Hey new parents! Yeah, you! You know—the ones who have annual membership passes to every zoo, aquarium, aviary, and indoor trampoline park within 100 miles? Or maybe the parents who haven’t been on a child-free date with your partner in a few years? Yes, I’m talking to you! As new parents ourselves, my wife and I are always looking for memorable experiences to share with our two sons, our 3-year-old John and our 1-year-old Charlie. 

Don’t get me wrong— I love checking out the sea otters at the zoo, but some of our best childhood memories were created in the mountains, and we now hope to create many of the same memories for our children today. Though Charlie is too young to understand what’s happening most of the time, that’s not going to stop us from bringing him along to cheer on and giggle at his older brother. Just as many mountain-loving parents do, we introduced John to some of our favorite activities—cycling, skiing, and hiking—at an early age, and it’s been amazing to see the stoke continue to grow with each passing season. While we would have loved to see the snowflakes continue to fall and an extended ski season, our little family took advantage of the warm weather and set out for some of our favorite, but less-obvious, kid-friendly activities around Park City.

Little shredders love safe spots to ride their bikes!

Pump Tracks

A pump track is a loop that consists of a series of features that allow new and experienced riders to work on their speed, balance, and cornering skills. Loops are typically smaller than a basketball court, which makes for a perfect environment for kids to work on their skills with their parents nearby. Park City has some amazing pump tracks that are free for all, including Creekside Bike Park and Trailside Bike Park. Though John is still using his feet to manage his speed on his strider bike, he enjoys watching the other kids rip around without putting a foot down as they use the momentum of the track to pump through rollers, berms, and jumps. Both Creekside and Trailside parks have features and lines that are quite extreme. Kiddos are welcome to watch the shredders, but please refrain from entering advanced courses to get a better view. As always, be sure your child is wearing protective equipment while riding, obeys all park rules and regulations, and waits their turn before using the track.

Pump tracks are the best for honing trail skills!

Please note that Woodward is home to one of the most unique pump tracks in the country,  which traverses a mountain, spans over four football fields, and features incredible views of the Wasatch Mountains. You’ll need to pay to participate in this activity, but it is well worth it given the number of activities a Woodward All Access Ticket gives you, including skiing, snowboarding, biking, skateboarding, tubing, and indoor fun.

Other Summit County area pump tracks include:

Ike’s Pump Track (Matt Knopp Memorial Park in Park City)

Skate Parks

One of my goals in life is to never lose the ability to rip around a skatepark. Really setting the bar high, right? Fortunately, one of John’s favorite things to do is to roll down steep banks, off curbs, and back and forth on the mini ramp, so I’ve had plenty of time lately to hone my craft and work towards my silly goal. With 31 years to prepare before full retirement age, I’m confident I will achieve my goal of landing a kickflip and cashing a Social Security check on the same day.

Our go-to skatepark in town is the Park City Skatepark. The local groms must have slept in after a late night playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 on PlayStation, as we had the park entirely to ourselves when we visited on a cool Spring morning. The street course and beginner bowl areas have perfectly-sized features for kiddos to experiment with and get their confidence up. While neither John nor I puts down a run that would win us a medal at the X Games any time soon, we enjoyed pushing around and took in some amazing views of Park City Mountain Resort in the distance.

Looking down on the Park City skate park!

We also love to visit Trailside Skate Park, which allows our family to parlay our unsuccessful kickflip attempts in to a wide range of other park activities, including a visit to the Trailside dog park, playground, soccer fields, and basketball courts.

Magic hour at the Trailside skate park!

Our favorite skatepark in Summit County is—surprise, surprise—Woodward, the premier extreme sports training facility in the country. Woodward offers a Micro Ticket for 1- to 5-year-olds, and even offers a Micro Private Gym hour each Saturday and Sunday at 9AM, providing full access to the Action Sports Hub which allows little ones to explore all of the skate parks, trampolines, and foam pits on campus. Get ready to see some extreme moves at Woodward! Though the facility brings out the best athletes around, Woodward welcomes and celebrates youngsters of all experience levels and abilities.

More Kids Outside

I hope these less-obvious, kid-friendly activities help spark some creativity as you look to find fun experiences to share with your kiddos. Regardless of your age, there is so much to do in Park City!

More Adventures in Park City

Things to Do in Park City This Summer

Check out Dark Sky Parks near Park City

The Best Mountain Bike Trails in Park City for Every Skill Level