Jocelyn Scudder: Executive Director
November is the month Park City holds its breath. The aspens have dropped, the summer crowds are long gone, and the lifts have not quite started spinning. Parking is easy. Main Street is quiet. You can get a table mostly anywhere.
Then, in the span of about a week, the whole town flips. Snow guns fire up, the first chair loads, and the holiday shopping season starts in earnest. November in Park City is two months wearing one name, and if you time it right, you get both. Here are 8 things to do in Park City in November, from shopping for local handmade gifts to somebody else cooking your Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Buy a handmade gift at the CREATE PC Holiday Makers Market
This is a must-stop visit for November events in Utah. The CREATE PC Holiday Makers Market turns the CREATE PC Local Artist Collective gallery into a gift-focused retail space stocked by local creative entrepreneurs, running from November through the end of January.
Dozens of Summit County makers fill one room: jewelry, ceramics, candles, prints, hats, woodwork, toffee, soap, letterpress cards, and photography. Every piece has a person behind it, and usually that person is a local of the mountain town.
The market opens with a free launch party on November 20th from 6-9 PM, featuring a DJ and mingling. After that, it keeps gallery hours, Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 6 PM.
2. Catch opening day on the slopes
Late November is when Park City stops being a sleepy mountain town and starts being a ski hub again. Park City Mountain typically targets the Friday before Thanksgiving for opening day. Early-season terrain is limited and snow-dependent, but nobody cares—the first turns are the first turns.
Deer Valley usually opens the weekend after Thanksgiving, so check both resorts before you commit, as opening days can shift with the weather. Park free and ride the bus. Park City transit is free year-round and beats circling a lot on opening weekend.
3. Ride the Alpine Coaster
Utah's longest alpine coaster runs more than a mile of elevated track at Park City Mountain, and riding it with snow on the ground beats riding it in July. Two-passenger cars, your own brake, speeds up to 30 mph. It runs as the Winter Mountain Coaster once the resort opens, usually on a shorter midday schedule, so check hours.
4. See a show at a local theater
Once the outdoor concert season ends, Park City's arts calendar moves indoors. The Egyptian Theatre at 328 Main Street is the heart of it: a 350-seat historic house with live productions nearly every weekend, and it turns 100 in December 2026. November typically brings touring music acts, a holiday musical, and youth productions in the Egyptian Studios Black Box next door.
Park City Film, Summit County's only nonprofit art house cinema, screens independent and documentary films most weekends at the library's Jim Santy Auditorium, often with a Q&A. For bigger touring acts and chamber music, Park City Performing Arts programs the Eccles Center all winter.
5.Visit a local gallery for a unique exhibit
Make an afternoon of gallery strolling, starting with free admission to rotating exhibitions at Kimball Art Center. On Friday, November 27, head to Gallery MAR at 436 Main Street from 6 to 9 PM for Geoffrey Gersten’s debut exhibition, ’50s Fabulism. His large-scale oil paintings bring vintage toys, matchbooks, and other everyday treasures from the mid-20th century to life in striking detail.
On the last Friday of every month, the Historic Main Street galleries stay open late, 6 to 9 PM, for the Park City Gallery Stroll.
6. Book a bobsled run at Utah Olympic Park
Park City has one of only four sliding tracks in North America, and you can ride it for an adventurous (and chilly) afternoon activity. The Comet Bobsled puts you on the actual 2002 Olympic Winter Games track with a professional pilot driving, hitting 60-plus mph and four to five times the force of gravity.
Winter sliding tickets move fast, so November is the month to book rather than ride. In the meantime, Utah Olympic Park is open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM with two free museums, and you can usually catch athletes training on the ski jumps.
7. Let someone else cook Thanksgiving dinner
One of the quietly great things about living in a resort town: you never have to cook on Thanksgiving. Most Park City restaurants run a holiday menu alongside their regular one, and the good times go fast, so book in the first week of November.
Hearth & Hill in Kimball Junction: family-style turkey feast across a long afternoon and evening window, and the easiest booking for a big group.
Butcher's Chop House on Main Street: prix fixe turkey dinner with pecan or pumpkin pie. Ask about the heated Alpenglobes on the patio.
Flanagan's on Main: a full Thanksgiving plate from late morning into the evening. The warm, loud, pub-table version.
Grub Steak on Sidewinder Drive: roasted tom turkey and harvest stuffing in an Old West lodge dining room.
Riverhorse on Main: holiday menu plus live music, for the dressed-up Main Street night.
Glitretind at Stein Eriksen Lodge: when the view matters as much as the meal.
Main Street also has a tradition of free, open-door Thanksgiving meals for anyone on their own, rounded up each year by the Historic Park City Alliance.
8. Try fly fishing when no one else is on the water
This is probably the most underrated thing to do in Park City in November. Our rivers are tailwaters, so dam-controlled flows stay stable and fishable all winter, and the Middle Provo and the Weber are both 20 to 30 minutes from town with empty banks this time of year.
Fall brings big browns and a strong blue-winged olive hatch, then the midges take over as it cools. Outfitters like Park City Fly Fishing Company and All Seasons Adventures run half-day trips that include gear, hot soup, and toe warmers. Dress like you are skiing, add waders, and start mid-morning.
November 2026 in Park City: Event Highlights
Everything listed above happens every November, but here are a few specific dates to watch out for in 2026:
Sunday, November 1: Día de los Muertos at CREATE PC. Free, with a community ofrenda, tamales, Pan de Muerto, face painting, sugar skulls, a photo booth, and Aztec dance by Calpulli Nican Axcan. Ofrenda contributions welcome starting October 20, from 2 to 5 PM.
Wednesday, November 4: The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County turns 40, and the celebration is at CREATE PC from 4 to 8 PM.
Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 8: The Sweet at the Egyptian Theatre. Glam rock behind “Ballroom Blitz.”
Thursday, November 19, through Saturday, November 21: Showtime! On Main Street at the Egyptian, tracing 150-plus years of Main Street stages, with theater tours on November 21.
Friday, November 20: A very big day—opening day at Park City Mountain, conditions permitting, the free CREATE PC Holiday Makers Market launch party that evening, and the Snow Globe Stroll going up along Historic Main Street, with the companion Gondola Art Stroll at Canyons Village running through April 2027.
Tuesday, November 24, through Sunday, November 29: A Christmas Story: The Musical at the Egyptian Theatre.
Friday, November 27: Last Friday Gallery Stroll, 6 to 9 PM, with a Taste of Park City theme featuring samples from local restaurants.
These dates change from year to year. For the most current November events in Park City, Utah, check out our events calendar. The Park City Events This Weekend page covers more current happenings, and our guide to Utah holiday events looks ahead to December.
Make the Most of November in Park City
November is the month for an unhurried itinerary. The first three weeks are the quietest, most local version of this town you will ever get, but the last week is a full holiday kickoff—so plan accordingly.
The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County is a nonprofit supporting local artists, arts organizations, and creative initiatives across the region. Through the CREATE PC Holiday Makers Market, Día de los Muertos, the Latino Arts Festival, grants, and public art, we keep arts and culture woven into everyday life here.
Visit the CREATE PC gallery Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 6 PM, shop the CREATE PC Holiday Makers Market when it opens on November 20, and check the events calendar for the full November lineup.
