The most populous city of the state of Utah, Salt Lake City, is filled with one of the most fun and adventurous things to do.
This city is laced with rich culture, religious history, adventurous places to explore, and various sources of entertainment. In this case, it always leaves us in a dilemma: where to start and where to visit first to make the most out of our day.
15 Things To Do in Salt Lake City
Here are some suggestions for the best things to do in Salt Lake City to make every second of your day worthwhile.
Also, to make your trip to Salt Lake City even more memorable, check out Bookmundi. Besides organizing your trip, Bookmundi also offers various exciting activities and elevates your travel experience.
1. Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City
As in the expanse of approximately 1700 square miles, Great Salt Lake covers plenty of opportunities to adventure and explore.
In this largest natural lake of Utah, you can either birdwatch, sail, kayak, float, hike, go on a sunset voyage, take in the spectacular view, or walk around on te dunes. All in all, you can have an adrenaline rush and then get soothed by the calmness of nature there.
In the close by of the Great Salt Lake, there is a resort, Saltair, which is currently being used as a concert venue. So, after a day of exploring outdoor sports, you can have a peaceful night there.
The Great Salt Lake is the remnant of Lake Bonneville, and if you take a tour around the salt lake valley, you can still see the residuals of the shoreline of Lake Bonneville in the form of terraces in the mountainsides.
The Great Salt Lake is very shallow, and the area it covers solely depends on the amount of ice that melts. Still, it contributes to an amazing day-long tour.
2. Natural History Museum of Salt Lake City, Utah
Undoubtedly, one of the coolest things to do for history lovers and science fanatics is to visit the Natural History Museum of Salt Lake City, Utah.
This Utah museum exhibits natural history subjects with a special emphasis on the Intermountain West and Utah.
The museum showcases the natural world through the eyes of scientific inquiry, mutual cultural experiences, including Utah folk art, educational outreach, and engagement of humans in the past, present, and future of the region.
It is also an architectural jewel, making this museum figuratively and positioned at the portal of culture and nature. With special permanent exhibitions featuring sky, land, smell, touch, and other senses, visiting this museum is one of the most worthwhile Salt Lake City fun things to do.
Natural History Museum of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a part of the University of Utah and covers more than 500 years’ worth of information on Salt Lake City.
3. Temple Square, Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Surrounded by lush greenery and spanning almost ten acres, Temple Square is used as the Church Latter Day Saints headquarters. But to visit this salt lake’s unique attraction, you don’t need to share the same faith in religion.
Originally, Temple Square was referred to as the single square block in which the temple was located. However, now, it relates to the whole league that contains the temple, visitor’s center, tabernacle, and the assembly hall.
Temple is regarded by the Latter Day Saints church as holy and is not open for visitor’s tours, but you can take free tours of the Conference Center, ground, and historic residences.
4. Liberty Park, Salt Lake City, Utah
It is a prized urban oasis in the middle of Salt Lake City, accenting a pond with two islands and over 80 acres of lush greenery.
Liberty Park has various public facilities, including swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic areas, volleyball courts, an almost 1.42 miles long paved trail for jogging, restrooms, concession stands, bowery, a greenhouse, and seasonal amusement rides.
It is one of the best things to do if you want to have a fun day with your kids or a picnic with your colleagues with its various options for fun things to do, all with the added benefit of the lush green beauty of nature.
This park was first bought from the estate of Bingham Young back in 1881. It is also the location of Tracy Aviary and Isaac Chase Mill and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
5. Family History Library, Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Family History Library in Salt Lake’s a free for the public, a genealogical research facility operated by the Family Search, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
People in Salt Lake are very forward-looking and dynamic, but, you accept it or not, everyone has a story that extends back to our previous generations, to our ancestors. Whether it contains a family feud or a tale portraying their royalty, and you will find it very surprisingly engaging when you start reading about these tales and records.
So, at some time or another, everyone feels the urge to look back at the lives of their ancestors and entertain them, whether it is a curious teenager or an adult in the throes of old age. And thanks to the Family History Library, it is possible in Salt Lake City, Utah.
