Park City's New Pickleball and Bocce Courts Come With Free Gear. Here's How Borrowing It Works

"They really are for everyone," Mayor Donna Scavo told WCLU Radio a few weeks after Park City's new pickleball and bocce courts opened. She described seeing a grandparent and his young grandson out on the pickleball court.

That picture is easy to recreate at Bell's Tavern Park, and you don't need to own anything to do it. The paddles and bocce balls are free to sign out at Park City Hall. The catch is when you can get them. City Hall keeps weekday office hours, so from now through the end of the year, the free version of these courts is mostly a weekday thing. Saturday play works fine if you show up with your own paddle.

What Opened on Sept. 26

The courts were formally opened during Park City's America 250 celebration on Sept. 26, which finished a recreation project that had been in the works for several years. The money goes back to a $26,838 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant announced for Park City in 2022. The first plan was bocce and basketball. The city later went with pickleball instead of basketball after confirming the grant allowed the change.

That swap is why a town better known for 31W traffic and cave signs now has a pickleball court next to a bocce court. The bocce side may need a quick lesson for first-timers. As WCLU explained it, players toss or roll their balls toward a smaller target ball called the pallino, and scoring goes by whose balls end up closest to it. It's an easy game to learn and slow enough to talk through, which suits the mixed-age outing the mayor described.

The courts join amenities the park already had. The City of Park City lists Bell's Tavern Park at 130–318 Old Dixie Highway, with:

• a bocce court and a pickleball court
• a bike repair station
• paved walking and biking trails
• a pavilion, restrooms, picnic tables, grills and gazebos
• a fenced playground with an ADA-accessible swing

That mix is what makes the courts work as a family stop. One adult can play while someone else walks the trail or keeps the kids busy on the playground, all within the same park.

The Gear Runs on City Hall's Clock

Borrowing starts at Park City Hall, 44 Mammoth Cave Street. The offices are in the back of the Senior Center, and the phone number is 270-749-5695. Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST, and the office is closed on federal holidays. You can also bring your own equipment.

That schedule shapes the next eight weeks more than the weather will. Here's how the office calendar lines up with the rest of 2026, starting from this Thursday, Nov. 5:

1. Most weekdays: The office is open until 4 p.m. That's the easiest window to pick up paddles or bocce balls, and a late-afternoon game after a midday pickup fits well before November dark.
2. Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day is a federal holiday, so plan on City Hall being closed.
3. Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving is also a federal holiday. Anyone hoping to wear off the turkey with a bocce match that afternoon will need their own set.
4. Saturday, Dec. 12: The office is closed on weekends, and that morning is the Hometown Christmas Parade anyway. More on that below.
5. Friday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day is a federal holiday, and the office is closed.

Every Saturday and Sunday is the same story: the courts are there, but the free gear is locked in the office. A household that plans to play more than now and then will find that a couple of its own paddles turn the courts into a seven-day option. For everyone else, a weekday stop at the Senior Center is the way in.

Right now the courts cost nothing to use, the gear costs nothing to borrow, and the park already has restrooms and a pavilion. The only real limit is the eight hours a weekday when someone at City Hall can hand over the equipment.

When City Hall Is Closed, Bald Knob Road Is Open

For weekend outdoor time that doesn't depend on borrowed gear, the closest paid option is Park Mammoth Golf Club at 823 Bald Knob Road, phone (270) 544-7200. The course's off-season pricing runs Oct. 26 through Dec. 31, and the difference from summer is real.

On a weekday round, the whole $15 drop comes from the greens fee, which goes from $64 to $49. The cart fee stays at $25 either way. The off-season also drops the in-season weekend rule that kept second rounds on the Championship Course from being booked before 2 p.m.

Little Mammoth is the club's par-3 course, and its nine holes cost $25 in both seasons, with all-day play at $50. A short par-3 round lets a beginner and a regular play together without a long afternoon, much like the bocce court down the hill. If you can't book a resident or senior tee time online, the club's booking site says to register in the golf shop, and resident or senior ID is required at check-in.

If you'd rather walk than swing a club, the National Park Service describes a 9-mile Mammoth Cave Railroad hike-and-bike trail you can reach from Park City. It's a gravel trail open year-round, and the park notes it can have potholes and steep grades.

Dec. 12 Puts the Whole Town on 31W

The one Saturday in this stretch with a fixed plan is the Hometown Christmas Parade. Visit Park City lists it for Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. in downtown Park City. The annual parade is held on the second Saturday in December, loops through town and comes straight down 31W.

Bell's Tavern Park sits on Old Dixie Highway, so a family heading downtown that morning can pair the parade with a walk on the paved trail or a few rounds of bocce. City Hall is closed that Saturday, so bring your own paddles or balls if you want to play after the floats go by.

There's also a new building going up on the way into town. The roughly $6 million Mammoth Cave Market at 400 Mammoth Cave Parkway is under construction, with a gas station, liquor store, coffee shop and restaurant planned. WCLU Radio reported in October that the opening is tentatively expected early next year, with no firm date set. For this season, the free things to do in Park City are still the park on Old Dixie Highway and the gear in the back of the Senior Center.

When buyers I work with ask about Park City, small details like a free paddle at City Hall or a $25 par-3 course up the road tell them as much about daily life as the house does. If you're thinking about a home where an afternoon game is a short drive or walk away, Shauna Gravil knows these towns street by street and is glad to help. Schedule a free consultation and let's talk about what you want close to home.