At The Lodge at Blue Sky, sustainability is the new luxury.
This high-end resort is 30 minutes from Salt Lake City and encompasses 3500 acres of pristine mountain beauty. Instead of positioning the lodge directly by the entrance gate, the hotel, suites, and river houses are nestled into a picturesque canyon by a creek, a location which required no tree removal. This was a brilliant idea both environmentally and aesthetically: The views are exquisite. An infinity pool, decks with fire pits, and roof garden harmonize with the surroundings and heighten the natural beauty.
The buildings are constructed using stone sourced from a nearby quarry and local cedar. The event space/banquet hall known as “the Arena” (which was home to an excellent Taco truck called Taco Cat when I visited) was constructed from wood reclaimed from a nearby church. The Earth Suites are built into the hillside and their roofs are covered in native grasses. They even have their own wastewater treatment facility, which cleans the waste water so thoroughly, it is released back into the creek.
There are no single-use plastics. Instead, guests are given insulated reusable bottles to use during their stay and electric bikes to get around the vast 3500 acre property.
Gracie’s Farm is their female-led regenerative farm which provides classes for the community and produce for their restaurant (I had the best beet salad of my life at their restaurant Yuta, which was made of produce grown entirely onsite and burrata made onsite from local dairy.) The bath products offered are also sourced and made locally.
Even their extensive offerings of activities are earth-friendly. The clay discs used for skeet shooting are biodegradable. Their horses are rescued Thoroughbreds and Mustangs and assist in their “meet the vet” sessions. They also offer heli-skiing, cold plunges, natural fabric dying, star gazing, rock climbing, 4x4ing, flyfishing, yoga, meditation, and much more.
Currently, The Lodge at Blue Sky is a 4-star resort, but only because their exceptional restaurant Yuta does double duty as the breakfast restaurant. Their expansion plans (which include a delightful yurt and second hotel building) will hopefully remedy this, giving them a new restaurant, more suites, and that fifth star.