There are some genealogy activities for everyone in this library, and although it is closed right now, it will soon reopen at the historic Temple Square.
6. Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah State Capitol, a very magnificent and elegant building located on Capitol Hill, overlooking the beautiful Downtown Salt Lake City, is one of the best tourist attractions in Salt Lake City.
This Utah State Capitol building is an architectural masterpiece compared to the Parthenon of Greece in several of the old newspapers and magazines. Lucky for us, this one-of-a-kind masterpiece is open for visitors.
Spanning over almost 40 acres, the Utah State Capitol has well-maintained and sculpted lawns, gardens, flowerbeds, shrubs, and trees. Gardens feature plants native to Utah and are completely open for visitors to take a peaceful walk.
Utah State Capitol grounds are filled with monuments and memorials in every path that commemorates those who have come before.
Like on the west grounds, it is a Vietnam Memorial commemorating the natives who died in the war. And in the east, a monument stands in honor of the Mormon Battalion and the Mormon culture.
So, you can take a trip and enjoy this blend of past and future in the form of an elegant architectural masterpiece.
7. Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, Utah
If you are bored and desperately looking for some fun things, visiting Utah’s Hogle Zoo is one of the best ideas in salt lake city.
Located at the foot of Wasatch Mountain Range, this zoo is one of Salt Lake City’s top tourist attractions and home to various animals from diverse ecosystems.
Spanning almost 42 acres of land, this zoo showcases diverse exhibits, and each one of them illustrates different ecosystems.
Like the Asian highlands exhibit, Siberian tigers, Siberian lynx, Koyla, Amur leopards, snow leopards, and Pallas’ cats. The African Savannah exhibits reticulated Giraffe, Ostrich, Egyptian Geese, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra, and Guinea Fowl.
Rocky Shores exhibits polar bears, grizzly bears, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Bald Eagles. And the Elephant Encounter exhibits African elephants, Southern White Rhinoceros, and an Elephant herd.
You can even get the guides for a better experience in this multi-diverse zoo and have a day filled with fun activities.
8. City Creek Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Located near Temple Square in the downtown area, visiting City Creek Center is one of the best spot if you like shopping or are looking for a good time in an elegant restaurant.
Covering almost 700,000 acres of land, City Creek Center is probably the biggest mall in Salt Lake City. It contains more than 90 restaurants and various shops inside of it.
It comprises a complex upscale open-air shopping center, offices, fountains, residential buildings, and an artificially stimulated creek. The creek runs through the center of it.
When you go there, you can also see a sky bridge for pedestrians over Main Street and is elegantly decorated with a huge glass ceiling that is moved in and out according to the weather. The glass ceiling, on the days when it is secured in, serves as a retractable skylight.
9. Clark Planetarium, Salt Lake City, Utah
Visiting Clark Planetarium is one of the most worthwhile things to do, featuring various opportunities from entertainment to diverse educational programs.
This multidimensional complex is situated within The Gateway at the intersection of 100 south and 400 west in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It opened in 2003, replacing the historic Hansen Planetarium.
When you visit Clark Planetarium, you will get the chance to explore three floors of a free hall filled with interactive and informational exhibits.
On every Friday and Saturday, laser shows are organized in the Hansen Dome of the Clark Planetarium. All the laser show performances are a unique blend of computer graphics and live lasers, featuring the bands like Pink Floyd, U2, and Led Zeppelin. You can take a few hours to enjoy that.
The space exploration exhibits can help your kids learn more about the planets and the solar system. And also, there is a 3D IMAX theatre that will make your kids go rushing to watch an educational feature film.
10. Thanksgiving Point, Salt Lake City, Utah
Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, is one of the best things to do if you are looking for a day full of fun and adventure, comprising everything from a farm to a museum.
It is a nonprofit indoor and outdoor farm with gardens, a golf course, and a museum complex, all free for visitors to visit and take a tour.
Some places that contribute to the main attractions of this place are Butterfly Biosphere, Ashton gardens which span almost 55 acres of land, Museum of Ancient Life, Museum of Natural Curiosity, Thanksgiving Point Golf Club, Farm Country, and Harvest Restaurant.
