About Park City Utah

Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is one of two major resort towns in Utah, the other being Moab. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back and a part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The city is 32 miles (48 km) east of downtown Salt Lake City and 15 miles (24 km) from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,371 at the 2000 census. On average, the tourist population greatly exceeds the number of permanent residents.

After a population decline following the shutdown of the area's mining industry, the city rebounded during the 1980s and 1990s through an expansion of its tourism business. The city has three major ski resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and The Canyons Resort. The Park City and Deer Valley ski resorts were the major locations for ski and snowboarding events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although they receive less snow and have a shorter ski season than do their counterparts in Salt Lake County, such as Snowbird resort, they are much easier to access.

Additionally the city is the main location of the United States' largest independent film festival, the Sundance Film Festival, home of the United States Ski Team, training centre for members of the Australian Freestyle Ski Team, the largest collection of factory outlet stores in northern Utah, the 2002 Olympic bobsled/skeleton/luge track at the Utah Olympic Park, and golf courses. Some scenes from 1994's Dumb and Dumber were shot in the city. Outdoor-oriented businesses such as backcountry.com and Rossignol have their headquarters based in Park City. The city has many upscale luxury national retailers, clubs, bars, and restaurants, and has nearby reservoirs, hot springs, forests, and hiking and biking trails. Park City is also the original home of the Mrs. Fields Cookies chain.

In the summertime many valley residents of the Wasatch Front visit the town to escape high temperatures. Park City is usually 11°F (6°C) cooler than Salt Lake City, as it lies mostly above 7,000 feet above sea level, while Salt Lake City is situated at an altitude of about 4,000 feet. It is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States and is notable for having a large number of Northern and Central European immigrants. It is also generally thought to be the most liberal city in Utah, with supermajorities usually supporting Democratic Party candidates and issues.

In 2008, Park City was named by Forbes Traveler Magazine among one of the 20 'prettiest towns' in the United States. http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/americas-prettiest-towns-story.html

The State of Utah ( or ) is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making the population the sixth most urbanized in the U.S. The name "Utah" is derived from the Ute Indian language, meaning "people of the mountains."Utah Quick Facts at Utah.gov

Utah is known for being one of the most religiously homogeneous states in the Union. Between 58 percent and 72 percent of Utahns are reported to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church), which greatly influences Utah culture and daily life.U.S. Religious Landscape Survey 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, pp 99-100. Accessed 2008-07-02LDS Church reports its membership records

The state is a center of transportation, information technology and research, government services and mining as well as a major tourist destination for outdoor recreation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimates, Utah was the fastest growing state in the United States as of 2008. St. George, Utah was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000?2005.