Getting to Snowbird, Utah

After a very hectic first three days of New Year’s week, I finally wrapped up at work, grabbed my keys, and jetted home to embark on our long-weekend getaway to Snowbird, Utah! As we packed the night before, it was a grab the bags, energy drink, and go situation to get out of the house. Expecting holiday rush hour traffic at 4 PM on a Wednesday, we planned for lots of traffic time, but the travel Gods parted the highway seas for us and we arrived at the airport, checked our bad, and passed through security with 2+ hours to spare. Pros of being early – no stress. Cons of being early – spending 2+ hours in an airport…

Anyway, we squeezed into a two-top at the airport Chilis for a quick bite. I spent the majority of that dinner eavesdropping on the two single travelers next to us that serendipitously made a love connection over chips and salsa. Yay, airport entertainment!

Our plane boarded on time and I spent most of the 2.5 hour flight catching up on the gossip magazines and looking out of the window at all of the city lights. Flying over cities at night is pretty, but doing so while people still have their Christmas lights up is a completely different experience. There is something so enchanting about twinkle lights and it was just that much better once we landed, hopped on our Canyon Transportation van, and drove through the city where the twinkle lights combined with the snow’s reflection. Oh to live in a state with snow…

While we did have to wait about 30 minutes for our transport van to show up, our shared ride there was easy and warm, which was especially good because it was 0, yes 0, degrees out! We had some good conversations with the local driver and other fellow Snowbird travelers during the ride, arrived at the Cliff Lodge around 10:30, checked in, and then unpacked for our first day on the slopes!

Utah travel tips:

• Bring eye drops, lotion, and chapstick as the air is very dry.
• Hydrate starting the day before your trip and drink lots of water throughout. The elevation and dryness in the air will be much worse if you don’t.
• Ask your hotel if they have a humidifier in the room. Most hotels have them and it makes a huge difference when you are trying to sleep.
• Decided if you want to rent a car or get a transport to the hotel. If you feel safe driving in snowy conditions and want to go to multiple slopes / places, renting is a good option! If you are not a snow day driver and / or are only staying on-location, do the transport option.