Guardsman Pass
My wife and I drove west out of Park City on Kearns Blvd/UT-248W, past the USSA Center of Excellence, and down US-40 toward Heber City. Turning right on west River Rd/CR-3130 leads to the town of Midway where you come up to the Wasatch Mountain State Park Visitor Center.
Inside the center, in one corner there is a wildlife display of the animals native to the area including a large mountain lion - no worry, they are very tamely stuffed. Adjacent is a Miner's exhibit rock wall with pockets displaying examples of the various precious metals that were mined in the surrounding areas.
The day my wife and I stopped at the center several local Forest Rangers were giving fly fishing lessons to young kids in the large pond behind the center. I didn't see many fish, but then again it was a catch and release project. However, we did see a bunch of happy campers and happy rangers, too!
Guardsman Pass Road
Right from here Hwy 224 - the Guardsman Pass Road, heads up into the mountains as a nice, narrow two-lane paved road - but not for long. The road makes a sharp little bend to the left and promptly becomes gravel. " Maintained gravel" is the local term and the word is you can drive the route in a family car.
The family car part is true, we had a rented 4-door sedan but be aware that the road is steep. It also has washboard bumps in sections and takes some precarious switchback turns with not much for guard rails on the passenger side - my wife didn't notice since her eyes were closed most of the time.
After about 5 miles the road comes to a fork - left and up some more to Brighton, or right and down to Park City. With time constraints we choose to head back into Park City and to stop at some of the scenic turnouts that were all around the peak area.
Several areas where you can pull off offer some great views of Park City/Snyderville Basin and you can park and hike up for even more incredible panoramas and lots of wildlife viewing - earn your photo ops!
The road back into the Deer Park are is, of course, paved and still full of switchbacks but this time the scenery is some very nice homes and condo developments on both sides. Guardsman Pass road is a real nice way to spend a nice afternoon but remember it is closed in the late fall and winter so mark it on your things to do when visiting Park City in summer.
