16 Things to Do In Salt Lake City in 2025

Salt Lake City is known for hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics, making the Utah Olympic Park a popular place to visit. This 400-acre complex houses the 2002 Winter Games museum, six Nordic ski jumps, and one of only four sliding tracks in North America. The Utah Olympic Park is in Park City, a 30-minute drive from Salt Lake City, where you can experience numerous thrilling adventure activities year-round.

A must-try adventure is to ride a bobsled down the Olympic track with a professional pilot. Reaching up to 60 mph, you can experience what an Olympic athlete feels, zipping around the corners and flying down the track.

Other family fun activities include obstacle courses and ziplining – even from the top of the 120-meter Olympic ski jump with a thrilling 50 mph ride down. During the summer, you might catch professional Nordic ski jumpers training for the US Olympic Team in the USCO training pool.

Wear comfortable shoes. A leisurely exploration of the park can take at least one hour. It is best to purchase a gold pass online before you go and arrive early to beat the crowds.

Salt Lake City, often called “winter’s favorite city,” is one of the best places to go skiing or snowboarding in the United States. Ten Utah ski resorts are located about an hour from downtown Salt Lake City.

Park City is only 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake. Park City has 7,300 acres of skiable terrain, dog-sledding opportunities, fabulous resorts, numerous art galleries, museums, and a charming Main Street on the National Register of Historic Places.

You can also find Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Deer Valley, Snowbasin, and Powder Mountain to name a few. The resorts are among stunning landscapes, offering breathtaking views of the mountains and valleys.

During the spring and summer, the ski resorts transform their ski runs into almost 400 miles of hiking and biking trails to explore. There are so many options in the warm months too.

Play golf at Park City Golf Club,  flyfish, peruse the area’s farmers markets, hop on the Alpine Coaster to zip through miles of loops, hair-pin curves, and bends, and take the scenic chairlift for unbelievable leaf-peeping in the fall. There is something for everyone all year long in Park City.

If you plan to ski even just for a few days, get an Epic or Ikon pass to save on lift tickets, lodging, food, equipment rental, and ski school.

Walking around Temple Square in the center of Salt Lake City, you’ll enjoy the gorgeous landscapes, architecture, and gardens of the 35-acre home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The most interesting things to see within the complex are the towering Salt Lake Temple, Temple Square Gardens, and the Tabernacle, where the choir sings. Listening to the 360-member Tabernacle choir’s powerful, soul-stirring performances is one of the most popular events in town.

You can attend the choir’s free weekly Music & the Spoken Word broadcast on Sundays at 9:30 a.m., and the choir’s rehearsal every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Daily organ recitals are also available to the public at noon. You can also listen to their broadcast online anytime at TheTabernackleChoir.org.

If you visit in the spring, this is a wonderful place to see the cherry blossoms and tulips in bloom. And visiting around the holidays, you’ll enjoy the wonderful twinkling lights and festive nativity scenes throughout Temple Square. There are also many other things to do at Temple Square, including researching your family roots at the Family History Library and taking a tour of the Beehive House, the former home of Utah’s first governor, Brigham Young.

If you attend the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast on Sundays at 9:30 a.m., you must be seated by 9:15 a.m.

For a quieter, peaceful thing to do in Salt Lake City, head to Red Butte Garden for panoramic views of the valley, mountain ranges, and the Great Salt Lake. In the spring and summer, 500,000 colorful, vibrant flowers bloom throughout the botanical garden and arboretum housed on the University of Utah’s campus.

Here, you can wander through 100 acres of diverse plant collections along pathways and flowing fountains in themed gardens at the largest botanical garden in the Western United States.

Red Butte Garden has over 21 acres of developed gardens and five miles of hiking trails winding through an extensive nature area. Each of the eleven themed gardens is devoted to a specific type of plant or ecosystem, such as a Herb Garden, a Children’s Garden, a Medicinal Garden, a Water Pavilion Garden, a Rose Garden, and so many more. And during the summer months, you can enjoy outdoor concerts in the amphitheater.

