Pre-baby, my husband and I loved to recreate outdoors when we traveled. And we ate. A lot. Post-baby, we still love those things, but they can be harder to achieve. Vacationing with a 10-month-old is more an exercise in traveling than an opportunity to relax. It took a couple of road trips, a regional flight, and a cross-country flight to DC to realize we were returning from our vacations more worn out than before we left. We needed a vacation from our vacations, and we found the holy grail of destinations at Deer Valley®.

Why we hadn’t thought of taking a Deer Valley Resort staycation is beyond me. It’s easy to take things for granted when they’re in your backyard. Deer Valley is just 35 miles from Salt Lake City (no time change!), it is guaranteed to be cooler than the temperatures in the Salt Lake Valley, and is chock full of all the best amenities for a whole host of ages.

We started the adventure with my son Hank’s first chairlift ride, which carried us up to Royal Street Café at Silver Lake Lodge. It was a huge success! He was captivated with everything and it was as if the resort staff had phoned in perfect weather. For the record, their customer service is so good that it wouldn’t surprise me if they had.

Lunch at Royal Street Café is, in and of itself, worth a drive up from Salt Lake, so starting there was a safe bet. If you take away anything from this blog, please let it be my advice to order the blueberry mojito and the crab tower appetizer. Their photogenic appearances are only matched by their flavors.

Eating out isn’t always easy with a wiggly babe, but with Silver Lake being the mountain biking and hiking hub for the resort; there was plenty of activity to hold his short attention span. Plus the staff went above and beyond expectations by bringing us an unsolicited dish of baby-friendly snacks on the house.

Having sufficiently worked up a calorie surplus, a hike was next on our list and, I don’t know if it was the cool mountain air or general good vibes that seem to emanate from the entire resort, but Hank was a dream and you couldn’t avoid a good view if you tried.

Naps are key to keeping baby, and thus parents, happy and relaxed and when we started bumping up against naptime at 2 p.m., we worried about where to rest the baby. And again, Deer Valley came to the rescue when Silver Baron Lodge accommodated an early check-in for us. The best part was that everything was so close that my husband was able to sneak back up onto the trail for a quick mountain bike ride, while Hank (and definitely not me) took a nap. And after Hank (again, and definitely not me) woke up, we walked the most delightful paved trails right next to the lodge that hug the pond and lead to Deer Valley Grocery~Café. This is where we would end up eating breakfast the next morning, so it was important to scout our plan of attack ahead of time.

Insider Tip: Check out the Deer Valley Vacation Packages and Specials website or call a Deer Valley Vacation Planner at 800-558-3337 for help planning your trip.

Every Wednesday during the summer, Deer Valley hosts a free Grand Valley Bank Community Concert and it is a riot. It feels like every local is there. There is amazing food and of course wine. We ordered one salmon and one beef Gourmet Picnic Bag from Deer Valley and boy did we feel fancy. As one would expect, the picnic bag was not your standard fare. We were treated to short ribs and herb salmon with a cheese and fruit starter, all from the comfort of our picnic blanket. This was the perfect opportunity to take Hank to his first concert, because if it went poorly, we could just make the 10-minute walk back to the hotel.

You know what’s worse than a baby who doesn’t sleep in on vacations? Destinations that do sleep in, leaving you to wait hours to eat breakfast. Not so with Deer Valley Grocery~Café. They open at 7:30 a.m., seven days a week. Our walk to breakfast was gorgeous and breathing in the crisp mountain air was the perfect way to start the morning. It was warm enough, that with a light sweater we could sit out on the patio that overlooks the pond, and later in the day you could SUP or fish.

We cannot wait to return. Next time we need some rest, we know where to go.

Looking for more summer inspiration at Deer Valley Resort? Read A Perfect Summer Day at Deer Valley.

Originally written by Jessica Fredrickson for Deer Valley Resort.