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Hotel Park City (ENLARGE)

Take some time off from the great outdoors and experience an 'ah, spa' moment in the Hotel Park City spa.

Hotel Park City (ENLARGE)

Skiers and nonskiers can unwind by taking in a leisurely soak at the Hotel Park City's spa, which includes herbal-infused steam rooms and whirlpools.

BETSY CROSBY/Special (ENLARGE)

Blazing your own trail snowshoeing through the quiet air of Park City's community golf course has its own rewards but does require some sweat equity.

BETSY CROSBY/Special (ENLARGE)

A mountain lodge experience awaits at the Hotel Park City with balcony views, ringed by the Wasatch Mountains.

Betsy Crosby/Special (ENLARGE)

Non-skiers can get a close-up view of the action from the comfort of the Legacy Lodge patio at Park City Mountain Resort.

Park City, Utah — A friend claims that taking the family on a ski vacation is like going to the top of a mountain and throwing dollar bills into the air.

For those who've never been on a family ski trip before, it's not just the expense that's so daunting, but the sheer complexity of it all: the hours of travel, the rental of equipment, the ski lessons.

Add to that a fear of going downhill fast without brakes, and you've got a parent who can think of any number of reasons not to go skiing for spring break.

So how exactly did I find myself on a cold but sunny day in March at the base of the Park City Mountain Resort?

It had been my son's wish before his high school graduation that we join a group of his friends and their parents skiing for spring break. I had to agree that it was a more wholesome proposal than the hedonistic beach trip our daughter took her senior year to Aruba, two years before we learned there was indeed reason to be concerned about teens vacationing without parental supervision. It also crossed my mind that this might be the last spring vacation I'd ever spend with my soon-to-be-college-age son.

Seeking a spa/ski combination

But still I hesitated. Spring break, it turned out, was perilously close to my 50th birthday, and was likely to consume all of the dollars that might otherwise be spent on that luxury spa trip I had always envisioned. If we could make this a luxury spa resort and ski vacation, then I was in.

A quick search on the Internet led me to the Hotel Park City, a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World. It had everything I was looking for: a suite with a bed for me and a separate pull-out sofa in the living area for Sam, a small stone fireplace, a view of snowy fields edged by fir-dotted mountains, and best of all, a luxury spa. No doubt about it, we were going first-class.

To my surprise, it wasn't just our hotel that made our trip to Park City a first-class experience. It was the absolute ease of travel, the incredible vistas, and the genuine pleasantness of everyone we encountered. Admittedly, like any top-of-the-line experience, it was expensive. But as I tossed those dollar bills into the mountain air, I had the feeling it was worth it.

Our early morning flight landed at 10:30 a.m. Mountain Time, gaining us two valuable hours that first day. We rented a car with four-wheel drive and hit the road for the easy 35-mile drive to Park City. A brief lunch and rental of equipment at the base of the Park City Mountain Resort (including, even for my fashion-conscious teenager, a helmet) put Sam on the slopes by 2 p.m.

My son had only skied once before, in the fake snow of North Carolina. Park City, at an elevation of over 9,000 feet with a snow base in March of 80 to 90 inches, was a different animal altogether. We decided on a private two-hour lesson from one of the many young foreigners spending a year or two abroad as a ski bum. Though pricey ($200 in 2006, $40 more this year), the lesson proved to be a smart choice, especially because it came with a free afternoon ticket on the beginner slope, which alone cost about $60.

Being young, agile, and motivated, Sam was a quick learner. By 4 p.m., his Argentinean instructor pronounced him "ready for some greens, and maybe some easy blues," the color coding referring to ascending degree of difficulty: bunny slopes, greens, blues, and the dreaded blacks, favored by my son's fearless friends.

The faux-ski vacation

My only ski experience, 30 years earlier, had left me with a broken ankle, which did nothing to help my aversion to the sport. Having long been a fan of "aprés ski," I grabbed a tall glass of beer and found a seat on the sun-filled patio at the base of the lift, joined, as the afternoon wore on, by those of our friends not skiing due to various middle-age infirmities. We were clad in ski attire, so who was to know that we hadn't spent the first part of the day on the slopes? Besides, the people-watching was superb.