In addition to the bountiful flowering gardens, there are plenty of educational lectures and kid-friendly activities. Some of the kid programs include a Garden Adventure, where they connect with plants and learn about the beauty of nature, and Em’s Apothecary, where you can learn how to use plants to make herbal concoctions. You can also sign up for horticulture classes, bird watching, art exhibits, and summer camps.

The Natural History Museum of Utah showcases the awe-inspiring natural wonders of Utah, the history of Utah’s native tribes, and how Utah is one of the world’s richest dinosaur fossil areas. There are over 1.6 million objects to discover and immerse yourself in the captivating world of ecosystems, fascinating wildlife, and intriguing geological formations.

The museum takes you through time. You can start with the dinosaur exhibit, moving on to the geology of the region and how the Great Salt Lake was formed. You’ll find indigenous artifacts on display and exhibits on current Native communities in Utah.

Utah has the most complete dinosaur record in any area of the world, with some of the dinosaur finds near Salt Lake City estimated to be 230 million years old. For the best dinosaur experience, book a private tour of the Past Worlds gallery to get a behind-the-scenes peek inside the Paleo Prep Lab. You’ll be able to see the projects the paleontology team is currently working on within Utah.

The Great Salt Lake exhibit has interactive exhibits on Utah’s most unique feature, the Great Salt Lake. The Our Backyard exhibit has plenty of hands-on activities. There is a three-story indoor canyon. And when you finish all the inside exhibits, check out the museum’s observation deck for great views.

Start your museum visit on the top floor and work your way down. Plan to spend at least two to three hours at the Natural History Museum of Utah. 

For some of the best views of downtown Salt Lake City, head to the Living Room. Don’t worry; it isn’t a physical living room. It is a wonderful lookout perched in the foothills of Salt Lake City that you can reach with a relatively short but steep hike.

The Living Room Hiking Trail is a 2.3-mile trail that starts near Red Butte Garden and ends at a set of rocks arranged into various seating configurations. The rocks are arranged to look like the Flinstones’ living room.

This hiking trail is popular, so expect many people on the trails, especially in the evening, to watch the sunset in the Living Room. The Living Room is great for lovely panoramic views of the Salt Lake Valley.

On average, this moderately challenging hike takes almost two hours to reach the Living Room.

The Great Salt Lake is the largest natural saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Containing 4.5 billion tons of salt, the Great Salt Lake is saltier than the ocean, making the water so dense that you can float effortlessly.

While you are at the Great Salt Lake, visit Antelope Island State Park, the lake’s largest island, one of the most popular places to enter the water at the Great Salt Lake. You can see deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, and free-ranging American bison on the island. Whether you want to paddle, hike, bike, or camp under the stars, you will have stunning mountain and lake views on Antelope Island.

Other options to enjoy the Great Salt Lake are to tour the lake by paddle – renting a boat, kayak, paddleboard, or pedal boat. If you are here later in the day, you can have a front-row seat to the most amazing, colorful sunset over the lake. Watching the sky change from red, orange, magenta, and lavender before becoming twilight blue is a fabulous experience, especially if you stick around even longer to enjoy the stars at one of the few remaining “natural dark sky” areas in the United States.

The Antelope Island State Park and the Great Salt Lake Marina have a fee but are covered under the Utah State Parks Pass.

The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most unique landscapes in the United States, covering over 30,000 acres of 147 million tons of hard, white crystalized salt that seems to go on forever. The twelve-mile-long and five-mile-wide salt flats are what’s left when the ancient Lake Bonneville dried up.

It takes a 1.5-hour drive from Salt Lake City to reach one of only seven locations in the world where the natural curvature of the earth is visible to the naked eye.

The Bonneville Salt Flats are open year-round, but summer is the best time to visit. The flats are generally dry, and you can walk on them. Starting in late fall and continuing throughout the spring, you can see a layer of water that collects over the salt flats and creates a surreal, reflective effect that photographers love to capture.

