Comments (23)

1. No visit to Utah is complete without seeing Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. Along with the Temple itself, you can visit the newly renovated Tabernacle. The Mormon Tabernacle choirs is putting on a series of concerts this summer; usually on the weekends but not sure if there is one this weekend or not. They always do a 30 minute broadcast for radio and TV every Sunday morning though. Free to attend, world class.

   posted by Steve on 5-31-2007 at 1:02 pm

2. If you have the time, take a drive through Sundance, in Provo Canyon. It’s beautiful. There are fun mountain biking trails at some of the ski resorts. Also, there’s a great Brazilian grill restaurant in Orem at the mouth of Provo Canyon called Tucanos. I highly recommend it.

   posted by Elliott on 5-31-2007 at 1:24 pm

3. There’s always Lagoon in Davis County. It’s a nice little amusement park, and it’s good if you want to waste a day.

   There’s also the Great Salt Lake, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Moab has great mountain biking, and Tuacahn Musical Theatre near St. George.

   As for dining, I’m betting my sister would say that you should find an Iceberg restaurant. Apparently, they’ve got good milkshakes, and food guaranteed to send your cholesterol sky-high. Isn’t that what a vacation is all about?

   posted by Sillstaw on 5-31-2007 at 2:10 pm

4. The Flying Sumo (formerly the Happy Sumo) sushi resuraunt in old town Park City is awesome. Honestly, the fish there is as good as, sometimes better than, when I get in California. Plus it’s well pepared in a friendly and casual atmosphere.

   posted by moonablaze on 5-31-2007 at 2:22 pm

5. I can’t give you any specific locations, but for dining you won’t have to leave Park City at all. It has the highest concentration of quality gourmet restaurants in the state.

   In addition to fine dining, Park City has some fantastic art galleries. I’ve been known to spend hours windows shopping up and down Main Street.

   I’ll second the Temple Square visit, too. The tour guides are very friendly and the temple itself is an architectural masterpiece.

   Note: you won’t be able to actually enter the temple — only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the “Mormons”) in good standing are allowed inside, but there’s still much to admire from without. This only applies to the temple itself. All the other buildings on Temple Square are open to the public.

   If you’re into nature, any of the canyons in the mountains to the east of the Salt Lake Valley are worth a visit. Hiking trails abound, and even a drive to the top of the canyon and down again provides some beautiful views. My favorites are Big Cottonwood Canyon and Millcreek Canyon (the latter has a $3 entry fee imposed by the US Forest Service)

   posted by Scott on 5-31-2007 at 2:34 pm

6. No trip to Utah is complete without visiting Arches National Park. I also really liked Natural Bridges National Monument, which tends to have fewer lame tourists (the kind that don’t like to get more than 10 feet from their car). Canyonlands is also supposed to rock. Litterally.

   posted by thew on 5-31-2007 at 2:37 pm

7. You might consider taking a second or third wife while you’re there. heh heh

   posted by David on 5-31-2007 at 4:08 pm

8. Midvale Mining Co, for the best prime rib I’ve ever eaten… for $7.50!!!!!!!

   posted by Christine on 5-31-2007 at 4:23 pm

9. You have brought back memories of a trip my family made from Redding CA to Gallup NM in June of 1984. We were also going to a wedding and since we took 5 of our 7 kids with us, I was determined to make it an educational trip. We saw all the parks and canyons, every lake and desert that we could squeeze in the time allowed. AND what do these (now adult) children remember? They remember the water slide at Cherry Hill Resort in Kaysville. So just because you think you should visit the “sites” the memories you make may surprise you.

   posted by Ma Bailey on 5-31-2007 at 4:42 pm

10. For fine dining, you really don’t need to travel further than Park City’s Main Street, which is the hub of activity in Park City (and a good place to see the occasional celebrity).

    If you have the time then I also recommend you make the trip to Moab, Arches National Park, Canyonlands, or any of the above mentioned places, it is well worth it.

    Finally, if you like to get the adrenaline pumping during your stay, head to Park City Mountain Resort where you can zip line down the side of a mountain or hurl yourself down a metal track on a bobsled built for two.

    posted by Lee on 5-31-2007 at 4:46 pm

11. I reccomend going to Mt. Timpanogos. You can hike up the mountain and then return back down through caves in the mountain… very interesting!

    posted by Karie on 5-31-2007 at 5:08 pm

12. And try to go to the Salt Lake City library. That’s all I have.

    posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 5-31-2007 at 5:46 pm

13. If you’ll be in Park City, you must go to the Wasatch Brew Pub and try their Polygamy Porter. And if you see a mountainy man who goes by Steve, he’s my uncle.

