Things to Do in Clearfield

The couple clasps hands as they begin to fall 150 feet, the far off mountains a silent witness to their impending plummet. Luckily, their descent is controlled—the duo is safely strapped into an electromagnetic zipline that speeds them from a platform along its wiry track back down to terra firma. Below their feet, Miller Motorsports Park’s upwards of 500 acres unfolds from the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Auto Museum to the 23 curves of the racetrack awash in the controlled chaos of zooming sports cars. Dedicated to celebrating fast-moving motor vehicles while schooling nascent Earnhardts in the art of speeding, Miller Motorsports Park upholds its vision via a variety of state-of-the-art facilities and thrilling classes.

Since its opening in 2006, Miller Motorsports Park’s 4.5-mile track has fielded the wheeled circuits of countless high-energy events, from the NASCAR Utah Grand Prix to the FIM Superbike World Championship. Expert instructors helm classes at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School and Yamaha Champions Riding School, teaching pupils the essentials of racing, including safety precautions and how to paint tunnels on rock faces to outsmart cartoon coyotes. Drivers of all ages can choose to zip around the go-kart track, burning rubber down its 900-foot straightaway.

When Utah High Adventure's staff members head into work, they don't sip coffee during meetings or ride the elevator up to an office on the ninth floor. Instead, they crash through raging whitewater rapids and rappel down the sides of canyons against a backdrop of sun-soaked red rocks. Years of training and education have earned them the certification and expertise to lead other thrill-seekers on rock climbs, which is more satisfying than scaling the granite backsplash of a neighbor's fancy kitchen. They also guide mountain-bike rides across Utah's rippling alpine trails. During the spring, summer, and fall months, the company hosts weeklong tours into the wild, which include lodging and equipment.

Play sessions at Monkey Mountain do more than help kiddies burn off bottled-up energy. Whereas open-play and drop-off sessions allow children to laugh and bound across forest-themed play areas, the center also nurtures children's intellectual and interpersonal skills. Staff members help kids develop social and collaborative skills by encouraging them to play with one another, whether by climbing the mini rock-climbing wall or navigating obstacles and slides inside the four-tiered jungle gym. Even toddlers can safely tumble in a supervised soft play zone. Drop-off services such, including Little Primates Play School, serve as supplement to formal pre-school courses and are offerred seven days a week. Camps, birthday parties, and other special events round out a full menu of frolic-friendly engagements. Additionally, Monkey Mountain works to improve the lives of endangered animals by contributing $0.25 of every child's admission to a featured charity year-round.

Park City was founded as a mining town, filled with miners that purportedly drank, gambled, frequented brothels, and committed crimes. Park City Ghost Tours’ guides delve into this illicit history during 70-minute walking tours. They investigate the sites most known for hauntings and chills while relaying the harrowing history of each. Tours begin nightly at 8 p.m., when the sun is thoroughly below the horizon and it gets harder to tell the difference between a zombie and a parking meter.

Gleaming under the pale light of the winter sun, blades slice along the smooth surface of Resort Center Ice Skating Rink, sending icy dust spraying in their wake. Surrounded by the quaint, Bavarian-style walls of the Village shopping center, the outdoor oval beckons guests wishing to discover what ice skating was like before indoor rinks confined it and ice sharks rendered neighborhood ponds off-limits. Periodically throughout each public-skate session, a zamboni buffs the subzero sheet to present skaters with a surface as smooth and gentle as the festive tunes filling the air. Guests circle around hand-in-hand, remarking on the surrounding Christmas lights and fir trees while fledgling skaters focus on their footing and grasp complimentary ice-skate trainers for balance.

Between pirouettes or mad dashes across the rink, hands can warm up with steaming mugs of hot chocolate in the skate house. Nearby, in the Village shopping center, more balanced meals can be found at Food for Thought or Kristi’s Café, refueling skaters before they explore more than 40 winter-gear hubs and gift shops.