For a low-effort Utah mountain adventure, take a lift to the trailhead

As the Sterling Express lift rose out of Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Village, I felt like a bit of a slacker. Lift-served hiking can’t really be hiking, right? No exertion, no wayfinding, no bribing my kid up a mountain with gummy worms, no complaining, no sweat. Just a pretty ride.

I probably wouldn’t even have thought to try it if not for the ride vouchers my family received with lodging during a weekend staycation in Park City.

But it turned out to be a great, easy morning in the mountains with small children. I also can see lift-served trails as a nice opportunity for your out-of-town visitors to see the peaks if they otherwise might struggle with the thin air or long ascents — challenges that may be hard for our friends in low places to adapt to. And with several Utah resorts spinning their lifts into the autumn, it will be a low-key way to take in the fall colors.

At Deer Valley, a $20 ticket takes an adult up two lifts ascending a total of 2,200 feet, to the top of Bald Mountain, with its sweeping views of Wasatch peaks and Jordanelle Reservoir (the cost is $15 for seniors and children 5-12, free for kids under 5).

From there, the Ontario Trail winds around flowered sagebrush slopes and into aspens and old-growth conifer forests, with long stretches where you might forget you’re in a ski resort.

After you hike the 1,300-foot descent (bring poles), the restaurants at Silver Lake Village serve up some gourmet treats. My friends and family enjoyed the summer afternoon with a Dungeness crab tower and watermelon cocktails at Royal Street Cafe.

It’s not rustic. It’s not hard. It’s not the kind of thing you brag about having accomplished. But like glamping, lift-served hiking is a relaxing break from goal-setting and a way to get some fresh air from the lap of luxury.

For more details on the Ontario Trail, click here for a related Hike of the Week.

Summer and fall lift rides at Utah resorts

• Deer Valley: Lifts run daily until Sept. 4, weekends until Sept. 17.

• Snowbird: Peruvian Chair (must be 42 inches tall to ride) runs daily until Aug. 27 and Aerial Tram (all ages) runs daily until Oct. 9; both run on weekends until Oct. 15.
  

• Solitude Mountain Resort: Lift runs Friday-Sunday through Oct. 1 from Solitude Village.
  

• Park City Mountain Resort: Lifts run from the resort base area as well as the Canyons Village until Oct. 1, afternoons only Monday-Friday.
  

• Snowbasin: Gondola runs Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 8.
  

• Sundance: Ray’s and Red’s lifts run through Oct. 8.
  

• Brian Head: Lift runs Saturdays and Sundays through Labor Day weekend, when it will operate Monday, too. The lift will reopen Sept 16 for Rocktoberfest.
  

• Cherry Peak: Lift runs on Saturdays through Labor Day weekend.