    posted by Jason Rehmus on 5-31-2007 at 6:03 pm

14. If you’ll be in Park City, then you must visit the Wasatch Brew Pub and order up a Polygamy Porter. And, if you see a mountainy man who goes by Steve, that’s my uncle.

    posted by Jason Rehmus on 5-31-2007 at 6:44 pm

15. Sunday brunch at the Grand America Hotel in SLC is very very good.

    posted by deNoVa on 5-31-2007 at 8:47 pm

16. Thanks so much, everybody. I’ll print this out and bring it along.

    Now how about some help with excuses, to get me out of the required wedding events?

    posted by Jason on 5-31-2007 at 10:24 pm

17. I’ll tell you the two best places to eat in SLC, and fortunately they are both local chains so you shouldn’t have trouble finding them.

    1) Crown Burger
    2) Cafe Rio

    posted by Erick on 6-1-2007 at 2:20 am

18. Two or three (or four) best locations in Utah: Temple mound – the organ is astounding, Lake Powell, Arches Nat’l Park, Bonneville Salt Flats, and across the border, barely, is Wendover, NV… gambling, liqour, and prostitution – all legal.

    Doc (who used to live in Nevada).

    posted by Doc on 6-1-2007 at 7:53 am

19. No where near Park City, if you are driving through Southern Utah:

    Goblin Valley. Everyone should visit this place once. It seems like you are on an alien planet. Very eerie and cool.

    Just a mile down the road is the Horseshoe slot canyon. It is the neatest slot canyon I have ever visited. We walked nearly all day inside and my kids were so captivated that they never whined a single time (a feat that has never been duplicated – even at Disneyland) The colors and lighting are so perfect that it is impossible to take a bad picture.

    posted by n2y2 on 6-1-2007 at 10:10 am

20. One of my favorite drives is along State Highway 12 which passes through the towns of Escalante and Boulder and over Boulder Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau. Relatively few people pass this way and the country is filled with forests of pine and aspen and expanses of carved sandstone. Between Boulder and Escalante, the road follows a high ridgeback part of the way with wonderful views on both sides of the road- a little terrifying, but apparently well engineered. In Boulder there is a small but good museum featuring the local pre-Columbian Native Americans next to a partially excavated village site.

    posted by S. Taylor on 6-1-2007 at 10:15 am

21. For Mexican food, go to Baja Cantina. The locals go there, so you know it’s good. It’s in the Park City Mountain Resort.

    Definitely try the Alpine slide (mentioned in an earlier post) or the zip line at the resort. Tons of fun. Doesn’t take a lot of time . . . see if you can get the bride and groom to go down together ;-)

    Lagoon: amusement park about an hour away from Park City, but it’s easy to get to. Lots of fun, but you need to be there a whole day to make the most of it.

    Remember the altitude if you plan to do anything strenuous, especially outdoor activities. PC is at 6900 feet, so it can flatten you if you’re not used to it.

    The Olympic Park is cool. You can watch people practice their ski jumps into a pool, or you can make a bobsled run (guided and pricey, but an awesome experience).

    Check out the Park City Chamber of Commerce website (www.parkcityinfo.com) for some well-organized info. And yes, I was a local . . . went to high school there.

    Hope you have a good time!

    posted by Larissa on 6-1-2007 at 5:54 pm

22. this might be too late but…

    omar’s living cuisine; a raw food bar. a hole in the wall part of the sugarhouse district, SLC, ut. a raw food, vegan restaurant that has about 6-10 dishes, but whatever you eat there is simply amazing. and this is coming from a carnivore. check out the falafel bowl.

    “down the block” is a great coffee shop. its on 9th and 9th (900 s & 900 e). great atmosphere and great selection of teas and coffees. you’ll won’t be disappointed.

    don’t take this from me per say since i live in seattle, but take it from my experience being there and my friend who recommended these places… shes the local food critic for catalyst magazine.

    posted by matt on 6-3-2007 at 2:23 am

23. I recently got back from a trip to Utah, and had one of the best diining experiences of my life — Rodizio Grill is a Brazilian barbeque restaurant, and if you think you’ve had barbeque before, think again! (Note: this restaurant is for the die-hard carnivore.) There is a wide offering of sides, appetizers, and desserts at the center buffet. The real feature, though, is the meat. All-you-can-eat meats of every variety, brought right to your table on spits by a team of 14 or so waiters. This is fine dining! Aside from the standard turkey, chicken, and beef, there were offerings of rattlesnake sausage, delicate chicken hearts, and even grilled pineapple! An all-around great dining experience in a cool location. There’s a brewpub and a neat antique shop in the same mall. If you’re still in town, check it out; you won’t be disappointed.

    posted by Bill on 6-4-2007 at 10:42 am

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