Solitude Mountain Resort - Solitude, Utah - Ski Resort, European Styling, Shopping, Spa, Hiking

Solitude Mountain Resort has been transformed over the last several years. What used to be a locals-only, day area - has become a family friendly European-styled pedestrian village. This resort has always boasted spectacular scenery, cozy resort accommodations and an abundance of activities. Now it is an entirely different world.

Located half an hour east of Salt Lake City, Utah, just twelve miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon, is the Solitude Resort. The resort's Website promises "A world where the sense of calm and peacefulness can only be described as "solitude." It's a place of unrivaled beauty, a place where priorities slip back into place and you're free to reconnect with nature, with your family, friends, and with yourself.''

This quaint European style village has a wide range of accommodations, featuring luxurious condos with one to three bedrooms, to a forty-six room Bavarian style, first-class hotel at the Inn at Solitude. The Inn is designed to pamper and relax, with amenities such as an on-site spa, ski in/out convenience and an attentive staff.

Dining options at the resort are plentiful. You can choose family and fine dining, at Creekside Restaurant, or award winning country French cuisine at St. Bernard's. Adventurous diners take a 3/4 mile trek in either snowshoes or cross-country skis in the winter and hiking boots in the summer, to have dinner at The Yurt. Once you've arrived at this round, stationary tent structure you'll have a five-course meal prepared in front of your eyes. The Yurt seats twenty and is rated number seven on Sunset Magazine's best mountaintop dining experiences list. Back in the Village, the dinning options continue with the Stone Haus Pizzeria & Creamery, or have an adult beverage at the Thirsty Squirrel.

Ski resort statistics promise an annual average of five hundred inches of snow. There are over 1,200 acres of wide-open bowls, gladed tree runs, steep chutes and gently slopes that are never crowded. There is skiing and boarding for all ages and skill levels.

An entertainment option that is available for all Solitude lodging guests is something called Club Solitude. This "Club'' features large-screen movies in the media room, a game room, and an outdoor heated pool and hot tubs. At the Club you will also find a fitness room with state-of-the-art exercise gear. Solitude offers more than downhill skiing during the winter. There is also an ice-skating rink, Nordic skiing, and family-centered events such as story-telling and puppet shows.

During the summer you can explore miles of hiking and biking trails, take a scenic lift ride to the top of the mountain, or play a round at the novelty 18-hole disc golf course. You can fish nearby Big Cottonwood Creek or take your children under twelve fishing in the rainbow trout stocked Solitude pond.

The DeSeelhorst family developed Solitude Mountain resort over many years. This is the only development allowed in Big Cottonwood Canyon, so Solitude's Village feels isolated and unique. Since the European-style village was designed to maintain the serene mountain ambiance surrounding the resort, as the brochure says, "With quaint shops, exquisite dining, comfortable lodging amidst first-class service and amenities, there really is no place like Solitude.''