Park City’s Fourth of July celebration is an ongoing tradition that goes big but retains a small-town feel. This year, it will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“We have a full day of activations and celebrates, and to add to that, we worked with the local America250 Utah celebration committee,” said Chris Phinney, Park City Municipal’s special events manager. “Everything else is such a big traditional celebration that we sprinkled in some America250 nods throughout. We’re putting up some streetlight banners that will have America250 logo, and we’ll add some America250 images to our drone shows at the end.”
Per tradition, the town’s July 4 festivities start at 8 a.m. on Saturday with a 5K fun run in support of Park City Ski & Snowboard, Phinney said.
“That takes place over at Park City Mountain, and it starts over at First Time/Silver King parking lots,” Phinney said. “You check in, and it’s a mile-and-a-half out and a mile-and-a-half back.”
The day pauses at 9 a.m. for the Rodney Schreurs Fallen Officer Memorial, which honors Schreurs, who was killed by an intoxicated driver on July 4, 1984, while directing traffic following a fireworks display.
The ceremony, which takes place at the Rodney W. Schreurs Centennial Park, 600 Main St., will include a program by the Fraternal Order of Police and the Park City Police Department.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to celebrate the fallen officer with public-safety staff officers who will sing the National Anthem and other songs,” he said.
One of the day’s highlights is the Fourth of July Parade that starts at 11 a.m., following a 10:45 a.m. flyover.
“The parade route runs from the Brew Pub lot on top of Main Street all the way down past Town Lift on 9th Street and then right onto Park Avenue until the intersection at Deer Valley Drive by Jans and Cole Sport,” Phinney said. “We’ll have somewhere between 60 to 70 floats when it’s all said and done.”
Park City Municipal recruits parade participants through an application, according to Phinney.
“We try to maintain that small-town feel by making sure those who are accepted are local, either local businesses or local residents,” he said. “But we do a pretty good job vetting the entries, and all of them are from Summit County and the Wasatch Back.”
One of the bigger challenges is to allow parade participants to distribute candy and other items in a safe manner, Phinney said.
The Park Record will participate and give out copies of a special commemorative newspaper, The Paradian, to those sitting along the route. A few copies will have golden tickets with family fun prizes.
“There are so many people, floats and (other vehicles) in the parade, and that does make it difficult to keep track of anyone who is walking or running in between the floats,” Phinney said.
Park City will close Main Street at 6 a.m. to prepare for the parade and Swede Alley will close at 7 a.m. to all traffic, except for those who will participate in the parade, Phinney said.
“We’ll also open the bus lane on Deer Valley Drive at 7 a.m.,” he said. “Park City Municipal really values our free transit system, and we want to make that the first and foremost choice for people to get to the parade.”
The public can park at Park City High School, Richardson Flat or any of the ski resorts and take free buses and shuttles to the transit center, located at the bottom of Swede Alley, and people can also walk or ride their bicycles in and park at various bike valet stations.
“If you end up driving, there will be a $30 flat rate to park at the China Bridge garage from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Phinney said. “Then it will be free from 1 p.m. to midnight.”
Once the parade wraps, the public is invited to walk over to City Par around 12:30 p.m., where an array of family-friendly games and food trucks start their shifts. A traditional activity is Park City’s rugby tournament, which will return even though City Park has been under renovation.
“The activities in the park run until 5 p.m.,” he said. “After that, it’s a good time for a nap or to get something to eat before the drone show at 10 p.m.”
The drone show, which Park City adopted years ago due to wildfire concerns, is made possible through a contract the city has with a company called Skyworx, according to Phinney.
“The show will take off around 10 p.m. from the base of Park City Mountain resort by First Time chair lift, and it’s about a 10 minute show,” he said. “We’ll have somewhere around 20 to 25 images that we go through, including ones that are popular with Park City, the skiers, golfers and mountain bikers. And then we have some patriotic ones and some America250 images as well.”
The Fourth of July celebration, especially this year’s, is a great opportunity for Park City to celebrate the United States, Phinney said.
“If you look into America250 websites, they encourage different things,” he explained. “You can volunteer. You can connect and have block parties and barbecues with your neighbors. So, it’s about getting people together to talk and tell stories.”
Stories of the past are important to Park City because the town has morphed throughout the decades.
“Storytelling is there where you can talk about what Park City is to you and take some pride in things you remember,” he said. “Park City is known as a town that is known for being friendly, touristy and having a lot of activities. So, even if you’re not an official volunteer, one way to volunteer is to be hospitable to those who are coming in for the event.”
Phinney grew up in Boston, which always has a big Fourth of July celebration.
“I have fond memories of going and watching the fireworks, but since I’ve been in Park City, the Fourth of July has definitely become my favorite day of the year,” he said. “You get to see a lot of friends and locals, and everyone’s usually in a good mood. The weather is usually nice and I like a parade.”
Park City’s 2026 Fourth of July Schedule
- 8 a.m. — 5k Fun Run in support of Park City Ski & Snowboard
- 9 a.m. — Rodney Schreurs Fallen Officer Memorial, 660 Main St.
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Annual Park City Friends of the Library Book Sale
- 10:45 a.m. — Flyover on Main Street
- 11 a.m. — Park City Fourth of July Parade, Main St.
- 12:30 p.m. — Food trucks, rugby, live music, and kids and family games, City Park
- 10 p.m — Drone Show at Park City Mountain