Utah
Salt Lake City is a mountain town wearing a capital city's clothes: a grid of wide pioneer streets laid out beneath the Wasatch Range, a downtown anchored by Temple Square and its famous choir, and a skyline where you can finish breakfast at a pioneer-era landmark and be standing on a ski lift or an alpine lake trail before lunch.
Around the valley sit some of the most unusual landscapes in the American West: the Great Salt Lake with its bison-roamed Antelope Island, the blinding white Bonneville Salt Flats, and the vast terraced pit of the Bingham Canyon copper mine. This guide covers the city's essential experiences, from the guided bus and trolley tours that make a first morning easy to the museums, gardens, zoo and Jazz nights that fill the rest, plus day trips to Park City, the salt flats and the canyon ski resorts, along with ten hotels across downtown, the canyons and Sandy, and six practical guides for planning the trip.
Ultimate Salt Lake City Guided Bus Tour
The fastest way to understand Salt Lake City: a narrated guided bus tour that links the pioneer-era landmarks, the Capitol, Temple Square and the foothill neighborhoods into one easy loop, with the Wasatch Range as the backdrop the whole way.
Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and City Bus Tour
A bus tour of Salt Lake City paired with time at Temple Square for the Tabernacle Choir experience, one of the most recognized musical traditions in America and a signature stop for first-time visitors.
Antelope Island and Great Salt Lake Day Tour
A day on the largest island in the Great Salt Lake: a wild herd of bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep, empty beaches, sweeping lake views, and a seven-mile causeway across the water to reach it.
Bonneville Salt Flats Adventure
A glaring white plain of crusted salt that stretches to the horizon: the legendary land-speed racing venue, a surreal photographic landscape and one of the most otherworldly places in the American West, about two hours west of the city.
Hand-picked: every experience here has strong traveler reviews and a verified booking link.
The fastest way to understand Salt Lake City: a narrated guided bus tour that links the pioneer-era landmarks, the Capitol, Temple Square and the foothill neighborhoods into one easy loop, with the Wasatch Range as the backdrop the whole way.
A bus tour of Salt Lake City paired with time at Temple Square for the Tabernacle Choir experience, one of the most recognized musical traditions in America and a signature stop for first-time visitors.
An open-sided trolley ride through downtown and the historic neighborhoods, narrated with characters and stories from the pioneer era to the Olympics, and the most relaxed way to see the grid.
One of the largest human-made excavations on Earth: a terraced open pit more than 2.5 miles across and nearly three-quarters of a mile deep, viewed from a shuttle-served overlook above the working mine.
A short boat tour on the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere: brine so salty that nothing but brine shrimp and flies can live in it, with island and mountain views and a chance to see the lake up close.
A day on the largest island in the Great Salt Lake: a wild herd of bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep, empty beaches, sweeping lake views, and a seven-mile causeway across the water to reach it.
A glaring white plain of crusted salt that stretches to the horizon: the legendary land-speed racing venue, a surreal photographic landscape and one of the most otherworldly places in the American West, about two hours west of the city.
A day trip to a silver-mining town turned ski capital, with Historic Main Street and the venues of the 2002 Winter Olympics, 40 minutes east of the city over the Wasatch.
A guided walk through downtown with stops for tastings of local dishes and drinks, a good way to understand a dining scene that is more varied than visitors expect and to learn how Utah's quirks shape what you eat.
The 10-acre heart of Salt Lake City: the six-spired Salt Lake Temple, the domed Tabernacle, gardens, fountains and visitors' centers, free to wander and the starting point for the whole city grid.
A Neoclassical landmark on Capitol Hill with a copper dome, a murals-and-marble rotunda and sweeping views over the city, free to enter and one of the best-restored state capitols in the country.
A copper-clad museum on the foothills with Utah's dinosaurs, Native cultures and ecosystems under one roof, plus a rooftop terrace that looks out over the whole Salt Lake Valley.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Downtown (south of Temple Square)
Salt Lake City's grand luxury address: a marble-and-chandelier landmark with a famous spa, a garden-style pool courtyard and a polished, old-world sense of service, a few blocks south of Temple Square.
Check rates →Downtown
A bold, boutique-style hotel in a restored early-1900s downtown building, with playful design, pet-friendly policies and a location a short walk from Temple Square and the Delta Center.
Check rates →Downtown (south of Temple Square)
A large, long-running downtown hotel with a big outdoor pool, spacious rooms, extensive grounds and an easy walk to Temple Square, popular with families, groups and conference visitors.
Check rates →Downtown (west side / Gateway)
A 1910 brick-and-terra-cotta downtown landmark, now part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, with historic character, updated rooms and an easy walk to the Delta Center and Pioneer Park.
Check rates →Downtown (near Temple Square)
A full-service downtown Hilton a short walk from Temple Square, the Salt Palace and the Delta Center, with light rail at the door and a reliable, central base for first-time visitors.
Check rates →Downtown (City Creek)
A polished downtown Marriott beside City Creek Center, steps from Temple Square, with an indoor pool, mountain-view rooms and the best shopping-and-dining access in the city.
Check rates →Downtown (south side)
A large, full-service downtown Sheraton on the south side of the core, with an indoor-outdoor pool area, a fitness center and easy light-rail access, handy for conventions and ski trips.
Check rates →Snowbird / Little Cottonwood Canyon
A ski-in, ski-out concrete-and-glass resort tower in Little Cottonwood Canyon, 30 minutes from the airport, with a rooftop spa, an outdoor pool and the Snowbird tram at the door.
Check rates →Downtown (west side)
A practical downtown Hilton Garden Inn with a pool, a fitness center and an easy position near light rail, a sensible mid-priced base for families and budget-conscious travelers.
Check rates →Downtown
An all-suite downtown hotel with kitchens and separate living areas, a good fit for ski groups, families and longer stays, with light rail and the city sights close by.
Check rates →A three-day plan that fits the city's pieces together: an orientation morning, Temple Square and the choir, a salt-lake day trip, a mountain day, and where the museums and the Jazz fit around them.
How to choose a base: downtown for first-timers and rail access, the Cottonwood Canyons for skiers, and what each area costs you in time, money and convenience.
How to ski Utah's Wasatch from a city base: the four Cottonwood Canyons resorts, Park City, getting up the canyons in winter, and how to plan gear, lessons and lodging.
What each season offers: ski powder in winter, tulips and open roads in spring, wildflowers and concerts in summer, and gold aspens in fall, plus the conference weeks to avoid.
The best day trips from the city, ranked by distance and effort: the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island, Park City, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Spiral Jetty and the national parks.
What to eat, how Utah's alcohol rules work, and which neighborhoods to explore, from pioneer comfort food to a surprisingly strong Mexican, Pacific Islander and craft-drink scene.
