Rekindle your romance with these Valentine’s weekend getaways
By Megan Wagstaff
Any couple could find themselves on thin ice without regularly throwing another proverbial log on the fire. Here are three weekend dates sure to melt any paramour’s frozen heart. From foodie-inspired nights in Park City to an artsy getaway in the capital city or an outdoorsy romp in Ogden, which amorous foray will you choose this Valentine’s?
Park City For Foodies
Bites and Nibbles
Head up Parley’s Canyon on Thursday to start your romantic weekend off with Gourmand Food Tours. Hosts Chris and Rachel are both Park City locals and share interesting tidbits of culinary and historical information during the three-hour walk along Main Street that includes multiple stops for small bites and desserts at various restaurants. Alcohol may be purchased separately. Group tours depart at 4 p.m.; private tours are available if you prefer a more intimate setting.
Gourmand Tours
435-513-1500
GourmandTours.com
Bring Me a Higher Love
With the abundance of dining options in Park City, you can always try to book a cozy B&B for Valentine’s weekend via vacation rental sites. Many are less than $200/night and are a stone’s throw from appetizing aprés, dinner or brunch offerings. But if you’re in the mood for adventure with a capital A, consider the Towerhouse, a 15-minute drive from Park City in the Pine Meadows Ranch community. Offering commanding views of Deer Valley, Park City and Canyons ski resorts, Towerhouse is off Interstate 80, 3 miles up a semi-improved road (which means, in winter, you’ll need an all-wheel-drive or 4×4 vehicle with snow tires to climb the steep snowpacked grades). At $169/night, it comes with the benefit of a kitchen should you choose to whip up a romantic candlelit meal for two.
Towerhouse
Via vacation rental sites (Homeaway, VRBO, AirBnB)
Must Love Ice Skating
Friday morning, most tourists will opt to hit the slopes, but if skiing or snowboarding aren’t your style, work up an appetite while practicing your pairs skating at the Resort Center Ice Skating Rink, the only outdoor rink in town. Located at the base of Park City Mountain Resort, it’s open daily and offers rentals, fire pits and warm beverages.
Resort Center Ice Skating Rink
1415 Lowell Ave., Park City
435-615-8165
ParkCityIceRink.com
Sleighed It!
Nothing says romance quite like a cozy sleigh ride, and Park City offers them in spades. But if it’s dinner you’re after, then why not hitch your wagon to the Snowed Inn dining experience. Departing from the base of Park City Mountain Resort, your horse-drawn carriage whisks you up the mountain to a rustic cabin where Western fare like chili con carne, Utah trout and prime rib are served, all next to a roaring fire. Goodbye, winter chill.
Snowed Inn Sleigh Co.
Park City Mountain Resort
435-647-3310
SnowedInnSleigh.com
Snowball fight at Deer Valley Resort
Your Love Keeps Lifting Me
Dig into a mid-mountain morning meal at Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Restaurant, where you’ll find homemade granola, biscuit breakfast sandwiches and Irish oatmeal. If the idea of heli-skiing has you thinking you might lose your brunch, try it sans chopper at CMH’s Heli-Skiing Virtual Reality event on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., also at Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Lodge. You’ll soar above glacial peaks and experience epic powder runs while keeping your feet firmly planted on solid ground.
Silver Lake Lodge
7600 Royal St.
435-649-1000
DeerValley.com
Valentine Wine
Sightseeing is always better with booze, so head to The Brass Tag at Deer Valley on Saturdays at 3 p.m. for the Mines & Wines Tour offered by the Fox School of Wine. This two-hour activity highlights mines and historic locales around town, some of which you’ll experience by foot, others from the comfort of a luxurious limo-bus, all while enjoying six wines from around the world, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape and 20-year Tawny Port, as well as light nibbles.
Fox School of Wine
435-655-9463
Buy tickets at FoxSchoolOfWine.com
Downtown For Artists
The Magic of a Snow Day
Kick off your Valentine’s weekend at Kingsbury Hall where Quebec, Canada’s Flip Fabrique stops on their North American tour and presents Blizzard on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets are only $10 for this circus-act-meets-winter-wonderland performance featuring acrobatics, trampolines, aerial hoops, juggling and more, amid snowy dreamscapes and original music.
Flip Fabrique
Kingsbury Hall
1395 E. Presidents Circle, SLC
801-581-1700
Tickets.utah.edu
Urban Retreat
Stay in style at Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco, a romantic dig known for its fashionable interior and proximity to all downtown hot spots. Each designer room features a complimentary yoga mat for your morning mantras and offers both morning coffee and tea service as well as an evening happy hour, 5-6 p.m., with wine and snacks. Check their website for current specials, like dining credits at Bambara restaurant and seasonal offerings in The Vault bar.
Hotel Monaco
15 W. 200 South, SLC
800-805-1801
Monaco-SaltLakeCity.com
Skate Date
Across the street from Hotel Monaco are the Gallivan Center and its popular ice rink. Adults can rent skates for only $9, kids and seniors for $8, and toddlers 3 and under are free. If weak ankles or fear of landing on your derrière deter you, you can always enjoy vibrant people watching (at no charge). Set your watch to Kazuo Matsubayashi’s “Asteroid Landed Softly” sundial, which, on sunny days, tells “natural time.”
