Things to do in SLC

[derstuka]

Hey all,

I need some ideas for some things to do in SLC over July 25th-26th timeline. I am rolling the 5.0 back from Yellowstone/Jacksonhole and passing thru Utah with some time to kill, and I realized I have never explored SLC or the Valley it is in. I've been to Moab, Zion, Bryce, Escalante, Lake Powell, but nothing around SLC.

I need tips for things to do, places to see, hikes, stripbars to hit, or whatnot. Can anybody help me out?

[stefan]

shootin' fireworks off outside shlingdawg's house ... 'round about midnight or so?

[Mtnman1830]

Temple Square!

[mrabe1979]

Take a drive up big or little cottonwood canyon. :2thumbs:

[derstuka]

shootin' fireworks off outside shlingdawg's house ... 'round about midnight or so?

Hell, I almost forgot about that option sefan! Thanks! I am all loaded up with Mexican fireworks and tequila, and ready to party down with the neighbors till the wee hours of the mornin'! :flamer: :assault:

What is your address again slingdawg?? :roflol:

[derstuka]

Take a drive up big or little cottonwood canyon. :2thumbs:

Can this be driven in a passenger car (gf's '05 Mustang)? Is it paved?

[Alex]

Yes it's a great ride and of course it's paved :2thumbs:

Other options would be:

Kennecott Mine (20 mins drive west of I-15)
Temple Square (even if you are not a mormon, it's something to see)
City Park (downtown and Capital)
hike Grandeur and/or Olympus Peaks to see SL Valley
There is a very famous little hike up Big Cottonwood canyon called donuts fall. It will take about an hour to drive up, hike and return to SL Valley
We are kind of short on strip bars, but Southern Exposure has nice girls

[derstuka]

Yes it's a great ride and of course it's paved :2thumbs:

Other options would be:

Kennecott Mine (20 mins drive west of I-15)
Temple Square (even if you are not a mormon, it's something to see)
City Park (downtown and Capital)
hike Grandeur and/or Olympus Peaks to see SL Valley
There is a very famous little hike up Big Cottonwood canyon called donuts fall. It will take about an hour to drive up, hike and return to SL Valley
We are kind of short on strip bars, but Southern Exposure has nice girls

Hey Alex,

I am lazy, can you give me directions to Cottonwood Canyon from the 15?

Also, how far can you go in Kennecott Mine? Do they charge a fee, or do I need a pass?

Thanks a lot for your help bud! :2thumbs:


Anybody else have any places cool to see they can think of?

[Alex]

Yes they charge 5 bucks to get in, but I think it's totally worth it.

http://www.kennecott.com/SD_visitors_center.html
http://www.kennecott.com/location_map.html

With no traffic, I think it's about 20 mins west from I-15. I used to work in the mine a while back, so I saw the pit from the bottom up and I have never seen anything like that before man. Seeing those huge trucks and the manpower to dig such a hole is unbelievable.

When you go there, you just come to the Visitor Center, you can watch a 15 mins movie (which I think is worth it) and look into the mine from the top of the rail guard.

To go to Big Cottonwood canyon is quite easy, here is a map:

http://www.skisolitude.com/downloads/location.pdf

Just take Exit 6 on I-215 and go towards the mountains, there are sign posts all over the place for the ski areas. There are two ski resorts up in Big C, Solitude and Brighton, both are nice hikes. At the top of the canyon there is a Guardsman pass (right before Brighton ski resort) which is a nice paved drive over to Park City (I'd recommend driving that) and then coming back home on I-80 from Park City.

If you do end up going to Little Cottonwood canyon (parallel to Big C), go to Snowbird and take the gondola ride to the top and enjoy the fresh air and the views. You can ride it back down as well. It's perfect gateway from smoggy SLC during the heat of the day.

[derstuka]

Yes they charge 5 bucks to get in, but I think it's totally worth it.

http://www.kennecott.com/SD_visitors_center.html
http://www.kennecott.com/location_map.html

With no traffic, I think it's about 20 mins west from I-15. I used to work in the mine a while back, so I saw the pit from the bottom up and I have never seen anything like that before man. Seeing those huge trucks and the manpower to dig such a hole is unbelievable.

When you go there, you just come to the Visitor Center, you can watch a 15 mins movie (which I think is worth it) and look into the mine from the top of the rail guard.

To go to Big Cottonwood canyon is quite easy, here is a map:

http://www.skisolitude.com/downloads/location.pdf

Just take Exit 6 on I-215 and go towards the mountains, there are sign posts all over the place for the ski areas. There are two ski resorts up in Big C, Solitude and Brighton, both are nice hikes. At the top of the canyon there is a Guardsman pass (right before Brighton ski resort) which is a nice paved drive over to Park City (I'd recommend driving that) and then coming back home on I-80 from Park City.

