Beyond Salt Lake City

In the Vicinity of Salt Lake City

With sandy beaches, walking trails, horseback riding, and mountain hiking, Antelope Island State Park is a wonderful outing from city life. Full-time island residents include pronghorn antelopes, a herd of bison, mule deer, big-horn sheep, coyotes, and waterfowl. Kayaking, bird watching, camping, and both horseback and wagon rides are available. The Fielding Garr Ranch, located on Antelope Island, is open for tours. Site seeing cruises also are available through the Visitors Center.

Benson Grist Mill

Built in 1854 under the direction of Ezra Taft Benson, the Benson Grist Mill in Tooele includes a blacksmith shop, pioneer cabin, and a country store. Placed on the National Historic Register over 30 years ago, the Mill sponsors performing arts productions that take place during the time of InvestEd.

Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon

In production for over 100 years, Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine, southwest of Salt Lake City, is an open-pit copper mining operation. From the Visitors Center you can view this three-quarters mile deep by two-and-one-half miles wide mine, which is on the National Register of Historic Sites. It is one of just two man-made objects on earth that astronauts can see from outer space (the other: The Great Wall of China).

Living Planet Aquarium

Located in Sandy, Utah, the aquarium includes a section on native Utah fish and aquatic life, as well as all of the expected marine life. Touch pools offering hands-on interaction with stingrays, a sunken ship, and a 900-gallon coral exhibit are highlights.

Pioneer Village at Lagoon Amusement Park

Pioneer Village in Farmington, Utah, a re-created 19th century frontier settlement, provides a variety of living-history exhibits. Lagoon Park includes a wild animal area, campground, and a beach, and a water park, roller coasters, and a variety of amusement park rides.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Man-made tunnels connect three large limestone caverns about 1,800 feet in length. In these lighted caverns, at a temperature about 45 degrees, dripstone is forming and producing a variety of stones ranging from aragonite crystals to stalactites. A cave tour is available, and the visitors’ center provides visitors with a 20-minute film.

Uinta National Forest

This forest encompasses close to one million acres of mountainous timber and rangeland. One of the highest points in the forest is Mount Timpanogos. Other areas within the forest of interest to visitors include the Mount Nebo Recreation Area And Scenic Byway, Payson Lakes, and the Strawberry Reservoir Recreation Area.

Western Heritage Museum

The Western Heritage Museum in Vernal features displays of early settlers, artifacts of the Fremont and Ute Indians, a blacksmith display, barbershop, and country store. In addition, one may view ladies’ fashions of the late 1800s, a one-room school, old rifles, and other western gear.

Zion National Park

As Utah’s first national park, Zion National Park includes a massive canyon with walls that seem to reach the sky. A showcase of geology, the park has high plateaus, a maze of deep narrow sandstone canyons, and striking rock towers and mesas. Zion's unique geographic location and variety of life zones combine to create a variety of habitats for a surprising array of plant and animal species.