During August, you can experience Speed Week, a racing competition at the Bonneville International Speedway. The Bonneville Salt Flats are famously known for being the Fastest Speedway on Earth, where jet-propelled cars, and the world’s fastest wheel-driven cars and motorcycles race for new land speed records.

The Turbinator II holds the land speed record here at 503 MPH. There are also non-motorized events here at the flats, like endurance running races and amateur rocket launches.

One of the best spots to view the Salt Flats is along I-80, about 10 miles east of Wendover. Prepare for all weather conditions, heat, wind, water, and cold – depending on the time of year. You can drive on the salt flats, entering at the entrance by the Bonneville Speedway Road.

On Friday and Saturday nights, head out to the Clark Planetarium to experience their cosmic light show, Rock the Dome. This amazing light show is set to songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. With creative laser choreography, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the kaleidoscope of light and sound and rock the night away.

You’ll need to purchase the tickets early as they do sell out. No two shows are the same so you can come back for fun again and again.

In addition to the Cosmic Light Show, Clark Planetarium has three floors of interactive exhibits on Earth, space, and beyond. Entry to the planetarium’s museum is free, and your family can spend hours being entertained about space, planets, and our solar system every day of the week.

Some cool things to do in the museum are to step inside a giant tornado, see one of the largest moon rocks from Apollo 11, control plasma, be a black hole and collect stars in the Gravity Floor interactive digital exhibit, and build and fly a rocket. Check out the IMAX theater to watch shows on moon landings, volcanos, and the cosmic light show.

The Clark Planetarium website has a schedule of events, from reading sessions to art classes and light shows, that take place in the building. Pick the day of your preferred activity and visit the planetarium so you can attend the event at no cost.

Opening in 1938, Tracy Aviary is the oldest and largest freestanding aviary in the country. Tracy Aviary is home to eight acres of a tranquil wooded area with over 300 birds, including endangered and extinct species. You can see hornbills, cranes, flamingos, eagles, pelicans, macaws, and turkey vultures. This outdoor venue is a fabulous place to spend the day observing all kinds of birds all year round.

When you visit Tracy Aviary, you can enjoy free-flight bird shows, feed the birds, and visit a bird nursery to see how the experts incubate eggs and nurse newborn chicks. It is quite the experience to feed the birds, especially the Lorikeets.

Be ready for the little rainbow birds to land on your arm/hand to eat, and don’t be surprised if one or two land on your head. You can also shadow zookeepers for an additional fee, and they offer an add-on opportunity to go behind the scenes in the Flamingo exhibit.

Tracy Aviary is inside Liberty Park, a popular downtown place for running, walking, swimming, bicycling, tennis, and rowing. You can also go to the Farmers Market, enjoy paddle boats in the pond, and even ride at the hidden-in-plain-sight mini amusement park. Liberty Park is a lovely place to spend a morning or evening with the family, especially with the Tracy Aviary, which provides the perfect escape for bird lovers.

The Timpanogos Cave National Monument has amazing caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites and is only 30 minutes from Salt Lake City. The limestone cave system within the National Monument is comprised of the Hansen, Middle, and Timpanogos caverns.

To get to this hidden underground world, you must climb 1,000 feet from the canyon bottom to reach the strenuous 1.5-mile paved trail that connects them. Once you reach the top, you can explore several spectacularly decorated caverns covered in incredible natural formations, including heart-shaped stalactites.

You’ll get an up-close view of these formations as you twist and bend to enter the caverns. Tours within the cave system operate May through September, where you’ll learn about the creation of these natural formations as you make your way through the passageways underground.

The National Park Service offers a cool activity if you want to explore the cave’s narrow and mysterious parts independently. The introduction to the caving tour will have you scrambling and crawling along a trail that leads to Hansen Cave Lake with a helmet and headlamp. This is definitely for the more adventurous, as there are no paved walkways or railings, and you will get dirty.

