Salt Lake City, Utah
The mountains East of Salt Lake City are well known for having some of the best skiing in the continental United States, perhaps only (debatably) eclipsed by the multitude of resorts nestled within Colorado’s rockies. Unlike Colorado’s resorts, though, which are a stressful three hour drive (or more) outside of Denver, the majority of resorts around Salt Lake City are easily accessible from the city within one hour of driving. Despite this, and numerous skiing trips to Salt Lake City in the past, we only recently got the chance to step off the slopes and thoroughly explore the city. Come along with us and learn all about how we spent a month living in and explore the Salt Lake City area.
Getting to Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City’s airport serves as a major hub for Delta Airlines and is also well visited by other airlines, so flying in should really be no problem. If you’re like us, though, and want to skip the rigamarole (and cost) of renting a car for a full month, you can elect to drive in. From the West, SLC is best accessed via I-80 through Reno. Driving along this route will take you through the Bonneville Salt Flats, where you can pull your car off the road and really test its top end if you’re so inclined. Beyond the flats, though, the drive between Reno and Salt Lake is pretty sparse, so make sure you’ve got a good amount of music or podcasts queued up to keep you entertained.
When to Visit Salt Lake City
The Airbnb and hotel scene in & around Salt Lake is extensive, but extremely subject to seasonal price surges during the Winter season. If you’re planning on staying there for a long time and skiing isn’t your primary aim, consider the months of November, or perhaps late season April or May.
While Summer in Salt Lake City doesn’t get *crazy* hot (at least by Californian standards), the city is nestled at the base of a punch bowl and subject to an (link) inversion layer much like that of the LA metro area. If you plan on visiting in the Summer months, consider staying up somewhere in the mountains – such as Eden, Park City, or Midway. If you enjoy hiking and exploring nature, this is likely where you’ll spend most of your free time anyway!
We booked our Airbnb about 6 months out and elected to visit in February so that we could experience some fresh snow and try some new winter activities like snowmobiling (more on that later).
Must-Do Activities in the Salt Lake City Area
If you are coming out to Salt Lake City, there’s a good chance you are seeking some time on the slopes for skiing and snowboarding. There are a number of great choices from Park City to Snowbasin which we will dive deeper on later, but for now we’ll focus here on some of the other activities worth putting on your list.
One of the coolest things we came across during our stay in SLC was the Ice Castles in Midway. These are only open for a short period of time (it needs to be cold enough for them to carve them in the first place and it becomes a hazard when they start melting) so make sure to check on this early! You’ll probably want to book a week or so in advance and keep an eye on the website to ensure that they will still be open for the date you are aiming for. It’s beautiful to see these lit up at night with all the colors, and they even have an ice slide! It would be a great option for kids.
Another option for those that want a more unique snowy activity would be to go snowmobiling. We enjoyed our tour with Park City Peaks which took us through the hills to some great overlooks! Fans of the show Yellowstone may appreciate that you’ll even drive by the ranch where they filmed some of the early seasons.
Bridal Veil Falls is another great attraction if you want to see a frozen waterfall. The road was closed so we couldn’t get that close, but you can still snap some photos from the turnoff.
Jutting out into the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island provides some good hiking and lots of bison watching! (Don’t get too close!) There aren’t many trees along the hike though so be sure to pack plenty of water. There’s also a small museum center where you can learn about some of the local wildlife.
If you want a break from the outdoors, the Natural History Museum of Utah provides a lot of interesting background on the lake’s history and the wildlife that have come and gone over time as water levels have changed drastically back and forth.
Another option to stay warm on cold and snowy days is The Front Climbing Gym. The Front is SLC’s premier place for indoor rock climbing! Featuring both partner-belay and auto belay routes, the Front is a great place to put in some reps while exploring the SLC area, and is an incredible testament to the growing popularity of rock climbing throughout the United States. Routes are typically v5.6+ so it skews slightly more difficult for beginning climbers, but they do offer classes to help you get started.
If you’re in need of some retail therapy, look no further than City Creek Center. This 700,000 square foot shopping center is well sheltered from the at times frigid outdoor temperatures, and features tons of stores interspersed with picturesque water features and other outdoor scenery.
Some other parks and hikes we enjoyed include Liberty Park (they have a whole aviary, playgrounds, lake, and more), Pioneer Trail State Park (for more intense hiking but great views), Ensign Park, and Sugarhouse Park.
Where to Eat in the Salt Lake City Area
Salt Lake City definitely delivers for those like us with a sweet tooth! We also found some fantastic meal spots during our month-long stay. These were some of our absolute favorites:
Breakfast
La Barba Coffee & Breakfast Tacos: This shop may be small, but we quickly became regulars to this tasty spot. From the aromatic coffee to the delicious tacos on FRESHLY-MADE tortillas, you’ll want to give La Barba a try. We loved it so much that we even considered taking some tortillas back home with us.
Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade: As biscuit lovers, of course we had to try this place. Vegetarian gravy can be hit or miss and we thought the gravy on the T-Rose was excellent! Thumbs up from us.
Pig and a Jelly Jar: The winner here was the Veggie Sink. It tasted good and was MASSIVE.
Penny Ann’s Cafe: While we were disappointed that they were out of avocado for omelets, their specialty is the hot cakes and we loved those with the cinnamon cream cheese spread. (You can get this just as a side to your omelet!)
Banbury Cross Donuts: You can either walk up to this shop or go through their drive-thru! They’ve got a great selection of flavors here, but you’ll need to go early if you want to try them out.
Park City Pick – Saltbox: Casey fell in love with his breakfast burrito here and the acai bowl was pretty yummy too.
Lunch & Dinner
Log Haven: Acclaimed Utah’s most romantic restaurant, we had to try this one out for Valentine’s Day. The cabin setting is stunning, so it’s no wonder that people have weddings here. We also enjoyed the live piano music (not sure if this is specifically a weekend thing?). On the food side, they nailed it on the cauliflower, filet mignon, and risotto (though be prepared for lots of cheese on this one). The lava cake dessert special with strawberry crunch was also really well balanced even though it was not exactly “lava” filled.
Valter’s Osteria: Okay hands down, this is probably the best place you will dine in Salt Lake City. The service is incredible and wow, the PASTA SAMPLER. It’s such a great appetizer option to try so many delicious flavor combinations, including their special limoncello sauce. Save room for dessert too because they will give you some sipping chocolate and the lemon gelato with honey is an absolute must. They make it tableside and it is both incredible tasting and a fantastic food pull. You will need a reservation so be sure to call a couple weeks ahead to be safe!
Red Iguana: As Californian’s we were excited to find a Mexican restaurant with authentic-tasting flavors. One of our favorite aspects is the unique mole variations that they offer. Every one we tried was good! Pro tip: They will let you do half and half on the moles that come with your entree so you can try more them! Make a reservation in advance because there is always a line.
Wildwood: This is a cool place with a rotating weekly menu. It’s quite small though — we were even seated in this tiny speakeasy below ground! We really enjoyed the chicken hash and sole gratin, though both were quite creamy!
Stoneground Kitchen: The winning dish here was the black tagliatelle, which was great in both taste and size. We also liked the focaccini with the pesto, but the price point on that was a little high.
Stanza: This upscale Italian restaurant was another good find. We loved both the lasagna and the agnolotti.
Makam’s Indian Restaurant: This restaurant is interesting because it is kind of a Chipotle-style Indian restaurant but the quality is higher. While the garlic naan may not have been garlicky enough for us (we take garlic seriously here lol), the dishes were all tasty.
Emigration Brewing Co.: This restaurant is actually open for brunch as well, but we preferred the dinner menu. The pretzel and scallops were both on point (though a bit pricey for scallops), and we liked the vampire pizza as well (though cheese costs extra).
Chanon Thai Cafe: This small Thai restaurant has very friendly staff and is seemingly a local favorite!
Brick’s Corner: On the casual side of things, Brick’s Corner is a nice place to grab some Detroit-style pizza and maybe catch a game on their TVs! We chowed down on some mozzarella sticks and some mushroom “afgoo” pizza.
Roctaco: If you want a hip place with some unique taco varieties, this is your spot. There are lots to pick from whether you are wanting chicken, fish, vegetarian, beef, or pork. Our favorites were the Jimmy Churri, the Lebanese Blonde, and the Tikka.
Khao Thai: While slightly further (over in Millcreek), we really enjoyed the flavor of this Thai food. The mushroom curry puffs were good and the pad see ew had lots of flavor (which sometimes can be lacking for this dish). The pad kee mao was also tasty and not overly spicy.
Vessel Kitchen: This is a healthy make-your-own plate type of lunch joint. We felt that most of the items had pretty mild flavor, but the garbanzo stew and shredded beef were good. (You’d need to find the right sides to accompany those though.)
Vertical Diner: We were intrigued by Vertical Diner for its all-vegan menu and the fact that they serve breakfast all day. Their breakfast burrito was tasty and smothered in sauce. Personally, we felt the dude cakes were a bit too starchy, but it seemed to be a favorite of some other diners.
Provo Pick – Block Kitchen: When we drove out to Provo, we were really happy with this dinner find. The fried cauliflower was amazing, the short rib gnocchi was nice and fluffy and the trout was excellent too. Wins across the board.
Provo Pick – Black Sheep Cafe: Our lunch spot in Provo was also probably one of our favorite places on the trip. Blacksheep is a Native American restaurant with amazing fry bread tacos. How is it that all tacos are not made this way?? Both the beef and traditional versions were mouthwatering.
