Things to Do in Salt Lake City

Utah's Hogle Zoo

One of Salt Lake City’s top attractions, Utah's Hogle Zoo is a 42-acre space located at the base of the Wasatch Mountain Range within Emigration Canyon. The zoo houses several diverse exhibits, each of which illustrates a unique ecosystem. The elephant encounter is a fascinating and expansive exhibit showcasing white rhinoceros and African elephants in several environments.

The Asian highlands exhibit features the Siberian lynx, Pallas’ cats, snow leopards, Amur leopards, and Amur tigers. The Rocky Shores exhibit houses harbor seals, grizzly bears, polar bears, and sea lions. Meanwhile, the African Savannah exhibit introduces guests to African lions, zebras, ostriches, and finally, giraffes, who are housed in a separate area where guests are welcome to feed them.

Utah's Hogle Zoo, 2600 E Sunnyside Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: 801-582-1631

Clark Planetarium

The Clark Planetarium provides a variety of opportunities for educational learning and entertainment within their multidimensional complex. A free hall of educational and interactive exhibits greets visitors, and it contains information on the solar system, space exploration, and planet Earth. Within the Hanson Dome, visitors can experience 360-degree immersed screenings of a variety of short educational films.

Illustrating numerous space related topics like black holes, space travel, and astronauts, these videos are shown throughout the day. For another sensory experience, music coordinated lightshows are also available, featuring epic accompanying tunes. Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin, U2 and other artists provide the soundtracks for these exciting features. One of the best things to do in Salt Lake City with kids, the Planetarium also features an IMAX theatre, which screens a rotating selection of feature films.

The Gateway, 110 400 W, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: 385-468-7827

Natural History Museum of Utah

The Natural History Museum of Utah provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the unique geography, earth science, history, and native cultures of Utah’s past. With 10 permanent exhibits, the museum provides both interpretive and interactive educational experiences to its many visitors. Exhibitions include Past Worlds of Utah, depicting the area’s progression over the past 500 million years and the Great Salt Lake, which provides interactive opportunities to touch, smell, and even taste the unique qualities of the epic lake.

The First Peoples Exhibit reflects on the prehistoric populations that once lived in Utah, while the Native Voices segment illustrates the first five nations of Native American peoples in Utah. Six additional exhibits, along with varying seasonal displays, expand on additional topics.

301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: 801-581-6927

Red Butte Garden

Red Butte Garden, open year round, is a popular outdoor center featuring a botanical garden, arboretum, and amphitheater at the base of the Wasatch Mountain Range. Sitting on over 100 acres of land, the garden houses several miles of trails for walking or jogging through the native vegetation, and the park showcases a variety of exhibits and attractions based on a seasonal schedule.

Year round, the garden features numerous flora and fauna presentations, along with art exhibits and sculpture installations. Red Butte Garden is also host to a series of summer music concerts held within the amphitheater, and it offers guided tours, gardening classes, holiday specials, and educational programs.

300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT, Phone: 801-585-0556, Facebook

Tracy Aviary

Housed on eight acres within Salt Lake City’s expansive and historical Liberty Park, Tracy Aviary offers visitors a chance to observe and learn about a diverse collection of birds and habitats. The aviary contains over 400 individual birds deriving from over 135 different species, and a significant percentage of these birds are considered endangered or rare. Visitors are able to view the birds in a variety of natural habitat and ecosystem exhibits.

These exhibits include introductions and provide information on many exotic creatures like Chilean flamingos, macaws, and king vultures, along with insight into more recognizable breeds, like pelicans, North American eagles, and trumpeter swans.

Tracy Aviary, 589 1300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: 801-596-8500, Facebook

Sugar House Park

This expansive, urban park provides year round recreational opportunities in the heart of Salt Lake’s lively Sugar House neighborhood. In the winter months, trails for snowshoeing, hills for sledding, and paths for cross-country skilling are available throughout the park’s 110 acres. In warmer months, 1.8 miles of trails are open for walking, biking, or jogging through the green space.

Sugar House Park’s fountain pond, surrounded by lush green grass, sits against the backdrop of Utah’s expansive Wasatch Mountain Range. Picnic tables, covered pavilions, and children’s play areas are scattered throughout the park. Athletes will be happy to learn that the park contains baseball fields, soccer fields, seven volleyball fields, and a basketball court.

Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) in Salt Lake City is the only contemporary art museum in Utah. Located in the heart of the city, the museum offers a range of rotating exhibitions in its six galleries, showing works by local, national, and international contemporary artists. The museum was founded in 1931 by Alta Rawlins Jensen under the name of the Art Barn Association. Her goal was to create an artists’ retreat where they could express and sell their art. The Art Barn quickly acquired a reputation as a respected art institution, showing the works of renowned artists from the country and abroad. The exhibition of a series of oil paintings by Vincent Van Gogh was one of the museum’s biggest successes. The museum currently occupies two floors and has six galleries and also has a number of spaces it rents out for various events – a courtyard, a lobby, a 155-seat auditorium, and several meeting rooms. There is an education studio, a number of artist-in-residence studios, and a shop selling a variety of works by local artists.

20 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, Phone: 801-328-4201

Liberty Park

Liberty Park is Salt Lake City’s prized urban oasis featuring over 80 acres of lush green space. The oldest park in Salt Lake, Liberty Park was purchased by the city from the estate of Bingham Young in 1881, and in 1980 made the list of the National Registry of Historic Places.

The park features a large pond containing two islands, numerous athletic courts and fields, 1.5 miles of walking trails, and several children’s play areas. Additionally, the Tracey Aviary, featuring 135 species of rare or endangered protected birds, resides within the park, along with the Isaac Chase Mill, the oldest commercial building in Utah. Finally, the park features the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Art, a free museum showcasing a variety of art forms.

Temple Square

The awe-inspiring Temple Square stands out as the focal point of downtown Salt Lake City. Serving as the headquarters and epicenter of the LDS Church, Temple Square welcomes visitors of any background who are interested in viewing the exquisite architecture and learning more about the Mormon religion, history, and outreach programs. LDS volunteers from around the world staff the square and are able to provide visitors with information and even give them tours.

Several other buildings are contained within the square, including popular destinations such as expansive museums and the Tabernacle, home of the well-known Salt Lake City Tabernacle Choir. The dome shaped auditorium is prized for its unique acoustic qualities, and visitors have the opportunity to take in some of the regular concerts, practices, and other musical activities and see the Choir in action.