As Farm Country is a working farm open for visitors, you can go there and have live cow-milking demonstrations, wagon and pony rides, and see the traditional farm animals.
Or you can visit the Museum of ancient life, a world-class museum of dinosaurs with the world’s largest collection of mounted fossils. And maybe go to the Harvest Restaurant to have a delicious meal after a day of adventure.
Anyway, you are going to have so much fun.
11. Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City, Utah
Located at the foothills of Wasatch Mountain Range, Red Butte Garden consists of a botanical garden, amphitheater, and an arboretum, open the whole year for the public to visit.
The botanical garden spans almost 100 acres and is the largest botanical garden, featuring several long hiking tracks with native vegetation on both sides. It also has a Red Butte Creek running on the northern part of the garden.
It contains 11 themed gardens with flora and fauna that will serve as eye candy for you while you trek down the almost 4-mile long hiking path.
Or you can buy the tickets and move to the amphitheater to enjoy the live music concerts held year-round here.
It also hosts summer camps and educational tours, so you can also spend time learning about the plants. Or sit somewhere in peace and paint the beauty of nature in front of you.
12. Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Museum of Fine Arts exhibits the primary culture and visual arts of Utah. This is the largest art museum in the Intermountain West that showcases various art exhibits.
This museum holds various programs for children, families, and adults. You can either take a self-guided tour of the galleries or provide informative guided tours for the visitors.
Special summer classes are held for children, where they can learn to combine history with art.
This Utah Museum of Fine Arts showcases more than 20 art galleries with a variety of art collections. A few of them revolve while the others are static. Its permanent collections have more than 17000 items.
13. Big Cottonwood Canyon and Lake Blanche
It is a 12 miles long canyon in the Wasatch Range from the southeast of Salt Lake City and one of the must-try Salt Lake City things for tourists and even natives.
Big Cottonwood Canyon has two ski resorts for skiers and snowboarders and provides various opportunities for rock climbing, hiking, fishing, picnicking, biking, and camping during the summers.
Hiking paths of the Big Cottonwood Canyon lead to some of the famous lakes like lake Mary, lake Martha, and Lake Katherine.
The most popular trail for hiking leads to Lake Blanche. It is a very exhausting hike with a traveling distance of almost 3.1 miles.
So, you can visit this scenic place and enjoy some adventurous outdoor games, all the while enjoying the natural beauty spread in every corner of this scenic byway.
In winter, this is the best place for snowboarding and skiing. And during summer, you can also enjoy water sports in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
14. Gilgal Sculpture Garden, Salt lake city
This park contains more than 70 stones engraved with poems, scriptures, and literary texts. It also has 12 original sculptures and is regarded as the only designated “visionary art environment.”
You can visit and take a walk through the garden between all these beautifully crafted sculptures and stones. Some of it, including the statue of a child, will leave you mesmerized.
Gilgal sculpture garden has many stories behind it, and when you visit, you will get to know all of them. You will find these stories very engaging and interesting while you take a tour of the whole garden.
15. Beehive House, Salt Lake City
The official residence of Brigham Young, the second president of Jesus Christ Church of LDS, visiting the Beehive house is certainly one of the most intriguing Things to do.
This place receives its name, Beehive House, from the beehive sculptures written on the top of one of its turrets. This sculpture represents the hardworking nature of the Mormon people.
Brigham Young and his 19 wives and 56 children lived in this home till 1854. After his death, his family lived there till 1893. LDS church brought the building afterward and opened it for visitors.
Closing Thoughts
So, these are the 15 best and most fun things to do in Salt Lake City that you must check out. These places will compel you to take another visit because just once is not enough to explore its beauty.
Other Salt Lake City attractions to check out nearby are;
- Utah Olympic park
- place heritage park
- Salt Lake Trolley tours
- Salt Lake City Tours
- park city tour
- City Creek Canyon hiking trails
So, What are you waiting for? Visit Salt Lake City today.
Last Updated on by Pragya Chakrapani