If you do end up going to Little Cottonwood canyon (parallel to Big C), go to Snowbird and take the gondola ride to the top and enjoy the fresh air and the views. You can ride it back down as well. It's perfect gateway from smoggy SLC during the heat of the day.


Thanks a bunch! You da man!!! Sounds like some cool things to see! :2thumbs:

[derstuka]

Yes they charge 5 bucks to get in, but I think it's totally worth it.

http://www.kennecott.com/SD_visitors_center.html
http://www.kennecott.com/location_map.html

With no traffic, I think it's about 20 mins west from I-15. I used to work in the mine a while back, so I saw the pit from the bottom up and I have never seen anything like that before man. Seeing those huge trucks and the manpower to dig such a hole is unbelievable.

When you go there, you just come to the Visitor Center, you can watch a 15 mins movie (which I think is worth it) and look into the mine from the top of the rail guard.

To go to Big Cottonwood canyon is quite easy, here is a map:

http://www.skisolitude.com/downloads/location.pdf

Just take Exit 6 on I-215 and go towards the mountains, there are sign posts all over the place for the ski areas. There are two ski resorts up in Big C, Solitude and Brighton, both are nice hikes. At the top of the canyon there is a Guardsman pass (right before Brighton ski resort) which is a nice paved drive over to Park City (I'd recommend driving that) and then coming back home on I-80 from Park City.

If you do end up going to Little Cottonwood canyon (parallel to Big C), go to Snowbird and take the gondola ride to the top and enjoy the fresh air and the views. You can ride it back down as well. It's perfect gateway from smoggy SLC during the heat of the day.


Hey Alex,

On the Map, it shows the big mine near the visitor being called "Bingham Canyon" mine, is the one? There is also Barney's Canyon mine, is that worth seeing?

[Sombeech]

Hey, we should try to have a uutah lunch at that time.

[CarpeyBiggs]

On the Map, it shows the big mine near the visitor being called "Bingham Canyon" mine, is the one? There is also Barney's Canyon mine, is that worth seeing?

Yeah, Bingham Canyon is the same. Barney's? Not sure. You can't miss Kennecott though. They've taken a whole mountain, inverted it, and then left monstrous unsightly terraces that can be seen from 45 miles away. Just look to the west, find the ugliest stretch of mountain, and drive straight to it. The mine itself is kinda lame, just this huge ass hole in the ground. But if you get there when they are doing explosions... Then it is really cool. You can stand on the rim and watch, and they blast HUGE sections of earth out of the terraces. Shakes the ground, lotsa noise, etc... Kinda fun.

[Iceaxe]

Big Cottonwood Canyon:
From anywhere in the Salt lake Valley take I-215 East until you reach the 6200 South Exit (Exit 6). Signs are marked for the ski areas, you will be heading towards Brighton and Solitude Ski Resorts. Drive east on 6200 south and the road will become Wasatch Boulevard. Follow Wasatch Boulevard south to an intersection with Fort Union Boulevard (7200 South). The intersection is located 1.7 miles after exiting I-215. Turn east at this intersection and enjoy the canyon.

[Brian in SLC]

I need tips for things to do, places to see, hikes, stripbars to hit, or whatnot. Can anybody help me out?

Haven't been, but, the laser show at Hansen Planetarium is supposed to be cool.

I'd suggest a tour of the Temple grounds. Go there first, look closely at the rock walls, then hit Little Cottonwood for where all that rock came from. Heck, you might even score a free book (ha!).

Drive to Alta, hike the Catherine's Pass trail (and beyond to Sunset Peak if you want some more workout, then come down past Point Supreme on the road through the cabins, usually a large moose in there). I think, visually, for out of town folks, LCC is kinda more stunning than BCC.

Ride the tram at Snowbird, hike down. Eat a garlic cheese burger at the Cotton Bottom (classic dive).

Rent a mountain bike and do the Wasatch Crest trail.

If its not too hot, you could hike up George's Hollow to the flintstones living room. Neat views of the city especially at sunset. Behind the U near Red Butte.

-Brian in SLC

[rockgremlin]

Too bad I won't be in SLC that weekend -- I would've liked to give you a personalized tour of Kennecott, including an explanation of what every piece of machinery is doing and why. Barney's Mine is just to the North of Bingham Canyon mine, but it is mined out, and closed to public access.

Park City has a bunch of cool stuff -- the Alpine slide comes to mind.

[accadacca]

They have all kinds of shiz up at Snowbird these days.

Including:

. alpine slide

[derstuka]

Too bad I won't be in SLC that weekend -- I would've liked to give you a personalized tour of Kennecott, including an explanation of what every piece of machinery is doing and why. Barney's Mine is just to the North of Bingham Canyon mine, but it is mined out, and closed to public access.

Park City has a bunch of cool stuff -- the Alpine slide comes to mind.


Yeah Rock, I was hoping we could load up some Dynamite and blow some shizzle up! :nod:

Seriously though, a tour would have been great, not sure if the gf would dig it, but I would.

