Day Trips from Salt Lake City, Utah

Park City

Park City is a lovely resort town just east of Salt Lake City, best known as the home of festivities connected to the annual Sundance Film Festival. The city hosted events for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

Visitors can enjoy excellent opportunities for skiing and snowboarding at the Park City Mountain and Deer Valley ski resorts. Park City Mountain is the largest ski resort in the United States. During the summer months, award-winning mountain bike trails meander the region's mountain slopes. In town, visitors can explore northern Utah's largest collection of factory outlet stores or stroll along its charming Main Street, which showcases many preserved 19th-century buildings from the city's mining town era.

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a lovely city located just half an hour of Salt Lake City, known as the region's first historic settlement during its pioneer era.

Today, the city is best known as the gateway to the beautiful Snowbasin, Nordic Valley, and Powder Mountain ski resorts, renowned for its bustling nightlife, delicious fine dining destinations, and high-quality shopping.

Visitors can peruse the city's historic 25th Street, which was once lined with Prohibition-era speakeasies, and explore its delightful art galleries, bars, and restaurants. Historic Union Station has been converted into a delightful museum complex, home to attractions like the Utah State Railroad Museum, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, adn the Utah State Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Family-friendly attractions include the interactive Treehouse Museum and the unique Eccles Dinosaur Park and Museum, which showcases a paleontology lab and life-sized dinosaur statues.

Antelope Island State Park

Antelope Island State Park preserves the Great Salt Lake's largest island, spanning an area of 42 square miles within the lake's southeastern portion in Davis County.

The island, which once served as a cattle and sheep ranch overseen by the Latter-Day Saints church, was established by the Utah State Parks System in 1981.

Today, it is accessible via a seven-mile causeway from Syracuse, known for its dramatic rugged mountain terrain and natural areas like White Rock Bay and Buffalo Point.

Visitors can explore an extensive 25-mile backcountry trail system, which offers opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Antelope are often seen in visitor areas, giving the island its name. Bison and coyotes are also common, especially near the preserved Fielding Garr Historic Ranch House, which can be toured throughout the year as a living history museum.

A visitor center is also offered, along with a marina, public swimming beaches, and RV and primitive campgrounds.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake is a lovely freshwater lake spanning 109 square miles across the Idaho-Utahborder, known as the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its stunning turquoise waters, which are created from the refraction of limestone deposits within the lake.

The lake, which was originally known as Black Bear Lake, is a popular destination for outdoor sports enthusiasts, who flock to area tourist towns like Laketown and Garden City.

Bear Lake State Park is home to the mile-long Rendezvous Beach and the three-mile Cisco Beach, which both offer boat ramp and marina areas.

Unique species native only to the lake can be observed, including Bonneville cutthroat trout and Bear Lake sculpin.

The surrounding lake valley region is known throughout the West for its amazing raspberry patches, making it a popular picking spot during harvest season.

Each year, the lake region hosts the annual Raspberry Days festival, celebrating the fruit with raspberry recipe cookoffs, rodeos, parades, and a Miss Berry Princess contest.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a spectacular 74,000-acre national wildlife refuge located along the delta of the Bear River, where it flows into the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County.

The refuge, which was established in 1928, is known as a significant habitat for migratory bird species, including bald eagles and tundra swans.

Visitors can learn about bird species and wetland habitats at the James V. Hansen Wildlife Education Center, which is home to a half-mile accessible walking trail and recreated wetland habitat.

A 12-mile one-way auto touring loop is open to the public daily between sunrise and sunset, accompanied by an audio tour elaborating on the area's wilderness habitats.

2155 W Forest St, Brigham City, UT 84302, Phone: 435-723-5887

The Bonneville Salt Flats

The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of Utah's most unique geographical regions, located in Tooele County. The salt flats date back to the Pleistocene-era Lake Bonneville, which filled much of the Great Basin during ancient times.

After the lake evaporated and receded, the salt flats were left behind, creating a unique landscape that mimics a frozen tundra landscape.

Visitors can view the salt flat panorama via I-80 at an overlook point near Wendover, which offers access to explore the flats on foot.

Great care should be taken while exploring the flats due to their sensitive environmental conditions.

The salt flats are also unofficially known as the "Bonneville Speedway" due to their popularity as a motorcar racing site throughout the year since 1914.

Five major speed events take place at the flats throughout the year, including the events of Bonneville Speed Week in August.

Cedar City

Cedar City is Iron County's largest city, located approximately four hours from Salt Lake City, making it a great weekend trip destination for culture and nature lovers.

The charming small town is known as the "Gateway to the National Parks, located within easy driving distance of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and the exciting activities and visitor attractions of the Grand Canyon's North Rim.

Cedar Breaks National Monument, preserving a stunning national amphitheater, is located less than half an hour away within the heart of the gorgeous Dixie National Forest.

Each year, the city hosts the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, held at Southern Utah University, which presents Shakespearean productions throughout the summer and autumn months.

The Neil Simon Festival also celebrates the works of the great comedic playwright, presenting three plays of his each July and August.

Cove Fort

Cove Fort is a lovely preserved historic fort in Millard County, originally founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley at the commission of Latter-Day Saints leader Brigham Young.

The fort, which is located between the cities of Beaver and Fillmore, was once used as a significant waystation for pioneers traveling along the Mormon Road in the 19th century.

It also served as a major communications hub, home to a telegraph office, blacksmith shop, and Pony Express stop.

After private use throughout the 20th century, the fort was donated back to the LDS Church in 1988 and is open to the public as a visitor center and historic site.

Today, the fort is open for guided tours each day, showcasing its unique volcanic rock construction and design elements, which have helped it withstand the test of time.

All 12 of its rooms are furnished with period-appropriate furnishings.

Highway 161se, Beaver, UT 84713, Phone: 435-438-5547

Crystal Hot Springs

Crystal Hot Springs are the largest natural hot springs in the world, located just an hour and a half from Salt Lake City in the charming town of Honeyville.

The hot springs were initially established as a visitor business in 1901, named Madsen Hot Springs.

Throughout World War II, the hot springs served as a significant rehabilitation site for injured soldiers, who flocked to the site in droves to take advantage of the springs' supposed healing properties. Today, it is still maintained as a major tourist destination, home to cool and hot pools for swimming, soaking, and rejuvenation.

The year-round complex offers three jetted hot tubs for visitor use, along with a lap pool, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and two 360-foot recreational water slides.

Changing rooms are offered at the center's stone lodge, which is also home to several sand volleyball courts. A tree-lined campground provides more than 100 picturesque campsites, along with fire rings, restrooms, and a carp fishing pond.

8215 UT-38, Honeyville, UT 84314, Phone: 435-339-0038

Eden

Eden is a lovely census-designated place in Weber County, best known as the access point to the beautiful Powder Mountain ski resort throughout the winter months. The city, which sits along the Ogden River's beautiful North and Middle Forks near Pineview Reservoir, is home to lovely attractions such as the South Skyline Trail, which offers some of the state's best skiing experiences along its 9.5-mile course.

Visitors can ride the Needles Express Gondola to elevations of 8,800 feet above sea level and access the attractions of the ski resort, which were used as a venue for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

After hitting the slopes, resort guests can dine at the delicious Needles Lodge, which offers stunning panoramic views. Hot-air balloons are offered throughout the summer months, showcasing the region's beautiful mountain scenery.