The Park City Historic Mine Route officially opened to the public on Miners Day.
The route, organized by the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, combines two of Park City’s most important attractions: history and outdoor recreation.
The Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History worked with the Mountain Trails Foundation to incorporate existing trails along 24 historic silver mining sites to create the 7-mile route. The pinnacle is the recently restored Silver King Mine sitting near the eastern boundary of Park City Mountain.
“There’s a genuine destination (to the hike),” said Colleen Logan, marketing manager for the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History. “It’s so rich, there are so many stories to learn about.”
Almost the entire route follows existing trails, with new wayfinding signs marking the Historic Mine Route. The Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History also created interpretive signs to tell stories at specific sites and QR codes linking to the trail’s audioguide via the TravelStorys app.
Logan said another great thing about the trail is the variability.
The route starts on Main Street and stretches 7 miles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain when hiked in full.
“You definitely feel a good workout, but it’s in sections, so you don’t feel like you’re just walking straight uphill,” Logan said.
A more moderate option is to ride the Town Lift or Payday Express lift from Park City Mountain to the mine, and hike down Empire Canyon. This shortens the route to 3.4 miles and reduces elevation gain while allowing hikers to visit 15 historic sites. The easiest way to explore the historic mine route is by an out-and-back trail from Main Street to Empire Canyon.
There’s a 10-mile bike trail to view the Historic Mine Route, too. It follows the same path as the 7-mile hike, with a short diversion around the hiker-only Trestle trail.
The downhill section past the Silver King Mine and through Empire Canyon is densely packed with mine sites, including the Silver King Mill, the next Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History restoration project.
Logan said one of the nonprofit’s goals for the route is to “make Main Street your trailhead.” Parking, water and restrooms are easy to find at the start of the route near the Park City Museum.
The route is described by the nonprofit as an “open-air museum,” but Logan still recommended stopping by the Park City Museum before hitting the trails.
“It really is a complement to go to the museum before or after you do the hike,” Logan said. “The museum helps explain things at a level of detail you can’t get when you do the hike, but the mountain experience brings an ‘ah-ha’ moment to what you see at the museum.”
Whichever route is taken, the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History hopes the new Historic Mine Route can teach people about the sites they might have often skied, biked or hiked past.
“It takes something that may be familiar, but now (you) know something about it. Now you know the stories,” Logan said.
Details of each route can be found online at hmr.parkcityhistory.org.