Park City was born with the discovery of silver in 1872. By the turn of the century, it boasted a population of 10,000 (largely of Irish origin), a red-light district, Chinese quarter and 27 saloons. All this faded with the crash in the silver price. But careful restoration has left Park City with a splendid historic centre-piece. The old wooden sidewalks and clapboard buildings of Main Street are now filled with a colourful selection of Park City's 15 art galleries, 100 smart shops and boutiques, a dozen bars and 80 restaurants.

New buildings have been tastefully designed to blend in smoothly, but away from the centre the resort lacks the same charm. The US National Ski Team headquarters is in Park City, and the resort features strongly in Utah's bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The 'Resort Centre is the main base area of the skiing, with its modern buildings and its own bars, restaurants and accommodation. Deer Valley and Wolf Mountain are almost suburbs of Park City, but all three retain quite separate identities.

Deer Valley is upmarket, ready to pamper its clientele with swish hotels, ski-in, ski-out convenience and some of the most upmarket lunch spots of any US ski resort. Wolf Mountain is bold and breezy - day passes are cheaper here and snowboarders are welcome (they're banned from the Park City and Deer Valley slopes). Although good enough to host World Cup events, the terrain is generally quite tame - smooth trails cut through the trees on rounded, low mountains. The bite in the system is in the bowls at the top of the resort's skiing.

From the base area, a long 23-minute gondola ride, or a slightly shorter journey on a couple of chairs, takes you up to Summit House.

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