Park City Olympic Park Bobsled and Comet Bobsled Experience: Is It Worth It for Kids?

I have driven past the Utah Olympic Park bobsled track at least 50 times before I finally booked the Comet bobsled experience for my husband's 40th birthday. We brought two of our older kids. They are still talking about it. So is the bruise on my husband's shoulder. Here's the honest mom-tested rundown of whether the Comet bobsled is worth it for your family - and what nobody tells you before you book.

The Quick Answer

If your kid is at least 13 years old and curious about Olympic sports, the summer Comet bobsled experience is a yes. If you have younger kids, take them to Utah Olympic Park as a museum-and-zipline visit, and save the bobsled for when they are older. The winter ride has a 16-and-up age minimum and is a different beast entirely.

Summer vs Winter Comet Bobsled

The Utah Olympic Park bobsled track operates year-round but the experience is different across seasons:

Summer Bobsled Experience (June through October, weather permitting)

• Cost: Around $125 walk-up
• Age: Riders younger than 18 require a parent or guardian to sign waiver. Minimum age varies but is generally 13+ for the cushioned summer sled. Ask at booking.
• Speed: Up to about 70 mph
• Duration: Less than a minute
• Surface: Wheeled bobsled on the concrete track
• Ride feel: Sharp, vibrating, surprisingly intense - more rollercoaster than scenic ride

Winter Bobsled Experience (December through February)

• Cost: Around $225
• Age: 16 years minimum, plus 100 pounds minimum weight
• Speed: Up to about 80 mph
• Duration: About 60 seconds
• Surface: Real ice track with steel runners
• Ride feel: 4-5 G's of force, bone-rattling, the actual Olympic sled feel - this is not a tourist ride, it is a closely supervised version of a competitive run

If you want the "Olympic experience," the winter ride is the real one. If you want a fun adrenaline thing the kids can do too, summer is the move.

Booking Reality

The 2026 ski season at Park City had record-low snow, and the bobsled saw a roughly 20 percent jump in public ride bookings - skiers needed something else to do. Translation: book in advance. Online preregistration is required and most weekend slots sell out 4-6 weeks ahead during peak summer and winter weeks.

Visit utaholympiclegacy.org. Pick a date. Book the time slot. Print or screenshot the confirmation. Show up 30 minutes early.

If you book and weather forces a closure (high winds in summer, track conditions in winter), the operations team will reschedule you for free. Note that weather closures happen more often than the website implies.

What to Expect on Ride Day

You arrive at the Utah Olympic Park visitor center, check in at the bobsled office, sign multiple waivers, and head to the equipment building. Pro driver gives you a 10-minute briefing about how to sit, how to brace, and what to expect. Helmet on. Cushioned sled in summer. Real bobsled in winter.

You ride in a four-person sled with a professional driver in front and a brakeman in back, leaving you and possibly one other paying rider in the middle two seats. The actual ride is screamingly short - 50 to 60 seconds total. Yes, you absolutely have time to feel scared.

The summer ride leaves your back, neck, and shoulders feeling like you went two rounds with a vibrating chair. The winter ride leaves you feeling like a rag doll. In a good way.

What to Wear and Pack

For the summer bobsled:

• Tight-fitting layers. Loose clothing flaps in the wind.
• Closed-toe athletic shoes. No sandals.
• Sunglasses. The track is open and reflective.
• An insulated travel mug with coffee or hot tea. Mornings at the park can be chilly even in July.
• A waterproof phone pouch. Photos from the track railing are part of the experience but you'll be doing other Olympic Park activities like the splash pad.

For the winter bobsled:

• Tight-fitting cold-weather layers. No bulky parkas - they restrict movement in the sled.
• Real winter boots. The walk to the start house is on packed snow.
• Slip-on traction cleats like Yaktrax over your boots for the icy walk back.
• Hand warmers. The track is COLD. We always pack extra disposable hand warmers when going to the Olympic Park in winter.
• A neck gaiter. The wind on the slide down is brutal at 80 mph and 25 degrees.
• Packing cubes for the gear bag - we throw our packing cubes in the SUV trunk to keep wet from dry.

Things to Do at Utah Olympic Park If the Bobsled Is Too Much

The full park is the better family destination if your kids are under 13. The day pass includes:

• Drop tower / Quicksilver Alpine Slide - kids 3+ with a parent
• Three different ziplines at varying lengths and heights - height and weight requirements vary
• Discovery zipline ropes course for kids 7+
• Olympic museum with the actual gold-medal bobsled from Salt Lake 2002
• Freestyle aerial pool - in summer, you can sometimes watch elite freestyle skiers training and landing in the pool
• Discovery Tubing Park in winter - a regular tubing hill with handle tow
• Cross country trails in winter for free

Honest Pros and Cons

Pros

• Genuinely one-of-a-kind. Only one of two operating bobsled tracks in the U.S.
• The Olympic legacy element is meaningful - it is a real venue from Salt Lake 2002
• Kids who are at the right age remember the day for life
• The walk-up summer price is reasonable for the unique factor

Cons

• Very short ride for the price
• Real risk of bumps, bruises, and rattled necks - this is a contact sport adjacent activity
• Age and weight minimums exclude the youngest kids
• Books out fast in peak weeks
• Weather closures are real

The Mom Verdict

Worth it for kids 13 and up who are excited about it. Skippable for kids under 10 - they will get more out of the ziplines and museum visit. Worth it for moms with anxious-but-curious teens because the ride is so short that even if it is intense, it is over in less than a minute. Worth it for husbands turning 40 who want to feel something. Definitely worth it for anyone whose kids have been trained on Cool Runnings (still the best bobsled movie ever made).

Book at utaholympiclegacy.org, show up 30 minutes early, and bring a hand warmer for everyone in the family. Even your husband. Especially your husband.