Midway Pick – Taqueria La Cuñada: If you’re making your way up to Park City and need a place to stop for a bite, you’ll find tasty chips + salsa and some good camarones rancheros. The owners are actually originally from the Bay Area, so they bring more of the familiar flavors to their food.
Park City Pick – Tupelo: This dining in Park City is a little more upscale. Our main dishes were pretty good but OMG the biscuits with honey were by far the star. If we were staying up in Park City, we definitely would have come back for just a to-go order of biscuits.
Ogden Pick – Sonora Grill: After our trip to New Mexico, we were stoked to see sopapillas on this menu. They also had some giant chips, and flautas and fish tacos that were pretty darn good as well.
Ogden Pick – Slackwater Pub: This is a pretty casual place that is somehow even super crowded at 2 pm. The food here is pretty average, but it seems to still bring in the crowds.
Dessert / Snacks
(Brace yourselves, we have a lot of winners here!)
Chip Cookies: This one is a top favorite because the cookies are so gooey and delicious. Special shoutout to the biscoff flavor, but we love that they have a rotating menu. They also have dough in the fridge so you can bake at home!
Goodly Cookies: These ones are also nice and gooey, and great while warm. Our favorites were the raspberry and the classic chocolate chip.
RubySnap: While these are more cakey cookies, they have SO many unique flavors and they will give you samples of whatever ones you want! It’s fun (and tasty) to get a pack of 6 types.
Crumbl: While a bit more of a chain, Crumbl switches up most of their menu every week, so you get a huge variety. Also, these cookies are massive.
Pie Fight: This is a really unique spot that serves McDonald’s style hand pies (but fancier). The crust was particularly good and the fillings range from things like blueberry lemon to red velvet (yep, this one had a cake inside).
Spilled Milk: Cereal-inspired ice cream / milkshake flavors is the name of the game at this spot. While the execution is certainly unique, the flavors themselves can be a bit hit or miss, so make sure you pick one with good mix-ins! Our rec: the match made in heaven in a cone (pictured, bottom right)
Monkeywrench: An all-vegan ice cream spot in downtown Salt Lake with some unique flavor options! We tried (and liked) the earl grey tea & biscuits as well as the blueberry cobbler. FYI, most of the “ice creams” here are coconut-based.
Nielson’s Frozen Custard: Gee wilikers batman, talk about a blast from the past! This legendary frozen custard spot is well worth checking out if you’re looking for some epic flavor combos and / or all things malted!
Provo Pick – BYU Creamery: If you’re in Provo, we would definitely recommend that you check out BYU’s creamery! Their signature blue mint flavor is pretty delicious, but our for-sure favorite was the Graham canyon.
Aggie Ice Cream: Utah State’s aggies have an ongoing feud with BYU over who produces the best blue mint ice cream. We visited several different grocery stores (we eventually found it at a Smith’s in North Salt Lake) to find the flavor and cast our vote. The result? USU wins it in the blue mint category, but BYU’s other selections remain undefeated for the top spot.
Rockwell Creamery: This location is super popular with the BYU college crowd on Friday and Saturday nights! In addition to ice cream, they also have a rather extensive collection of homemade lollipops for purchase. Due to the place’s popularity, flavors can run out, so make sure to have a backup (or two) in mind before you get to the counter.
Penguin Brothers: If you’re a fan of pizookies, this is definitely the place for you! They serve up personal sized combinations of cookies and ice cream. The biscoff cookies with snickerdoodle ice cream and caramel sauce were simply tre magnifique!
Swig: A Utah staple serving up deluxe cookies alongside some unique (and hyper sweetened) soda mods! We enjoyed the raspberry dream soda (Dr. Pepper + Coconut cream + Raspberry Puree). The cookies themselves are pretty good, though there are definitely some more delectable options throughout SLC…
Tea Grotto: A cute little tea spot with lots of choices for snacking and sipping. Would make a great spot to get some remote work done while working through a pot of jasmine and some (British style) biscuits.
General Tips for Salt Lake City
Here are some quick tips to help you get the most out of your trip to Salt Lake City:
- The weather in Salt Lake City can be somewhat moody. The general rule is: what’s snowed the night before will (usually) melt by around 2pm the next day. Don’t be too worried if you don’t see snow on the ground here in winter, chances are there’s still plenty of it up the mountain!
- Elevation can be staggering! If you’re used to hiking around sea level like we are, it may take some getting used to while climbing the steep hills surrounding the city.
- Sundays can be very quiet in Salt Lake! Many places of business are closed entirely, so plan on making Sundays your outdoor-centric days.
- If you didn’t drive into Salt Lake, plan on renting a car for your time here. While there is some public transportation available, a great deal of locations are somewhat far out and would be best visited from the comfort of your own vehicle.