Looking to hit the great outdoors? The Lodge at Blue Sky is a new 46-room, contemporary resort located on a 3,500-acre ranch outside of Park City, UT. Situated in the mountains surrounded by high alpine fields, lush hillsides and a spring-fed creek, the new resort offers Western-inspired adventures, farm-to-table cuisine, a cliffside wellness sanctuary and the High West Whiskey Distillery, where guests can learn the distillation process from grain to glass.
Upon arrival at The Lodge at Blue Sky, guests are greeted in the Sky Lodge, which has indoor and outdoor living spaces and will serve as the social heart of the hotel. It is also home to the resort’s signature restaurant, Yuta, a bar and lounge, private dining room, wine room, 70-foot-long infinity pool and a patio for nights under the open sky.
Designed as a retreat for families, friends and couples, the rooms and suites have floor-to- ceiling windows that open onto private outdoor spaces framed by stone walls. Good to know: Bathrooms have deep soaking bathtubs and some even offer private outdoor showers. The Lodge at Blue Sky has just 46 guest accommodations in three styles and locations: Sky, Earth and Creek; the design for each reflects the topographical features of the environment in which they are situated.
Sky Lodge is the resort’s main house and has 19 rooms and suites, including four two-floor, two-bedroom Signature Suites with dining and lounging areas. The Earth House, a short walk from the Sky Lodge, houses 22 Earth Suites, which includes connecting options for families, outdoor fireplaces, canyon views, outdoor showers and living grass roofs. The Creek Houses contains indoor fireplaces, 14-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, which open in the summer months to transform the suite into an indoor/outdoor space. The space also offers custom fly rods and fly tackle boxes for those that wish to fish from the banks of the creek. There are also five freestanding accommodations situated along the banks of Alexander Creek in a secluded Aspen grove.
The Lodge at Blue Sky will provide a range of active experiences for guests, from heli-yoga to full moon hiking, fly fishing and horseback riding. Guests of all levels of experience can enjoy “Vaquero-style” horsemanship lessons and encounters with rescued horses, residents of the on-site Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation, a non-profit founded by Barb Philips dedicated to saving the lives of horses through rescue, sanctuary and medical care. Guests can also experience championship-caliber shooting clays, hiking, biking, outdoor yoga and guided meditation, al fresco art classes, cross-country skiing and snow shoeing on property, as well as downhill skiing at nearby Park City Mountain Resort.
For younger guests, the Little Vaquero’s Club provides daily themed excursions tailored to their age group, including horsemanship lessons and riding, wildlife education, fishing, farm days when guests can help tend the one-and-a-half-acre organic farm, picking berries and herbs, and interacting with horses, cows, chickens, bees and more. Younger guests can also enjoy in-room luxury camping experience complete with sleeping teepees.
Through a partnership with helicopter outfitter Powderbird, guests can depart from the property on a 10-minute flight for various experiences on the 200,000 acres of terrain in the Wasatch and Uinta mountain. The excursions ranges from winter heli-skiing to summer heli-hiking, heli-fly fishing, heli-mountain biking and mountaintop yoga and meditation. Tip: Heli-weddings are also available.
Resort guests skiing Park City’s ski runs will be looked after at Blue Sky’s Ski Lounge, located in town at the base of the mountain. There, guests will be able to store gear, request tune-ups, warm up with hot drinks and appetizers or have the attendant book a restorative spa treatment for their return to The Lodge via the resort’s fleet of complimentary shuttles.
The new dining experience at the resort’s signature restaurant, Yuta, offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The dining room will offer a modern interpretation of Western cuisine, utilizing sourced seasonal heirloom ingredients, some of which will be sourced from Blue Sky’s on-site organic farm. Dinner at Yuta will include signature dishes such as Trout Piscator, with watercress mousse, horseradish and pickled ramps, and Clay Pigeons, squab baked in clay with hay. Many dishes are prepared on a wood-burning grill. The restaurant is helmed by James Beard Foundation executive chef Galen Zamarra.
Culinary offerings are matched by the resort’s selection of wine, local whiskey from High West Distillery and artisanal cocktails. Adult guests may enjoy High West, Utah’s first distillery since 1870. Experiences include distillery tours to learn about the history of whiskey in the West and how the spirits are created, educational whiskey tasting and dining at High West’s restaurant. The Lodge at Blue Sky and High West are both situated on Blue Sky Utah’s ranch land but are operated independently.
Gracie’s Farm is a one-and-a-half-acre organic farm run by gardener and farmer Lyndsey Gammon. Using holistic techniques and a no-till method, Gammon “grows the soil” to produces herbs, vegetables and flowers that will be used at Yuta resaurant. To extend the short high-altitude growing season, a green house is under development, which will include a rustic table for private dining experiences in which guests have the opportunity to harvest their own produce for use in their own bespoke menu. The farm is open to guests of all ages who are interested in learning more and participating in the farming process.
The Edge Spa will include five treatment rooms with views of the landscape, an open-air relaxation pool, a variety of products that utilize bloom-to-bottle ingredients, and fitness training and mindful pursuits that includes aerial and vinyasa yoga and guided meditation. Pre-treatment rituals include slowing down in the relaxation area and detoxifying in the steam room and sauna. Spa services will range from body and facial treatments to seasonal services and signature offerings, such as the detoxifying High West Whiskey Rubdown, incorporating whiskey from the distillery.
For weddings, retreats or group gatherings, The Lodge at Blue Sky offers a range of indoor and outdoor space. The 8,000-square-foot Arena, is an indoor/outdoor venue, located in a blue barn with wood flooring and oversized picture windows. Set against the Wasatch and Uinta mountains, The Terrace is an outdoor patio adjacent to the Arena where guests can enjoy al fresco cooking, grilling lessons, a bonfire area for outdoor campfires or use the space as an interactive food station. Additional venue space includes the Remuda, a 30,000-square-foot arena that can be transformed into a partially covered event space. The Yurt is can be used for private lunches and dinners, whiskey tastings, a venue for private yoga or guided meditation. Additionally, the Yuta’s Private Dining Room and 670-square-foot Wine Room offer intimate venues for private dinners, meetings and cocktail functions.
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