Salt Lake City is the gateway airport to the some of the best skiing in North America. With direct flights from London, skiing on the infamous Utah powder snow is closer than you think. Once you touchdown, you can easily reach any of the four resorts in our Utah collection within an hour of leaving the airport.
Utah has a fantastic choice of resorts; including the largest ski resort in the USA – Park City, the upscale skiers only resort of Deer Valley, and the powder snow mecca of Snowbird. All the ski resorts enjoy abundant snow, which averages around 500 inches per season. The snow is so light and dry, Utah trademarked it the ‘Greatest Snow On Earth’. Whichever resort you decide to explore, it’s easy to combine your snow adventure with a city break in Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City is one of the most exciting cities in North America to spend time in. This is not your regular ski town – this is America’s Ski City. There are over 2,000 restaurants, nearly 200 bars/clubs and 13 craft breweries/distilleries to discover. The ski areas are so close to Salt Lake City that you can easily stay downtown and travel daily up to Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon or Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon on the local UTA ski bus shuttle services, which are free when using the Ski City Super Pass. You could easily ski four different resorts in four days!!.
Whether you spend a day, weekend or even a week in Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah has plenty to offer. Check out our top five things to do while you’re there.
Explore Temple Square
Any visit to Salt Lake City wouldn’t be complete without seeing Temple Square. This is the home of the magnificent Salt Lake Temple – the headquarters of the Mormons church. The building has an amazing history so it’s worth taking the free tour of the grounds. During December every tree in the square is covered in Christmas lights. Whatever time you visit, the building is one of the most architecturally striking in the city.
Go shopping at City Creek Centre
Located across the street from Temple Square is the City’s premier shopping destination – an open air retail centre that’s home to over 100 stores and restaurants. This isn’t your regular shopping mall – it has an actual creek running through the Centre! It also has a retractable glass roof for when the snow’s falling. Even if retail therapy isn’t your thing it’s worth a visit to window shop at the famous Tiffanys & Co, or to stop and refuel at The Cheescake Factory.
Go see a Basketball Game
The Utah Jazz are in the NBA and play their home games at the Vivant Smart Home Arena in downtown SLC. The arena holds 20,000 fans so the atmosphere is always electric. If you’re into sport – it’s one of the best sporting events in town. The NBA league runs through the winter and home games start at 7pm local time.
Grab a meal at one of the most decorated restaurants in the City
Salt Lake City has a vibrant restaurant scene with a dazzling array of choices from gourmet fine dining restaurants around Temple Square to some of the best craft breweries in the USA. One of the most famous restaurants to visit is the Red Iguana, which serves some of the best Mexican food in SLC. It’s even been featured on Diners, Drive-in and Dives, the popular TV show on the food channel. You have to try the Jalapeno Margarita!
Visit the Sundance Film Festival
For ten days every year at the end of January, Salt Lake City is one of three host locations for the renowned Sundance Film Festival. If you time your trip right you can be carving up the slopes by day and checking out some of the best independent movies of the year at night. It’s a great time to be in the city with the Festival being shown at six venues in downtown SLC.
Whatever your interests are, Salt Lake City is fantastic city stopover for skiers heading up to the resorts at Park City, Deer Valley, Solitude and Snowbird. However long you stay in Salt Lake City, you’ll probably leave wishing you could have stayed longer.