Snowbird/Salt Lake City what to do?
July 19, 2015 1:19 PM Subscribe
The kids and I will be accompanying my husband when he goes to a conference at Snow Bird for a week. My kids range from 10 to 15, love science, nature and hiking. We plan to go at least 1 day to Antelope Island and to look at the Temple. What are some not to miss things to do, hikes to see while we are in the area? Please put approximate lengths for hikes if you know them. Awesome museums, historical sites and others also welcome. We will be there Monday through Friday. Thanks.
The Golden Spike National Historic Site is about a 1 1/2 hour drive north. It has a walking trail on site. Watch out for rattlesnakes!
posted by brujita at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by brujita at 4:24 PM on July 19, 2015
This Is The Place Heritage Park is interesting; it's across the street from the Hogle Zoo. Also nearby is the Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah. Then drive up Emigration canyon for lunch at Ruth's Diner with their crazy big biscuits and raspberry jam.
A bit to the north of Salt Lake in Ogden there's Dinosaur Park; the dinosaurs outside are showing their age a bit but inside is a pretty cool museum. It's right by Rainbow Gardens which is a fun gift shop but for an interesting lunch experience in Ogden eat at the Prairie Schooner in a "covered wagon". There are several hiking trails up the canyon from Dinosaur Park. Also in Ogden is the Union Station which has a railroad museum, a car museum, a firearms museum, and I think an art gallery.
In between Ogden and Salt Lake there is the Hill Air Force Base museum in Roy. I think it's free, and it has a lot of cool stuff.
posted by jenjenc at 5:55 PM on July 19, 2015
A bit to the north of Salt Lake in Ogden there's Dinosaur Park; the dinosaurs outside are showing their age a bit but inside is a pretty cool museum. It's right by Rainbow Gardens which is a fun gift shop but for an interesting lunch experience in Ogden eat at the Prairie Schooner in a "covered wagon". There are several hiking trails up the canyon from Dinosaur Park. Also in Ogden is the Union Station which has a railroad museum, a car museum, a firearms museum, and I think an art gallery.
In between Ogden and Salt Lake there is the Hill Air Force Base museum in Roy. I think it's free, and it has a lot of cool stuff.
posted by jenjenc at 5:55 PM on July 19, 2015
I recently went hiking in the Uinta mountains (Wasatch National Forest). It was gorgeous. We started at the Crystal Lake trailhead, which was very busy on a Saturday, but lots of trails split off from there to different lakes, so the hike didn't feel crowded. Our hike was 2 miles to a lake and another 2 back, but you could easily go longer.
posted by yarntheory at 7:02 PM on July 19, 2015
posted by yarntheory at 7:02 PM on July 19, 2015
Both the Capitol Building and Ensign Peak (1 mile) are near Temple Square. And the Museum of Natural History isn't far either. It'd be easy enough to fit all of them into one day.
How much time do you want to spend on Antelope Island? Both the Hill Aerospace Museum and Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve (1 mile) are close by and worth checking out. But that's a lot to fit into one day.
If you do make it as far as the Golden Spike National Historic Site take the time to go out to Rozel Point and see the Spiral Jetty.
If you decide to go to Timpanogos Cave, be aware that "Cave tours are very popular and often sell out in advance." The Cave Trail is 1.5 miles while the Timpooneke Trail to the summit is 15 miles.
Donut Falls (4 miles) is just one canyon over from Snowbird.
Unfortunately the Kennecott Visitors Center is closed. But you can drive up Butterfield Canyon to get a look at the mine. The Butterfield Canyon Trail (10 miles) takes you to the peak. But I've only ever driven through myself.
posted by zinon at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2015
How much time do you want to spend on Antelope Island? Both the Hill Aerospace Museum and Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve (1 mile) are close by and worth checking out. But that's a lot to fit into one day.
If you do make it as far as the Golden Spike National Historic Site take the time to go out to Rozel Point and see the Spiral Jetty.
If you decide to go to Timpanogos Cave, be aware that "Cave tours are very popular and often sell out in advance." The Cave Trail is 1.5 miles while the Timpooneke Trail to the summit is 15 miles.
Donut Falls (4 miles) is just one canyon over from Snowbird.
Unfortunately the Kennecott Visitors Center is closed. But you can drive up Butterfield Canyon to get a look at the mine. The Butterfield Canyon Trail (10 miles) takes you to the peak. But I've only ever driven through myself.
posted by zinon at 7:38 PM on July 19, 2015
The new Natural History Museum is great. My kids also love the new aquarium. At Snowbird there are a ton of things for kids to do. Climbing walls, mountain coasters, alpine slides, ziplines, trampolines, etc... I think you can do horseback riding in mineral basin. Ride the tram and hike down. There is a great mountain biking trail from the top of the Tram, but, it's probably a little advanced for your kids. Park City also has a bunch of fun stuff to do at their resort.
posted by trbrts at 1:41 PM on July 20, 2015
posted by trbrts at 1:41 PM on July 20, 2015
The Golden Spike site was the only historical place I visited in UT. Do its other government-run places skew toward Mormons or is there a balance?
posted by brujita at 9:40 PM on July 20, 2015
posted by brujita at 9:40 PM on July 20, 2015
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Here are some things to do off the top of my head. I can't really tell you exact lengths since I haven't lived there for 10+ years but you should be able to figure out driving times and activity lengths from looking at Google, web sites, etc.
Visit Timpanogos Cave. It's a small hike up to the cave and you can take a tour. http://www.nps.gov/tica/index.htm
You can get nasty and salty in the Great Salt Lake and frolic with the brine shrimp and flies. I actually didn't love this the one time I did it, but some people are intrigued by it.
Go down the Alpine Slide. http://www.parkcitymountain.com/site/summer/activities/alpine-slide
Go outlet store shopping in Park City. It may or may not be very bargain-y but you can spend some time there.
I'm sure you could find some stables and places to go horseback riding if you find that idea appealing.
There are some water parks and swimming pools in various places around. It will likely be hot there this time of year and you will want to cool off.
There is a planetarium in downtown SLC. It used to be called the Hanson Plantarium, now it seems to be the Clark Planetarium.
There are various science-type museums at University of Utah, Brigham Young University, maybe Utah State University (it's a bit further). Examples such as https://nhmu.utah.edu/ , http://mlbean.byu.edu/ .
I suppose you won't stay elsewhere overnight or over a few nights? Otherwise there are about 5 national parks in the southern part of the state, but they're probably really too far for easy day trips.
Those are some things I can think of off the top of my head. Oh, there is also Nielsen's Frozen Custard and other things like that https://www.facebook.com/nfcholladay .
posted by clickingmongrel at 1:43 PM on July 19, 2015