Salt Lake City: Recreation
Sightseeing
Downtown Salt Lake City boasts a number of popular attractions. The State Capitol with its spectacular copper-clad dome is located on Capitol Hill, which offers a view of the city and surrounding area. At Temple Square, the headquarters of the Mormon Church, the Salt Lake Temple displays six spires, fifteen-foot-thick granite walls, and a golden statue of the Angel Moroni. Also on the square are the famous Mormon Tabernacle, built in 1867 with no interior supports, and the Seagull Monument, honoring the birds that saved the settlers' first crops.
Other sights in the city include Beehive House, the restored residence of Brigham Young, who gave it the name because he wanted his followers to be as industrious as bees. Fort Douglas, a 9,000-acre historical fort, is filled with interesting military architecture dating from 1862. Utah's Hogle Zoo contains a collection of exotic birds and animals in a natural setting, including a new elephant habitat planned for 2005. This Is The Place Heritage Park contains an operational pioneer community as it was in 1847, as well as "This Is The Place" Monument, marking the spot where Brigham Young chose the area as a home for the Mormons.
The Great Salt Lake, over 90 miles long and 48 miles wide, is the second most salty body of water in the world. The high salinity makes it a unique swimming experience: it is almost impossible for a person to sink in the water. A different type of aquatic entertainment is found at Raging Waters, a family-oriented theme park with more than 30 different water rides and a picnic area. Clark Planetarium presents daily star shows and images from the Hubble Telescope. Olympic Cauldron Park is a new and stunning addition to the city, featuring the 72-foot Olympic Cauldron, which housed the Olympic Flame; the Hoberman Arch, where athletes stood to receive their medals; a visitor center; and a theatre dedicated to the memory of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
Arts and Culture
Salt Lake City is home to a number of acclaimed cultural organizations. The world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, an American institution for many years, is based in Salt Lake City. The Utah Symphony performs 260 concerts nationally and internationally each year; the orchestra performs locally in Maurice Abravanel Hall, a world-class acoustic space. The historic Capitol Theatre is home to the Utah Opera and Ballet West, one of the nation's leading companies. The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center includes an art gallery and several performance spaces for new and established artists.
Theatrical performances are scheduled at Desert Star Playhouse, featuring live musical comedy melodrama, honky-tonk piano, and audience participation; Hale Center Theater, offering comedies and musicals for the whole family to enjoy; Off Broadway Theatre, staging comedy and improvisation; Promised Valley Playhouse, presenting theater in a restored turn-of-the-century showplace; and Salt Lake Community College Grand Theatre, featuring Broadway musicals.
Several interesting museums are located in Salt Lake City. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum houses a collection of dolls, textiles, and frontier furniture in a replica of the famous Salt Palace. Located in a restored nineteenth century railroad station, the Utah Historical Society features exhibits on the history of Utah's various ethnic groups. The Fort Douglas Military Museum inside the restored fort displays items relating to the military history of the state. Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum maintains a collection of military aircraft, missiles, vehicles and uniforms. The Utah Museum of Natural History contains a large collection of dinosaur skeletons excavated from many local sites, as well as exhibits on animals and minerals of the region.
The Salt Lake Art Center houses traveling art exhibits from around the world as well as a permanent collection and a sculpture garden. On the campus of the University of Utah, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts contains paintings by artists such as Rubens, antique tapestries, and Louis XIV furniture.
Festivals and Holidays
The Utah Arts Festival, the nation's first statewide arts festival, takes place in June and provides exciting performance and visual art, crafts, and ethnic foods. June is also the time for the prestigious Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation Festival and Competition. The Festival of the American West, held on the Utah State University campus in Logan, occurs annually during the last week of July/early August. Pioneer Harvest Days happens every September in Pioneer Trail State Park, featuring authentic examples of historic craftwork, including butter making, weaving, blacksmithing, adobe brick making, and pioneer games. September is a busy month in Salt Lake City, with the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival and the Utah State Fair, which features midway rides, livestock and art exhibits, and special entertainment nightly. The Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving when more than 300,000 lights are turned on in Temple Square. The Sundance Film Festival takes place in the Salt Lake area every January. The Madeleine Festival takes place at the Cathedral of the Madeleine each spring, offering free cultural performances to the community. The annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival takes place in May, as well as Living Traditions, a three-day festival honoring folk artists of the Salt Lake Valley.
Sports for the Spectator
Salt Lake City is home to two professional basketball teams: the NBA's Utah Jazz and the WNBA's Utah Starzz. Both teams play in the $90 million, state-of-the-art Delta Center. Hockey is represented by the American Hockey League's Utah Grizzlies, who also play at Delta Center. The Salt Lake Stingers, a Triple A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels, play baseball at Franklin Covey Field from April through mid-September. The University of Utah fields competitive teams in most major collegiate sports. Salt Lake City is also host to two professional soccer teams, an indoor football team, and a number of rodeo events on the national rodeo circuit. The nearby Bonneville Salt Flats is the site of numerous auto races and frequent attempts to set the land speed record.
Sports for the Participant
The Salt Lake City area offers an abundance of outdoor activities. The nearby mountains provide year-round recreation: hiking, fishing, camping, and winter skiing. Some of the nation's most popular ski resorts such as Snowbird, Park City, Deer Valley, Sundance, Alta, and Solitude are within a 40-minute drive of the city. Non-traditional sports such as ski-jumping and luge are offered at new facilities constructed for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The area's rivers offer white-water rafting, canoeing, and innertubing. Many area lakes are ideal spots for all forms of water activity—boating, sailing, water skiing, and swimming.
Gallivan Utah Center Plaza has a skating rink. Salt Lake City operates a number of parks that feature swimming pools, jogging trails, playing fields, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities. Several championship-grade golf courses are located in the city as well.
Shopping and Dining
America's first department store, the Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution, opened in Salt Lake City in 1868 and continues to operate today in ZCMI Center Mall. A number of major shopping centers are located in the city, including Crossroads Plaza and Trolley Square, a theme mall located in a group of restored trolley barns. The Gateway, Salt Lake's only open-air entertainment, dining, and shopping venue, was completed in 2001. It features 90 shops and restaurants, a restored 1908 Union Pacific Depot and the Olympic Legacy Plaza. Many small shops and boutiques are scattered throughout the metropolitan area.
Because of its diverse ethnic population, Salt Lake City features a variety of international restaurants; many are prominent nationally. Everything from inexpensive fast food to elegant, intimate dining can be found in the more than 300 restaurants located in the valley.
Visitor Information: Salt Lake City Convention & Visitors Bureau, 90 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101; telephone (801)521-2822; fax (801)534-4927