Spending a day in Salt Lake City

[missing]

I have a business trip to Provo in October, and since I've never been to Salt Lake City (or Utah for that matter), I'm adding an extra couple of days to my trip.

SLC looks like it has a lot of interesting things to see. I'd love some recommendations, including hotels and restaurants and tourist attractions.

Thanks in advance!:)

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I'm sure you already know this, but make sure you walk around the big LDS church. If you're lucky (I was!), you may be able to sit in on a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while you're there.

[Rogue]

Haven't been there, but a guy I work with was just there a couple of weeks ago and was raving about a new museum with "the best dinosaur exhibit I ever saw."

[heckles]

Yes, take the tour at Temple Square, but don't give them your address for a "free Book of Mormon" at the end. You'll be pestered by missionaries for years.

After the tour, ask for directions for "JSMB", the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It's about two blocks east. Go buy souvenir magic Mormon underwear in the basement. They're cheap, and tourists find they make great gifts.

[A.H.Black]

Haven't been there, but a guy I work with was just there a couple of weeks ago and was raving about a new museum with "the best dinosaur exhibit I ever saw."

That's at Thanksgiving Point.

Will you have transportation? What days of the week.

If you are downtown, you will want to walk around Temple Square (http://www.visittemplesquare.com/), and maybe take a tour of the Conference Center. If you are there on a Thursday night or Sunday morning, you can see/hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Rehearsals are on Thursday evening and are usually open to the public. Broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word are on Sunday mornings. Both are free. This said, if it is the first weekend of October, the Church has General Conference that weekend and all schedules are changed. Downtown will be very crowded.

There is a new shopping center downtown - City Creek (http://www.shopcitycreekcenter.com/) A good place to wander, shop, and eat. In October the sympony and ballet, and maybe the Opera season will be getting underway. You may want to check for performance. They are all right downtown.

Get to the Canyons. The leaves may be gone by then. (We could even have snow - you never know). There are several canyons just east of Salt Lake and several resorts that have activities all year round. Park City is close (think Sundance Film Festival) - Deer Mountain resort is right next to Park City. Some of the Olympic venues are there too. Snow Bird resort is up another canyon and is also a year round resort.

There are also great canyons and hiking between Provo and Salt Lake. Sundance is right up Provo Canyon. The Provo river is good for fishing. On the other side of the mountains is Mt. Timpanogos. The hike to Timpanogos cave is a big one but worth it if you like to hike. I'm not sure when they close it for the winter.

As mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving Point (http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/visit.html) is between Provo and Salt Lake. They have gardens and other attractions. If you are a sports fan, The Jazz play downtown, BYU and the University of Utah will be in the middle of the season. Tickets might be tough for football but there are ways.

As for hotels and restaurants (http://www.visitsaltlake.com/about_us/) the main ones downtown are the Hilton, Marriott, Little America, Grand America and the Plaza. I'll leave the restaurants for someone else as I don't eat out much. I did go to Kneaders in City Creek recently. Great breads and sandwiches - crowded at lunch, which means good food to me.

Something to keep in mind. Walking in Salt Lake is good, but the blocks are long and big - 8 blocks to a mile and 10 acre blocks. If something is 4 blocks away - it's a good 20 minute walk. Downtown is comparatively flat but it is by the mountains so it gets hilly soon.

[algonquin]

I'm sure you already know this, but make sure you walk around the big LDS church. If you're lucky (I was!), you may be able to sit in on a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while you're there.Here is the info for the public rehearsals:


Many of the Choir's rehearsals are free and open to the public. Weekly public rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings (8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.) and Sunday mornings (8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.)


http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/faq#7

I have been told that the food is very good at the Lion's House Pantry. http://www.templesquarehospitality.com/restaurants/pantry.php

[Aimless]

I guess SLC is worth visiting once, but not twice. It manages to be both boring and a little creepy. Not much night life. The city center is dead even during the daytime. Best souvenir is a bag of local salt.
I'm not the only person who feels this way. The 2011 Undie Run, officially dubbed the "Utah Undie Run 2012 Protest against Utah being so Uptight," drew 2,270 participants and set a Guinness record for "largest gathering of people wearing only underpants/knickers."

[missing]

Thanks everyone.

I'll be there on Wednesday-Thursday morning (I drive to Provo on Thursday). I'll be renting a car.

I'm sorry I missed the Undie Run though!

[A.H.Black]

Thanks everyone.

I'll be there on Wednesday-Thursday morning (I drive to Provo on Thursday). I'll be renting a car.

I'm sorry I missed the Undie Run though!

If you have time on Thursday (this is sort of my secret) - I would take the back way to Provo. It goes up Parleys Canyon, past Park City, through Heber City and down Provo canyon. AAA could map it for you. It's a pretty drive.

[sk8er1964]

I guess SLC is worth visiting once, but not twice. It manages to be both boring and a little creepy. Not much night life. The city center is dead even during the daytime. Best souvenir is a bag of local salt.
I'm not the only person who feels this way.

I enjoyed Salt Lake very much when I was there for Adult Nationals in 2011, and would gladly go back. Of course, I wasn't there for clubbing or partying, so maybe my experience is different from those looking for that.

missing, if you like nature, a visit to the Great Salt Lake and Antelope State Park (http://www.go-utah.com/Antelope-Island-State-Park/) is worth the drive. We saw buffalo up close there.

Another place we visited was Park City. We took the scenic Emigration Canyon Road (http://www.utah.com/bike/trails/emigration.htm) to get there, and the freeway back. It's a ski town, although we weren't there during ski season. Lots of shops and restaurants. We went on a tour of the Olympic ski jump and bobsled venues, and visited the museum.

Bryce Canyon (http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm) is probably too far of a drive for you in the short time you are there, but it is spectacular.

[heckles]

missing, if you like nature, a visit to the Great Salt Lake and Antelope State Park (http://www.go-utah.com/Antelope-Island-State-Park/) is worth the drive. We saw buffalo up close there.

People eat buffalo burgers there while looking at the herds of buffalo wandering around. It's pretty weird when you think about it. Once a year you can hike up the hill and pick up mule deer antlers.