My Town: Donny Osmond’s Picks for Provo

Donny Osmond, 65, is currently busy in Las Vegas performing at his Harrah’s residency, but the prolific entertainer has called Provo, Utah, home for decades. He shares the favorite Provo-area spots that he and his wife, Debbie, like to visit with friends and family, including their five sons and 13 grandchildren. 

Make a reservation at … 

The Tree Room at Sundance is Debbie’s and my favorite place. And when you say “favorite place,” obviously you talk about the food, but it’s much more than that. It's the experiences you have had at a restaurant. It was where I had one of the first dates with Debbie [and] … one of my sons got engaged there. ... If we ever want to go out to a really nice restaurant and have a really nice meal with a great atmosphere, we look at each other and say, “Yeah, it's the Tree Room.” It’s the ambience, and the fact that [Robert] Redford kept it very rustic. Even after he sold the property, they had a deal they would keep it rustic. That's what we love about it. … It takes us back to some real innocent years of the ’70s when we first started dating.

Insider tip:

Sometimes in The Tree Room, they won't have my favorite [item on the menu], but it’s a little secret. I guess I can let the secret out: Pepper steak may not be on the menu, but they always have it in the kitchen. So I can’t say that I'm a true vegan. I call myself a “cheagan” because I cheat, but after you taste the pepper steak, you’ll understand why.

The Tree Room at Sundance is a sentimental favorite for Osmond and his wife, Debbie. They're seen above dining at the restaurant in 1977 and then 40 years later in 2017.

Both photos courtesy of Osmond

Take the family shopping at …

The Shops at Riverwoods. They have live music there. Every spring or summer they have all these artists come, and they do chalk and make paintings on the cement. It’s so fascinating. They decorate the entire place up. They have bistro lights everywhere, firepits in the winter, waterfalls. It’s so cool. … It’s just a fun place to bring the kids.

Osmond and his family enjoy shopping and taking in the sights and sounds at The Shops at Riverwoods.

Osmond

Go for a hike at … 

Mount Timpanogos [in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest]. Oh my goodness, I think it’s almost 12,000 feet high, so it’s an all-day excursion, and there’s a place called Emerald Lake halfway up. There’s a trail called Timpooneke. There’s a couple trails to get up there, but Timpooneke is the best one. It's hard. It takes you all day. You gotta start at 5, 6 in the morning, and you get back at night. But if you can summit it … the vista up there is amazing. Some people … start late morning, early afternoon and they’ll camp at Emerald Lake, and they’ll summit it the next day.

The second-highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range, Mount Timpanogos features miles of hiking trails and stunning views.

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