AETHER On Location: Park City, UT

With its world-class skiing in the winter and ample opportunities for other outdoor activities the rest of the year, Park City, Utah, has long been one of our favorite domestic travel destinations — as well as an obvious choice of locale for our latest brick-and-mortar store. So, this summer, we recently gathered a group of friends and flew out to the iconic ski town for three incredible days of fun on the mountain.

After a quick Wednesday morning flight from Los Angeles, we touched down in Salt Lake City, and then piled into a van for the brief drive to Park City. While there’s absolutely no shortage of truly stellar hotels, resorts, and lodges to stay at in Park City, we’ve grown increasingly fond of the Pendry Hotel since it opened its Park City location in early 2022. With its extraordinary accommodations, California-inspired design, and ski-in/ski-out access, it truly is hard to beat — a fact that speaks volumes considering the caliber of some of Park City’s other hotels and resorts.

View from Pendry Park City

Once checked in, we got our itineraries, unpacked our bags, and then reconvened with the rest of the group for a lunchtime pizza party thrown by our friends at Gozney. After enjoying a few freshly-baked pies, we headed out to go explore Main Street, taking in the sights and shops. This included a stop over at the all-new AETHER Park City store. Located inside the former home of the rough-and-tumble Oak Saloon — a historic Main Street icon that previously catered to mostly miner clientele — the AETHERparkcity store maintains the building’s original brick exterior, while the inside of the structure has been completely renovated, resulting in a unique storefront that links past and present. With some new gear in hand, we headed back to the Pendry for a few drinks, a quick dinner, and then it was off to bed to rest up for the day that followed.

AETHERparkcity on Main Street

Derrick @derrick_b_smith

Olivia @oliviamuniak

Alex @alexprange

Kylie @kyliekatich and Hailey @justplainhayley

The magical Gozney pizza oven

Chef Kyle Kennedy

Dara @dara.nazaryan

Everyone got up bright and early Thursday morning, got ready, and then met downstairs at the Pendry for what turned out to be a fantastic breakfast. After everyone got their fill, we geared up, and then embarked on our Jordanelle Adventure Tour. Each person in our party was given an e-bike for this guided experience, allowing us to take in our sights and surroundings and explore miles of picturesque mountain roads and trails while letting the bikes’ electric motors do most of the work. In a single afternoon, we traversed everything from paved roads to forests of quaking aspen and Ponderosa pine trees.

With our guided e-bike tour complete, it was back to the Pendry Hotel to enjoy a few hours at their Pool House. The only rooftop lounge found in all of Canyons Village, the Pool House is a beautifully designed space offering breathtaking mountain views in practically every direction. The fact the location features an all-day menu also allowed us to enjoy a few small plates in-between meals.

Alex in our Performance Tee and Rogue Hybrid Short and Humphrey in his harness

As evening turned to night, we headed back up to the rooftop lounge for the Pendry Hotel’s famous Summit Supper. As a five-star operation, we were anticipating a delicious meal, and despite going into the situation with markedly high expectations, we were nonetheless blown away by just how delectable this chef-crafted, multi-course dining experience proved to be.

Derrick in our Leica Reporter Jacket

The supper started with some Parker House rolls complemented via charred onion butter — an appetizer served family style. Next, servers brought out the first course; roasted beets whipped up alongside pickled blueberry and sorrel. For the second course, the chef prepared honey-glazed duck with roasted peach and cherry jus, which came plated with a side of lightly-charred caulilini. This five-star supper culminated in a dessert course of lime cheesecake served with lime curd and raspberries. All-in-all, pretty much everyone in our group agreed on the fact this was one of the very best meals we can remember having in recent history. With dinner complete, we all enjoyed a few drinks, and then retired to our rooms for another night of luxury accommodations on the mountain.

Friday morning, we opted for a less structured itinerary, giving each member of our party the option to spend the day however they saw fit. So, after another extraordinary breakfast courtesy of the Pendry, most of us went and further explored the town’s iconic Main Street and Canyons Village. By the late afternoon we regrouped, and checked out of the Pendry Hotel, and then hopped back in the van for our drive back to SLC for our flight home. Even though the entire trip spanned less-than-80-hours, it was still unequivocally one of the main highlights of our summer, as this curated experience allowed us to take in the natural beauty of Park City and the surrounding landscape, while still getting to enjoy a five-star dining and lodging experience.

Derrick in the Emery Pima Crew Tee shopping with the Lifestyle Tote

AETHERparkcity staff Tucker