Gallivan Center Ice Skating Rink
50 E. 200 South, SLC
801-535-6117
TheGallivanCenter.com
Byobu by Kano Tsunenobu Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The Art of Love
For a Valentine’s evening full of romanticism (and renaissance, modern and contemporary), hop aboard Trax at the Gallivan Plaza station and head up to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for The Valentine’s Evening at the Museum on Feb. 14. Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks and hors d’oeuvres accompany live music from the University of Utah Red Hots as you take in the museum’s latest collections. If you’re feeling the love, look for the statue of Aphrodite and Eros dating back to 200 A.D.
The Valentine’s Evening at the Museum
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
410 Campus Center Drive, SLC
801-581-7332
UMFA.utah.edu
Ballet West’s Giselle
Chilling Me Softly
Also, just steps away from Hotel Monaco, catch a performance of Ballet West’s Giselle (Feb. 2-15) about a peasant girl who falls in love with a nobleman. Alas, fate won’t allow their romance to blossom, and Giselle dies, becoming a ghost known as a Wilis. Hopefully this ballet puts your own relationship problems into perspective! While there, take a moment to appreciate the building itself, fresh off a nearly $11-million renovation and restoration project completed in October 2019.
Ballet West’s Giselle
The Capitol Theatre
50 W. 200 South, SLC
801-869-6900
BalletWest.org
Behold the cold: Beerhive Pub’s frost rail
Frosty Pints
After the ballet, head around the corner to The Beerhive Pub and enjoy a pint on the ice rail, a unique addition to the bar consisting of a layer of ultra-chilled ice embedded into the granite on which your brew sits and stays frosty cold. With over 200 beers from around the world, even the pickiest of dates will find a fermented refreshment to please their palate.
The Beerhive Pub
128 S. Main, SLC
801-364-4268
Ogden For Adventurers
Alaskan Inn and Spa
The Frozen North
Check into the rustic and romantic Alaskan Inn up Ogden Canyon for a weekend stay that also happens to be pet-friendly. Take your pick of an in-room Jacuzzi or outdoor hot tub. For extra help unwinding, book a couple’s massage at the spa before heading out to dinner. And if you decide to go big, ask about the Love Bird package.
Alaskan Inn and Spa
435 Ogden Canyon, Ogden
801-621-8600
AlaskanInn.com
Some Like It Spicy Hot
Make a reservation at Sonora Grill for a Valentine’s date that’s guaranteed to spice up your night. Start with a GQ margarita (voted the best in Utah) and tableside guacamole, or tableside queso fundido if you like it hot. Popular dishes include the chile rellenos and carnitas nortenas, but be sure to save room for dessert—the cheesecake chimichanga is next-level. Besides, you’ll burn off all those calories later, right? Cosas calientes!
Sonora Grill
2310 S. Kiesel Ave., Ogden
801-393-1999
TheSonoraGrill.com
Axe the Big Question Already
After breakfast at the Alaskan Inn, don your snowshoes for a wintry hike up Waterfall Canyon. This short, 2.4-mile round-trip hike gets the blood pumping, and—for the really adventurous—you can climb the 200-foot waterfall at the end, assuming it’s frozen. Bring your ice picks and crampons. To get to the 29th Street Trailhead, take Highway 89 to 30th Street and head east. Take a left on Tyler Avenue, a right on 29th Street and a final right on Buchanan Avenue to the trailhead parking lot.
Waterfall Canyon
Ogden
Be Chill My Heart
Need a post-hike treat for your sweet? There are lots of options to choose from in Ogden, but it doesn’t get much better than Farr Better Ice Cream, locally owned and operated since 1920. With a vast selection of ice cream, sorbet, gelato, sherbet and frozen yogurt, you can mix-and-match scoops to your heart’s content.
Farr Better Ice Cream
274 21st St., Ogden
801-393-8629
FarrsIceCream.com
Ogden’s Egyptian Theater
Sick Flicks
Movies sometimes get a bad rap as date options, but when that movie consists of the best outdoor films from the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour, it’s an adventure-lovers’ dream date. Sponsored by the Snowbasin Sports Education Foundation, this three-day event features showings each night, 7-10 p.m., Feb. 14-16, at Peery’s Egyptian Theater, built in 1924.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Peery’s Egyptian Theater
2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden
866-472-4627
EgyptianTheaterOgden.com
We Got Game
For a Sunday funday, plan to cheer on the Ogden Mustangs Junior A hockey team at The Ice Sheet in the Weber County Sports Complex, originally built to house the 2002 Olympic curling events. The team plays Sunday, Feb. 16, at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are only $10 and are available at the door, one hour before game time.
Ogden Mustangs Hockey
Weber County Sports Complex
4390 Harrison Blvd., Ogden
661-431-3710
OgdenMustangs.com