Note the time on your ticket is when you check into the Visitors Center. They give you 1.5 hours to get to the cave’s entrance, so if your ticket says 12:30, you are scheduled for the 2:00 cave tour.

This is the Place Heritage Park is a fabulous living history museum with historical interpreters making the past come to life in the more than 50 historic homes and buildings within the park.

As you stroll through the park, you’ll glimpse Utah’s early settlement days showcased entertainingly. You will also see the iconic This Is The Place Monument, which marks the end of the 1,300-mile Mormon trail. The numerous interactive experiences within the park make This is the Place Heritage Park a wonderful family-fun adventure.

You can participate in mining activities, pony rides, train rides, playing old-fashioned games, doing pioneer chores, panning for gold, horseback riding, and don’t forget to stop at the ice cream parlor. In the Heritage Village, you can explore what an old-time town would have been like. In the Native American Village, you can watch traditional dancing, hear stories, and watch traditional art and handicrafts being created. Another not-to-miss stop before you leave is Brigham’s Donuts.

There are nearby trails to take in the beautiful views and scenic landscape. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water. You can also call ahead and arrange a tour catering to your family’s desires and age range.

Are you looking for a fun night out? You have to check out the speakeasy at Bodega and the Rest. Bodega is an inconspicuous bar where you can get expertly curated cocktails. You access The Rest by heading down a staircase to enter the speakeasy. The Rest offers a cigar room in a hunting lodge vibe. They offer a large weekly changing cocktail menu and creative dishes. You can enjoy an intimate night out in this small venue or hang out with your friends; either way, Bodega and The Rest will surprise you.

Salt Lake City was known as one of the best beer producers in the West back in the early 1900s. Today, it is all about the craft brewing scene, with Salt Lake City having over a dozen microbreweries and brewpubs for you to grab a drink in, like Beerhive Pub. Utah’s law prohibits draft beer from having an alcohol content of over 5%, although there are some heavier content varieties in bottles and cans.

Other fun things to do for date nights in Salt Lake City are to attend a theatrical, musical, dance, or symphony performance at an area theater, such as Abravanel Hall; listen to tunes at The Urban Lounge or The Depot; or dance the night away at clubs like Sky SLC, Club Try-Angles, or Area 51.

To access The Rest, you must make a reservation. While at The Rest, you must keep your phone tucked away to preserve the secrecy of the experience.

The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States, and it happens in Park City at the Sundance Resort at the end of January and beginning of February.

This ten-day festival shows about 200 films each year, with some of the biggest names in film showing up. Almost 50,000 people usually attend the Sundance Film Festival to participate in panel discussions, workshops, music concerts, and parties. But the cool thing is that you don’t have to be a celebrity to be here.

If you find a hotel room at this extremely busy time, you can watch some of the most innovative cinema films shown at the Sundance venues and all around Salt Lake City.

Get your tickets early.

Salt Lake City has an amazing growing culinary scene with various international cuisines offered at local restaurants. You can find excellent sushi, Thai food, and a particular local favorite, Red Iguana, for great Mexican food.

Red Iguana has been serving authentic Mexican moles, a slow-cooked sauce with up to 23 ingredients, for 40 years, winning awards, and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. They’re so popular they’ve even opened a second location, Red Iguana 2, just a few blocks from the original restaurant.

If you are coming to Red Iguana for the first time, ask for the complimentary mole sampler, a plate with eight moles to try. And pair your delicious Mexican meal with a  signature margarita.

A must-do activity for your family is to go to the Redwood Drive-In Movie Theatre. The Redwood Drive-In is the largest in Utah, with four large screens showing double features since 1948. The Redwood is open seven nights per week, seasonally from April through October, showing first-run, double features.

For $10/adult and $1/kids, watching two movies for less than a regular movie ticket is a steal. Can you imagine bringing back the fun you had when you were a kid going to the drive-in, munching on popcorn, and sipping sodas on a warm summer night under the stars?