[derstuka]

[quote=accadacca]They have all kinds of shiz up at Snowbird these days.

Including:

. alpine slide

[derstuka]

Hey, we should try to have a uutah lunch at that time.

Try some of dem der garlic burgers, eh? :2thumbs:

[gonzo]

Yeah, I was just looking at this stuff before I checked back. Is the alpine slide worth it, or does it go at like 1 mph crawling down the hill? Anybody done the zip ride?

I haven't done the zip line at Snowbird, but the one at the Utah Olympic Park (http://www.olyparks.com/uop/uop_home.asp) is pretty underwhelming. I wouldn't spend (my own) money on it again. The bobsled rides (http://www.olyparks.com/uop/summer_bobsled_rides.asp) I might actually spend money on.

I would guess the end of July would be too hot for the George's Hollow/Living Room hike unless you start early in the morning, or go towards the end of the evening. It's not a very long hike (less than 2.5 miles round trip) so you could do it in the heat of the day, but the trail bakes under the sun, and you probably wouldn't have much fun.

Of course, the ultimate SLC destination would have to be the Joseph Smith Spinx (http://flickr.com/photos/kris247/59702491/).

[Alex]

The zip line I saw at Deer Valley was quite fast. The alpine slide at Snowbird is plenty fast to have fun, maybe 20-25mph?

[rockgremlin]

I like the Alpine slide. Its pretty unregulated, so you can get going so fast that you actually launch yourself out of the slide on the corners. They have two side by side so you and the GF can race each other down.

[derstuka]

Its pretty unregulated, so you can get going so fast that you actually launch yourself out of the slide on the corners.

That is music to my ears Rock! fast and unregulated that is! Wooo hooo!

[accadacca]

Its pretty unregulated, so you can get going so fast that you actually launch yourself out of the slide on the corners.

That is music to my ears Rock! fast and unregulated that is! Wooo hooo!
There are actually two "Alpine Slides." One in Park City, I think this is the one that rock is talking about. The other is up at SnowBird. I have been on the Park City slide and it was pretty fun.

[gonzo]

There's also a slide (http://www.olyparks.com/uop/summer_alpine.asp) at the Utah Olympic Park. I didn't get a chance to go on it, but it looks killer. It uses a stainless steel track instead of the concrete/fiberglass tracks that the Park City and Snowbird tracks use. (Why am I pimping the Olympic Park so much today?)

[accadacca]

Why am I pimping the Olympic Park so much today?
Slut! :lol8:

[derstuka]

Its pretty unregulated, so you can get going so fast that you actually launch yourself out of the slide on the corners.

That is music to my ears Rock! fast and unregulated that is! Wooo hooo!
There are actually two "Alpine Slides." One in Park City, I think this is the one that rock is talking about. The other is up at SnowBird. I have been on the Park City slide and it was pretty fun.

Thanks acca. You gots the 411 on how to get there, or a linky link?

[Brian in SLC]

If you're in town on Thursday night...this is pretty much a must do:

http://www.slcgov.com/arts/twilight/

Can be some good food, too. And beverages. Kinda like not being in Utah!

-Brian in SLC

[Iceaxe]

Seriously though, a tour would have been great, not sure if the gf would dig it, but I would.

Just drop the GF off at my house while you do the tour.... I'll keep her entertained. :haha:

[derstuka]

Seriously though, a tour would have been great, not sure if the gf would dig it, but I would.

Just drop the GF off at my house while you do the tour.... I'll keep her entertained. :haha:

Throw in a case of Sam Adam's, and you got yourself a deal! Just be sure to hose her down and clean her up nice and pretty for when I pick her back up. :2thumbs:

[Iceaxe]

Throw in a case of Sam Adam's, and you got yourself a deal!

Polygamy Porter is one of Utahs finer beers. :2thumbs:

Probably Utah's official beer if we actually had an official beer... :nod:

Why Have Just One?

http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/d30-20/polygamy-porter.jpg

[derstuka]

Throw in a case of Sam Adam's, and you got yourself a deal!

Polygamy Porter is one of Utahs finer beers. :2thumbs:

Probably Utah's official beer if we actually had an official beer... :nod:

Why Have Just One?

http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/d30-20/polygamy-porter.jpg

Where can a fella score some of that bounty? My buddies would get a kick out of that.

[Iceaxe]

Pretty much every grocery store in SLC stocks it. Albertsons and Smith's both do which is our major chains in the area. Many of the convince stores also stock it but you pay a little more.

[derstuka]

Pretty much every grocery store in SLC stocks it. Albertsons and Smith's both do which is our major chains in the area. Many of the convince stores also stock it but you pay a little more.

Iceman,

It's settled then, I am gonna be rollin' by your casa to pick up my case of Polygamy beer on July 25-26.....BE READY! :rockon: