Deer Valley Resort and the Summit Pride Foundation celebrated the end of Pride Month by meeting people where they’re at: by bringing the community together for a day of mountain fun that emphasized togetherness and belonging.
Mountain Pride Day at Deer Valley began in 2024 as a way to celebrate Pride in an outside setting that feels intimate and relaxed. What started with a Pride ride, bringing mountain bikers together for a day on wheels, has expanded to include all-around mountain lovers.
“We made a Mountain Pride that could be a day-long celebration and also cater to people where they’re at,” said Emily Summers, director of communications at Deer Valley. “We wanted to make sure there were activities kind of for everyone to be involved in and make it more inclusive.”
With live music from DJ Bentley, morning yoga taught by Park City Yoga Collective, a communal coloring board and a group ride down the Ripple trail, the mountain was a place for everyone on Sunday.
For many attendees, the appeal of Mountain Pride lay in its calmer, more grounded atmosphere. Bikes and yoga mats were favored over city parades and packed clubs.
“We like something a little calmer than Salt Lake City Pride. It can be overwhelming, and this is much more our groove. Mountain biking, yoga, it’s our everyday vibe,” said Jessica Webb.
Webb attended the morning’s free yoga session on the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheatre stage with Amber Bradshaw. Webb and Bradshaw came to Deer Valley from Salt Lake City, happy to get out of the heat and celebrate the day together in a beautiful place doing the things they love.
“What today means to me is just inclusivity,” Bradshaw said. “Everyone can be here and be their authentic selves and enjoy nature.”
Morning yoga welcomed more than 30 people, and it was designed to be multigenerational, approachable and accessible to anyone who wanted to join in.
“We are celebrating Pride and being outside in the mountains,” said Sarah Gass, who brought her husband and son along for the event. “My husband is so good at yoga, and I’m learning, but we’re happy to be here together.”
That focus on creating space for family, friends and LGBTQ+ allies allowed the event to foster important conversations, even for newcomers.
Sarah Hall was encouraged to join the celebrations when planning a morning ride with a friend, Joel. As an avid yogi, Hall was excited to take the morning class with her young daughter before hitting the trails.
“It’s a great way to start the conversation, to explain what it means to be gay and to be prideful and why it’s important. It helps contextualize why our friend Joel likes this day, and for my daughter to understand why some families look different from ours,” said Hall.
Kenzie Bauer and Malee Gardner are avid riders who were thrilled to have the space to celebrate outside of the parade scene.
“It’s not a protest,” said Bauer. “We’re here to celebrate who we are, with people who do the same things we do.”
Bauer and Gardner had attended the inaugural Mountain Pride Day last year and said the event resonated with them profoundly.
“It’s a Pride event that actually registers with me. It is great to have a community event that is about just being prideful, not as much about being drunk. It’s a celebration, and it’s just fun,” said Gardner.
The partnership between Deer Valley and the Summit Pride Foundation afforded the LGBTQ+ nonprofit with a portion of all proceeds from lift ticket sales on Sunday. At last year’s event, Summers said the donations totaled more than $5,000.
Summit Pride also hosted an opportunity drawing with everything from party shirts to fresh bike equipment donated by other community partners, valued at more than $1,000.
As the event continues to grow, organizers are already seeing ways to deepen the experience and amplify local voices. Several community-based organizations like Radical Adventure Riders and Park City Bike Racing were present this year to offer support and engage with the event’s participants.
More than 400 guests visited the mountain on Sunday, interacting with the day’s Pride festivities both indirectly and not. Some were spontaneously beckoned by temporary tattoos and stickers and others contributed through their lift ticket donations.
“Everyone here is celebrating whether they know it or not,” said Summit Pride Board President Virginia Solomon. “Even as day bike coaches were coming through, they were grabbing flags and stickers and saying hello even if they were going out to other places on the mountain.”
This kind of visibility is what the event is all about, said Summers. In the future, she expects that the event will feature more local nonprofit partners, spreading their resources to the community in support of Pride Month.
“It’s really just getting people on the mountain in an accessible way, whether you just want to come up and take a scenic ride or dance to the DJ,” said Summers.
The original Pride ride also expanded for its second year, with over 25 riders gathering at the top of Homestake Express before descending the Ripple trail together. Riders spanned all ages, from kids in glittery face paint and flags to seasoned locals in rainbow kits.