When we checked into the Hotel Park City in the late afternoon, we encountered a gracious lobby with rustic wood beams, a fire crackling in the stone fireplace, and a crisply uniformed staff, unctuously murmuring "my pleasure" at every turn.

Our room had all the amenities I was seeking and more, including a small washer and dryer and kitchenette and a granite-and-stone tiled bathroom that was a spa unto itself.

The lobby was jammed with healthy red-cheeked guests bound for the slopes, but it was the presence of that "world class" spa advertised on the Web page that had drawn me to this hotel. Before my arrival, I had booked a 25-minute "head, neck and shoulder massage" for the next morning, and an 80-minute full body therapy called "the Essence of Park City" for the final day of our trip. I resolved that this vacation would not be about self-indulgence so much as developing a sense of well-being with exercise, healthy eating, and mornings in the yoga studio.

The following day, with Sam dispatched to the slopes via the hotel van, I began my health regimen in the glass-filled Sleigh Restaurant on-site with a steaming bowl of steel-cut oatmeal. But I hadn't counted on the "head, neck and shoulder massage" completely undoing my resolve. To my shame, I found myself whiling away the afternoon back on that sun-filled patio near the ski lift. Before I knew it, the day was gone. Ski days tend to be short — the main lift closes as 4 p.m., and our boys, ravenous from all that exercise, were ready to eat at 6 p.m.

That evening our group ascended part of the mountain slope by Clydesdale-drawn sleigh heading to the Snowed Inn Mountain Lodge for a cowpoke-style dinner of prime rib, mesquite grilled chicken and fresh trout. Snuggled under lap-robes, we got a close-up view of the night ski slope, open from 4-7:30, which satisfied any latent desire I had to get to the top of the mountain. In the brisk air, the twinkling lights of the town below reminded us of Christmas, though the calendar read mid-March.

Watching the cross-country skiers

That night brought another six inches of snow, and the next morning I watched brightly clothed cross-country skiers swooshing past my balcony along the smooth tracks etched by a snow plow across what served as a community golf course in the summer. Charmed by the scene, I marched myself to the ski rental hut adjacent to the hotel.

Cross-country skiing, it appeared, required a certain amount of physical fitness, stamina, and skill. So at the last minute I opted to snowshoe instead, which I'd heard was "just like walking." Armed with what resembled a pair of high-tech tennis rackets and some ski poles, I tromped my way through the snow drifts, obeying orders not to walk along the groomed tracks lest I ruin them for the cross-country skiers.

Tromp, tromp, tromp. This was hard work. And yet, I was soon a convert. The air was crisp and quiet, the sun was warm, the views of the mountain were bracing, and I was having fun. I couldn't help thinking, however, that the cross-country skiers gliding along their groomed tracks were having a slightly easier time of it. Tomorrow, I told myself, I'd sign up for one of those lessons given, in the words of the rental staff to "never-evers" like me, a complete neophyte to cross-country skiing.

But first I had to tackle that 80-minute spa treatment. On the morning of our last full day at Park City, I had trouble rousing my son. He had been skiing hard, progressing rapidly under the tutelage of our friends, and he was exhausted. "I'm only going to ski a half-day today," he said, snuggling back into the down-filled covers. "I'm too tired. After all, this is supposed to be vacation."

Which helps explain what happened next. Appearing at the spa for my Essence of Park City experience, I was led to a vinyl-covered table, where I was scrubbed with sea salt, rinsed with hot water, coated with a buttery salve of orange and mango, and swaddled tightly in warm plastic-coated sheets, my arms pressed to my sides. My technician Laura then applied a 20-minute massage, first to my exposed head, neck and shoulders, and then to my feet. By the end of the treatment, I had trouble deciding whether I felt more like a queen or a corpse or the butter in Laura's little jar.

