in time and a bit off-the-beaten-path to a park with roots stretching back to 1896: Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah.

Still family owned and operated to this day, Lagoon is one of the oldest operating theme parks in America, and it’s because of the incredible history that we love it so much today. Expanded and renovated so many times over the years, the place has a slapdash charm that magically evokes childhood nostalgia you may even have no right to possess. The Midway carnival games and rides, the fair-style food stands, the small water park with cash-only tube rentals, the on-site Pioneer Village “living museum”, even the upcharge for so-called “extreme rides” – there’s just something so wondrously authentic about it all.

But don’t let me give the impression that Lagoon is some iffy carnival joint where the rides are held together with nothing more than spit and prayer; this is an awesome, modern park with throwback appeal that earns its cost of admission.

Thrill-seekers will spend most of their day at the Midway, which along with carnival games and food stands is home to nearly all of the rides, including the eight roller coasters. Highlights include the simply-titled Bat, a suspended-rider design meant to be more kid-friendly (minimum 42″, though), the double-looped Colossus: The Fire Dragon, and the office favorite and I-kid-you-not-this-is-really-the-name: Roller Coaster. This renowned wooden coaster was installed all the way back in 1921, and it’s been a guest favorite ever since.

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Let’s think about this. One of the reasons we all go to the beach for Spring Break is because we don’t already live there. If we did, sure, it’d still be nice, but would it be a vacation? Not really. This is probably why a lot of residents in beach towns escape the tolling rhythm of the surf (not to mention thousands of drunk college students) and head to the mountains.

We mentioned this a few weeks back, but with Spring Break 2009 bearing down on us like a wintertime flurry, we’re returning with spirited vigor. The Salt Lake Valley is one of our favorite Spring Break destinations.

For one thing, the lengthy ski season, stretching from November all the way to May, means that visitors from mid-March to early-April don’t have to suffer the thinning dregs of peaks past their … well, peak. For another, popular though they are, Salt Lake Valley and the Wasatch Mountains don’t claim the prestige of top Colorado resorts, and that means value for money to the average Spring Breaker.

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It’s hard to believe, but the peak ski season is already passing us by. Don’t miss your chance to hit the slopes at least once by planning a last minute ski vacation to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Salt Lake City doesn’t get a lot of tourism buzz throughout the year, but expert skiers and snowboarders know better. Flanked by snowy white peaks, the Salt Lake Valley offers a multitude of top-quality ski resorts with all the robust beauty and challenge of the most famous Colorado resorts at a reasonable cost, provided you choose the right spots.

Our favorite must be Brighton, a popular choice that does a lot for its visitors, whether staying at the lodge or just sliding in for a day on the slopes. The location at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon is key: not only are they strategically located to receive high-quality snowstorm powder, they’re positioned to maintain it longer, meaning a season that runs to mid-April instead of mid-March.

With density comes variety, and that means options for any level of skier. Brighton offers extensive ski and snowboard trails for beginner, intermediate and expert riders, and state-of-the-art transportation facilities (quad lifts, triple lifts, moving walkway) help to keep you out of line and on the hills. You’ll also find a half-pipe, multiple terrain parks, and a good mixture of formed trails and freestyle slopes.

One of the cooler things about Brighton is the ample night skiing acreage. These lighted courses are open until 9:00 p.m., even in the dead of winter, for a snowbound thrill that many people didn’t know they wanted until the day they couldn’t get enough. Night skiing is subject to firmer weather restrictions, of course, and is available through early-April.

Learn more about Brighton here.

As usual, we recommend skipping the resort and finding less expensive accommodations in town. It’s even better in Salt Lake City, because the Utah Travel Authority runs busses from all over town to Brighton, even from the Airport. The last time we checked the fare was $4.50 one-way. Bring exact change!

For hotel accommodations in Salt Lake City, consider the brand new SpringHill Suites Salt Lake City Airport Hotel. Because it’s so new (it opened this month), we haven’t had the opportunity to check it ourselves, but we like the brand and the convenient airport location. Besides, it’s hard to beat that new hotel smell.

Got Spring Break on the mind? Brighton is a great choice for friends and families. Check back in starting next Wednesday (2/18/09) for the beginning of our Spring Break coverage.