To start 2024 on the best note ever, my good friend and photographer Kat Braman (of Lorren and Braman) and I invited some of our other favorite people to enjoy some downtime with us in Park City, Utah. Kat and I have bonded over our love of the Rockies and snowy scenes and we’ve been talking about doing a trip together for several years. We decided this was the year to put our thoughts into action. While we always knew this would be a fabulous trip, we couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. Because of that, I decided to make our entire itinerary available for anyone who might be looking to do the same thing. This is a three night/four day itinerary and we felt like it was just right.

Why Park City?

The most amazing thing about Park City is how close it is to Salt Lake City. From airport to your destination in Park City, you’re looking at 45-50 minutes maximum. It’s easy to find good flights from nearly the entire country and if you needed to, you could Uber/Lyft to Park City. There’s a little something for everyone from accessible activities to high luxury experiences. You can really tailor your trip to any type of group.

This itinerary was built for a group of 8 women who weren’t necessarily wanting to ski, but still wanted to enjoy gorgeous winter scenes, get outside a little bit and generally have downtime with friends. We love a good food and beverage experience, but we didn’t want to feel like we had to pack clothing where we had to dress up for dinner. I think we found a great middle ground!

All in all, we had the best time. It is so needed to simply connect with friends without having to feel the business overtones. Yes, all of us on this trip are in the weddings industry and we of course discussed work, but the point was not to network or have any education. We spent time having shared experiences and created deeper relationships with people who simply understand what it’s like to be a woman business owner and balancing family, work and life in this wild world.

So here’s how we decided to spend our time together to accomplish that connectivity.

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Day 1

Late afternoon arrivals – we got an AirBnB that was actually pretty close to Deer Valley which gave us access to both locations. Kat and I did some grocery shopping to set us up for breakfasts and lunches during the trip. Our house was large enough for almost everyone to have their own room. We decided to make this first evening easy with a catered fajita night from Hill’s Kitchen. They did not disappoint! We laughed and played some games and generally enjoyed hanging out with everyone.

Day 2

Kat made breakfast for us all while everyone had a slow morning. Breakfast casseroles, fresh fruit and plenty of coffee while we watched the snow come down.

Just around noon, we headed out to meet Bear Ridge Adventures who took us on an hour+ long dog sled adventure! We got to learn about the differences in sled dogs, how sled teams work and enjoyed some amazing scenery. Each sled had one person riding on the sled, one musher driving the sled team and one person standing behind the driver. We stopped half way, had some fun with the dogs and then each pair switched spots on the sled. If you were sitting, you had the chance to take your phone out and video or photograph the awesome surroundings and the dogs loving their work. If you were standing, you got to be a little more involved with the sled itself which was really great.

We got back and our dinner experience was already there setting up: private chef fondue from Low Spark Fondue! Chef Jordan prepared three courses for us which included a cheese course, steak and brussels main course and chocolate dessert course. It was fantastic to be able to simply stay in and still enjoy a fabulous dinner that was warm and comforting.

Day 3

We woke up to another gorgeous snowy morning. Breakfast was lighter as we looked forward to lunch on the mountain at Deer Valley. We made our way over to the Jordanelle Gondola to ride up to the RIME Seafood and Raw Bar. Our idea was to be able to get a view from higher up while enjoying lunch together. As it turned out, we didn’t get much of a view because it was snowing so hard basically all day. What was a huge hit was the lobster rolls at RIME. Unbelievable. I think we will all be talking about those lobster rolls for YEARS.

Photos: Leslie Rodriguez

We got back to the house and just had some chill time around the fireplace. Hot chocolate and marshmallows were on the menu and it hit the spot! Then we got dressed in our warm clothes (I wore my ski gear which is what I wore on the dog sled tour) to meet the Snowed Inn Sleigh Co for a horse-drawn sleigh ride to dinner on the slopes of Park City ski resort. When I say it was magical, I am overstating nothing. Absolutely a fabulous experience. The ride was just the right length to get us to dinner and then we got the heartiest and most delicious meal served with live music. We were greeted with hot cider, then moved on to chili, I had the short ribs that were falling off the bone and apple cobbler dessert. Just everything you’d want from a group experience. 

Day 4

We all had early afternoon flights to catch so we mostly had an earlier breakfast and then hit the road back to the Salt Lake City airport. Again, super easy to get from one spot to the other.

Besides the actual experiences, I can speak for Kat and myself by saying we walked away feeling loved, peaceful and simply grateful to have these amazing women in our lives. Sometimes we just need to slow down and remind ourselves that there’s life to live and appreciate the beauty around us. We will certainly be planning Girls Trip: Utah 2025 so let us know if you want to jump in! And while Invision doesn’t offer planning services for girl’s trips, I’m opening my calendar so that you can schedule a session with me to learn more about this itinerary, my advice for the Park City/Deer Valley area, budgeting, transportation, menus and lodging.

Cheers to Park City and awesome experiences!

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Our Girls Trip: Park City and Deer Valley Utah Itinerary

Location: Park City and Deer Valley, Utah

Purpose: Girls Trip for professional women in their 30s and 40s

Time of year: Winter – January but with no skiing activities

Day 1

Check in at 4pm to Airbnb – we stayed here

Arrivals + grocery shopping for the house

Pick up catered fajita dinner from Hill’s Catering

Drinks and games and general fun

Day 2

Late breakfast at home

Dog sledding with Bear Ridge Adventures

Private chef fondue dinner with Low Spark Fondue

Day 3

Breakfast at home

Gondola ride at Jordanelle Gondola and lunch at RIME Raw Bar on the mountain at Deer Valley Resort 

Sleigh ride to dinner with Snowed Inn Sleigh Co at Park City resort

Day 4

Breakfast at home and carpool to Salt Lake City airport for departures