My friends called as I was dressing, and suggested that I meet them on Park City's old West-style Main Street. I tried to demur, relating plans to spend the afternoon learning how to cross-country ski.

"Oh, come join us," they urged. "Come sit and have a beer."

Then, drawing from the sense of calm and well-being I had developed in Park City, I replied, "OK, I'll be right there."

As Sam said, this was supposed to be vacation.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Park City is an easily navigated 35-mile drive from Salt Lake City, Utah. Thanks to the two hour time-change, a morning flight can put you on the slopes, or at the café overlooking the slopes, by midafternoon. Many airlines fly to Salt Lake City from Atlanta, but only Delta offers a nonstop direct flight. Expect to pay at least $350 for a round-trip ticket, and as much as $750 for a nonstop ticket during peak ski season, which runs from mid-December through March. You can save a little money by flying nonstop to Utah and taking a more circuitous route on return.

Where to stay

Room rates during peak season at the Hotel Park City start at $699 per night for an Executive Suite, which includes a king-size bed, a queen sofa sleeper, fireplace, kitchenette, private balcony and luxury bathroom. Rates can vary slightly mid-week. Among the offerings at the hotel's Alpine Spa and Health Club is the 80-minute Essence of Park City full body therapy, for $180. For hotel reservations: 435-200-2000, www.hotelparkcity.com. Book early: This small hotel fills up fast, though they recently added 32 units in adjacent cottages.

Just a few miles down the road from Park City is the even more luxurious Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley Resort, with ski-in, ski-out access. Snowboarding is not allowed at Deer Valley, which some view as an asset. Stein Eriksen's Troll Hallen Lounge, which overflows with movie stars and wannabes during the 10-day Sundance Film Festival each January is the perfect place for nonskiers and aprés skiers to watch the action on nearby Bald Mountain. Room rates start at $725 for a deluxe bedroom per night during the winter season, but ask about value rates in early December. For reservations: 435-649-3700, www.steinlodge.com.

A less expensive alternative is the Best Western Landmark Inn at 6560 Landmark Drive near the Park City Factory Outlets. Standard rooms start at about $150. Families with young children might like the rooms that open directly onto the heated indoor pool. 1-800-548-8824.

Where to eat

You can get to the top of the slope at the Park City Mountain Resort without ever donning a pair of skis. Ride in a sleigh pulled by Clydesdale horses from the Snowed Inn Sleigh Co. to the mountain-top lodge for a generously portioned cowpoke dinner. $79 per adult, $49 per child for sleigh ride and dinner. Reservations: 435-647-3310, www.snowedinnsleigh.com.

For a good saloon meal, visit Park City's Old West-style Main Street. Grab a brew and a burger at Bandits Grille and Bar at 440 Main St. (435-649-7337) or the Hungry Moose Pub & Grill at 438 Main (435-649-8600).

Linger for a while at the Legacy Lodge patio next to Park City Mountain Resort's Payday Lift, and no one will know you're a non-skier.

Activities

The Park City Mountain Resort offers Ski and Snowboard School, with both group and private lessons. Equipment rentals are also available at the base of the PayDay Lift. Reservations: 1-800-222-7275, www.parkcitymountain.com.

White Pine Touring Nordic Center offers cross-country skiing and snowshoe tours (even in moonlight), as well as equipment rentals. They also teach "never-evers" how to cross-country ski. Located at the Park City Golf Course, 1541 Thaynes Canyon Drive; 435-649-8710; whitepinetouring.com.

Park City offers a myriad of activities for the non-skier, or the skier who needs a break from skiing, though middle-aged types should be forewarned: most involve a combination of risk, speed and cold weather. Try the bobsleigh ride at Utah Olympic Park, www.utaholympicpark.com; snowmobiling, www.snowmobileparkcity.com or tubing at Gorgoza Park, www.gorgozapark.com. If relaxation is your goal, consider swimming or snorkeling in the 90-degree mineral water at the natural Homestead Crater, www.homesteadresort.com.

Information

For general information on Park City, visit www.parkcityinfo.com.