Short version: wondering about the road conditions near Salt Lake and Park City in late January, also may be looking for a place to crash for a few nights (willing to pay).



Longer version:
My girlfriend has been trying to talk me into driving her and a few friends to Park City for the Sundance / Slamdance film festivals later this month (Jan. 21-24). I haven't been through Utah since before I was old enough to drive, so I don't remember what the roads are like during the winter. Google Maps suggests heading north on I-15, US-189, and US-40, then west on UT-248. It doesn't really snow in or near Los Angeles, so many of our friends are afraid to drive in Utah in the winter. This is why I'm getting 'invited'; I've driven cars in the snow at our local mountains, AWD and 2WD, with and without chains.Should we be bringing snow chains and/or AWD vehicles as if this were a ski trip, or would a generic FWD or RWD car or SUV with all-season tires suffice?


We're still looking into hotels, haven't finalized any of that yet (a few other groups are going and we'll try to stay with them if the price is right). If any local rotorheads have spare rooms/couches/floors that are clean and warm, that would be awesome and I'd personally appreciate being around fellow car people for at least part of this trip. In addition to paying for your kindness, I live near Los Angeles (about 50 miles NW from Irvine where Sevenstock is held each year) and would be glad to return the favor.


Thanks for reading.
Scott

 

It mostly just depends on the weather, so check the forecast.

If its a blizzard, it won't matter much what you are driving. They might just close the roads up to park city. (I highly doubt that happens though)

In general, they keep the roads pretty well plowed, and one or two sunny days should melt everything off to dry pavement.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. You obviously wouldn't want to take your RX unless you knew for sure that the roads are going to be clean, but you should have no problem with a typical front wheel drive car. It's not like you'll have to go off roading or anything. Just slow down if you hit any icy patches.

 

i live about 45 minutes from park city. we have more snow than them right now and we only have maybe 6 inches in the yard and nothing on the roads. it has been a very mild winter. im also planning on going to sundace.