Hello everyone,
I will be in SLC at the end of July for 6 full days. I am tagging along with a friend who is attending the conference. Since I have so much free time, I was interested in taking some day trips outside of the city. However, I am having trouble finding information on this. I don't feel comfortable renting a car by myself, so are there any day tours that run out of SLC that you are aware of? I am interested in pretty much anything!

Hi tayjamarie,

There is plenty to see and do in the area, but I'm not sure why you worry about renting a car? Public transportation to the place you want to do is pretty limited.

You could get a shuttle up to Park City and easily spend more than one day there.

You could also take a public bus up to Snowbird and Alta and see the wildflowers in Albion Basin, take the tram to the top of Hidden Peak - awesome views.

If willing to rent a car, there is much much more. There is plenty to keep you busy for a whole week, but not without a car.

I don't know of private tour companies in SL. Everyone drives, it's so easy.

I just remembered there is a company in Park City that does outdoor day trip activities.

Check www.parkcityinfo.com. It's a very good site with lots of links.

Also, check with the Salt Lake Visitor's Bureau and the state of Utah travel site - Utah Life Elevated!

Here's a company that does tours in Salt Lake. I haven't taken a tour, but they are a member of the Salt Lake Visitors Bureau http://www.saltlakecitytours.org/index.php. I wouldn't go to Kennecott or the Great Salt Lake, but the other two tours might be fun, if you really aren't interested in renting a car or using public transportation.

The Visitors Bureau also has a nice online visitors guide http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/s...isitors_guide/.

Hi Barbara!!

Thanks everyone I will check those out.
I hadn't wanted to go to Park City, but wasn't sure how to get there so that's helpful there is a shuttle.

I am not very good with directions and come from a smallish city, so I would just prefer not to rent a car. Trust me, it's better for everyone

Dayle, you mentioned a shuttle to Park City but I can't find any information on that. It seems like they only run during ski season? Is there a bus I can take? I can't find one of those either and I'd like to go there! Thanks!

there is NO public trans between the SL valley and Park City. You would need to take a taxi or a shuttle. Call these companies and see if they will pick you up from downtown SL for Park City. It won't be cheap.

Park City Tranportation
All Resorts Express

Also check here for great links and further info

www.parkcityinfo.com

I too am from a small town and don't love driving in the city. But Salt Lake is set up on a grid system (the Mormon temple is the central point on the grid, and the streets are all named for how far north, south, east or west they are from the temple.) It's actually one of the easiest places to get around! Also, there's really only one major highway, I-15.

If you're still nervous about driving, you might try getting the Salt Lake Connect pass. It's a discounted pass for several of the area's main attractions.

http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/connectpass/

I'm not sure how it works these days, but as recently as three years ago, they offered a go-on-your own option (where you just got the discount card and did your own thing in renting a car or whatever) or a tour-bus option (where someone else did the driving, which is nice.)

The public transit (UTAbus.com) is decent for the size of city it is, but the rail system, Trax, is primarily a commuter rail and may limit some of what you see and do. On the plus side, it's free to ride downtown, so you could easily use it to visit Temple Square, the Gateway Mall, the University of Utah, Farmers Market, and some other things in the city. There are free concerts and outdoor movies almost every day of the week in the city as well. Let me know if you want those details.

A couple of favorites: if you can, get up to the Deer Valley Music Festival. And Ruth's Diner, up emigration canyon, is one of my favorite places to eat breakfast. If you go, make sure to get an outdoor table.

Salt lake is defiantly a big city you can get lost in be careful!

Just so you know i've used a tour guide service several times when family comes into town on vacation Salt Lake City Guided Tours has been just great there website is www.saltlakecityguidedtours.com there rates have been lower then other when i have shopped around for the same tour between the different tour guide company's

Oh I almost forgot this other page i use to find the best things to do in salt lake city www.utahthingstodo.com has been a awesome resource for finding nightlife around the city

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM SOLVED! RENT A BIKE, YOU CAN TAKE IT ON THE BUS!AND, THERE IS A BUS TO PARK CITY, rideuta.com. Then check out the Park City bus routes. You ABSOLUTELY want to go to Park City. Try visitparkcity.com, the chamber website. Some things to do, and I believe along the bus route, are the Olympic Legacy park, check their website. Their could be some freestyle training to watch, or you can ride a bobsled. The Canyons has a farmers market one day, and free concerts on others, canyons.com. Park Silly Sunday on Main St is great, art, music, etc. Main St is worth a day all by itself. There are galleries, restaurants, little shops. There is a christmas store that is darling. Check out Images of Nature for some cool photos of wildlife.
Don't be alarmed at some of the prices, there is something in every range.
There is a distillery where they make great Rye and serve wonderful food.
You can rent a mountain bike and take it up a chairlift, ride down. Or do the same without the bike and just hike.
Contact a company called Utah Mountain Shuttle, utahmountainshuttle.com. They do tours, and all kinds of great stuff. They would also be a great source of advice for what else you might do, as well as a great source of tranportation.
If you can get there, go to the High Uintas.
Salt Lake has a number of great canyons that you can go to for day hikes, and some might be accessible by bus. Same with biking, and YOU CAN BRING A BIKE ON THE BUS!
The transportation system here is incredible, you have light rail running to Ogden and Provo. Taking the train to Ogden to tour around and have lunch is something the locals do, on occasion. We also have TRAX, which runs the center of the valley, with access by bus to the eastern and western sides.
Salt Lake had the largest open pit copper mine in the world, at Bingham Canyon.
The Salt Lake Connect Pass allow access to some great museums and places like Discovery, the planetarium, the aquarium, etc. Our natural history museum was just re-built, very green and is fantastic.
You should go to Red Butte gardens, up by the university which is also the area for the natural history museum, art museum, and nearby This is The Place park and the Zoo. There is a place called Wheeler Farm on the bus routes.
When you come, our new City Creek Center, downtown, will be in full swing and should be great. The Gateway Mall may have some entertainment, and you should visit Trolley Square for a unique shopping experience.
You may have other interests, and if so, specify, I'll see what else there is.
(Also look into Thanksgiving Point. You could probably find horseback riding, including in town or in the mountains. Try Fly Fishing! Don't bother with the LAKE, it is not impressive, just view it from the airplane. When downtown, view Temple Square and that area, it is really beautiful).

People, the person had 6 full days... not 6 full years.

LOL NWmale: I think it's helpful to give a number of choices but my top 2 (outside of Salt Lake)- would be getting up to the old Silver mining town/Victorian themed Park City - now a mega ski resort - and then up to Snowbird - and if you are a hiker, also consider Alta - a mile up the road from Snowbird which has some great hiking.

And if you really are concerned about getting lost while driving - the bus sounds perfect - where you can sit back and enjoy the scenery. Both Park City (Main St anyway) and Snowbird are compact enouhg you can walk anywhere you want, but riding a bike around could also be fun.

Did anyone recently replying notice this post is from 2years ago. I think it w
sas revived for advertising. However, good of all to give the trans updated info.

Yes, Dayle, hense the reason I said: "6 full years"

And the reason I hadn't replied at all.

i found a web site when i was in salt lake city that was very helpful. Every thing i need was on this site so maybe it can help some of you. http://saltlakethingstodo.com

The museum in Ogden has a great display of Browning firearms. Virtually every improvement in firearms for a century was due to Browning.

Prometory Point - transcontinental RR meeting. Nearby the parking lot at Thiokkol has a display of the rockets they made, Including the space shuttle booster.