Find Your Beach at Deer Valley with Stand Up Paddle
I do miss the beach. Don’t get me wrong. The love of the mountains is what brought me to Park City and their beauty keeps me here. But… if I could have the absolute best of both worlds, it would be on the water AND in the mountains. Guess what? I found it. Its called Stand Up Paddle (SUP) located at the ponds behind Deer Valley Grocery~Café. You can get your surfer culture on-the-water fix set off by the mountain backdrop.
My friend Lin and I stopped by for a Stand Up Paddle lesson. We met owner Trent Hickman and instructor Max Doilney who showed us the ropes. Max asked me if I’d ever surfed. No.
Skateboarded? No.
Snow boarded? No.
Canoed? Yes! There was hope for me.
We lacked experience but not enthusiasm. There were all kinds of boards to use and they started us on wider more stable boards. I went first hopping on the board to a kneeling stance and paddled around with no problem at all. So far –so good. This was pretty easy.
Next was standing up. I had some trepidation in moving from the kneel to a stand, which is really kind of silly, since the worst thing that could happen is I would get wet. I love the water and it was hot so a dip would have actually been fun. No worries, with the demonstration and instruction, we both easily stood up. We did it!
We were off! We paddled around the pond a bit to get a feel for the boards and practice our turns. Then we headed around the island for a workout.
Next we got to try something totally new – Paddle Board Yoga — an exercise in balance. We hooked the boards up to little buoys and sat cross-legged on the board to get in the yoga mindset. I was having trouble visualizing how I could do a “downward dog” pose without tipping over. Once I started, I realized it wasn’t difficult at all – it was a really cool way to practice yoga. I decided not to press my luck and left the “stand on your head” pose to the professionals.
Water, mountains, surfboards — all told I must say you can definitely “find your beach” at Park City Stand Up Paddle at Deer Valley Resort.
To learn more about Stand Up Paddle, go to PCSUP.
Check out SUP Yoga on Wed, Fri, and Sat mornings and Mad Max fitness class on Mon all starting at 10 a.m. at the Deer Valley Grocery~Café pond at 1350 Deer Valley Drive.
Participate or cheer on your favorite paddler at the Park City SUP Cup on August 24 at the Jordonelle Reservoir. Click here for more information.
The Official Blog of Deer Valley Resort
Yoga and Pilates are all about balance, alignment, and moving in a relaxed and flowing manner. Strength is not the primary purpose of these disciplines, but people definitely get stronger. The water provides a wonderful natural studio for practicing that alignment and relaxation. When we relax, our bodies are fluid. The water will structurally mirror the relaxation we’re able to achieve. SUP is a great addition to the summer recreation facilities at Deer Valley.
Trent and team are first class, the setting is amazing and kudos to Deer Valley for making it happen as a resource. Finally those of us paddlers from Salt Lake can send our friends to a complete environment for the entire family. He has the best boards, keeps an eye on newbies, anyone is welcomed.
Phil, I was surprised I didn’t fall off the board doing some Yoga moves! It was much easier to balance than I thought it would be (though I didn’t stand on my head either.) I think most people who have done yoga could do it on the SUP. The water added a very interesting dimension that I liked very much!
Nancy