Page 22 - September 24

The bobsled experience at the Salt Lake City, Utah, Olympic Park reaches 70 mph and runs year-round by modifying the sleds to roll on the concrete surface May through September. (credit: Visit Salt Lake)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Hosted 2002 Olympic Winter Games
Salt Lake City is the most recent U.S. destination to host the Olympics and these three venues developed specifically for the 2002 Winter Games are worth exploration within 50 miles of the city. Rent skates and take laps at Utah Olympic Oval, called “the fastest ice on Earth” because the 400-meter oval holds the most Olympic world records. They also offer speedskating and curling lessons at the indoor speedskating venue. The 400-acre Utah Olympic Park houses a sliding track, six Nordic ski jumps and two museums. Take tours or step up the adrenaline by hitting 70 mph on the bobsled experience. The course is run year-round, modifying the bobsled to roll on the track’s concrete surface from May through September. Other summer capers include tubing down the ski jump landing hills, an alpine slide, ziplines and aerial adventure courses. The complex also houses a ski museum, a winter games museum and winter sports virtual reality rides. Soldier Hollow Nordic Center is a nature reserve that offers nonstop recreation, including mountain bike rentals, winter tubing and a year-round biathlon experience.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Hosted the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
The 2010 venues in western Canada stretched 70 miles
from the island city of Richmond, through downtown
Vancouver and north to Whistler, a town built in the
1960s with hosting the games in mind. Head to Whistler
Blackcomb, the largest ski resort in North America, to ski
or snowboard on the Olympic/Paralympic courses. Also
experience the Olympic legacy at Whistler Olympic Park
with cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing
plus year-round biathlon. Winter or summer, on ice or on
wheels, you can slide like an Olympian at the Whistler
PHOTO CREDIT: RICHMOND OLYMPIC OVAL
You can relive some Olympic sports at
the Richmond Olympic Experience near Vancouver, British Columbia, through their virtual simulators which were developed with athletes to recreate their experiences.
Sliding Centre. Passenger bobsled is available year- round and from December to March you can slide solo on your own skeleton sled. Once the long track skating events venue, Richmond Olympic Oval is now an indoor multi-sport and fitness center where you can public skate or relive other sports via virtual simulators inside the Richmond Olympic Experience. Developed with athletes to recreate their experiences, these include a sit-ski race down an Alberta slalom course, bobsledding the Vancouver Olympic track and surfing a Costa Rican wave. KA
20 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER 2024