Summer Travel to Salt Lake City (Sandy, Cottonwood Heights: rentals, gardens, airport)
Salt Lake City areaSalt Lake County - Davis County - Weber County
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With all due respect to Ruth's Diner, it would not rank among the top 10 reasons to drive into Emigration Canyon. And, I say that as someone who bikes the Emigration Canyon and then East Canyon multiple times a week in the Summer and know it quite closely. Ruth's Diner is very close to the City - may be 3 miles from the mouth of the canyon near the Zoo. The best views are at the highest point at the top of the Little Mountain. There is even a nice ridge trail starting at the little mountain, though I personally would only recommend higher elevation trails in the small and big cottonwood canyon at that time of the year.
For us, the best drive (rather bike ride) near SLC is up the Big Cottonwood canyon to Brighton and then up the Guardsman's pass. Much as I live at the mouth of Emigration canyon and love it, it is not as pretty as the big and small cottonwood canyons. There is a diner near the end of big cottonwood which seems quite popular, judging by the number of vehicles parked there. There are nice trails starting from Brighton, Solitude and elsewhere on big cottonwood. Similarly in small cottonwood as well. he advantage is that the trails there are at a higher elevation and more enjoyable in the summer sun. As a tourist, that's where I'd recommend visiting.
All the best!
I agree with you... The OP asked for an outdoor dining option with a nice patio + hiking opportunity. Ruth's + emigration canyon satisfies both and would be a nice day. I like Ruth's for brunch (Mimosa's on the back patio & non-CV19 times they had live music. I prefer the area of Little dell reservoir and driving up highway 65 to East Canyon reservoir over Emigration canyon itself. There are a dozen + hikes along this route that you can take that are fun as well.
Thank you! I am quite familiar with that whole route. I bike to the East Canyon State Park, so know it rather well. What you suggested is a perfectly sensible option.
In the Big Cottonwood Canyon, one has a similar option in the Silver Fork restaurant https://www.silverforklodge.com/. It is about a mile before Solitude - so very nice setting and one can sit outside in the Summer. I cannot attest to the food as my experience is limited to huffing and puffing while pedaling past it on the way to Brighton and Guardsman pass. But, judging by the number of vehicles and people there (comparable to Ruth's Diner), it must be quite good.
With all due respect to Ruth's Diner, it would not rank among the top 10 reasons to drive into Emigration Canyon. And, I say that as someone who bikes the Emigration Canyon and then East Canyon multiple times a week in the Summer and know it quite closely. Ruth's Diner is very close to the City - may be 3 miles from the mouth of the canyon near the Zoo. The best views are at the highest point at the top of the Little Mountain. There is even a nice ridge trail starting at the little mountain, though I personally would only recommend higher elevation trails in the small and big cottonwood canyon at that time of the year.
For us, the best drive (rather bike ride) near SLC is up the Big Cottonwood canyon to Brighton and then up the Guardsman's pass. Much as I live at the mouth of Emigration canyon and love it, it is not as pretty as the big and small cottonwood canyons. There is a diner near the end of big cottonwood which seems quite popular, judging by the number of vehicles parked there. There are nice trails starting from Brighton, Solitude and elsewhere on big cottonwood. Similarly in small cottonwood as well. he advantage is that the trails there are at a higher elevation and more enjoyable in the summer sun. As a tourist, that's where I'd recommend visiting.
All the best!
Yes, this!! ^^^^ And the silver fork Lodge is a far better choice than Ruth's in summer. Perfect for lunch in the mountains.
Hey Katzpur just as a reminder if you are able to send routes at some point I’d appreciate it. No hurries though, you know well I’m not pressed for time or leaving soon or anything haha! Anyways, I am heading from Tampa Bay to Miami this week for first official vacation since COVID and since baby and am super excited. Also as an update I was able to get other part of my vaccine which is more good news. In looking at and planning for Miami it is apparent just how different the urbanism is there and even in Tampa Bay compared with SLC. Not better or worse, and honestly I appreciate the differences each has, but just quite different. It will be a nice contrast I think actually, and where the nature is almost an equal component of exploring the city/region as it is in Salt Lake. Anyways, I’m just excited all around, and hoping to maximize my time in town. That said, having a near term trip to plan for made it a bit more bearable to wait until July for sure. Hoping even in June to maybe do Asheville/Smokies etc at start of the summer to help the time pass by. That said, I do think Salt Lake has to be unparalleled in the US for natural surrounding, so that will still be the big dog trip, esp as I haven’t been to the Mountain West in a long time.
Hey Katzpur just as a reminder if you are able to send routes at some point I’d appreciate it. No hurries though, you know well I’m not pressed for time or leaving soon or anything haha! Anyways, I am heading from Tampa Bay to Miami this week for first official vacation since COVID and since baby and am super excited. Also as an update I was able to get other part of my vaccine which is more good news. In looking at and planning for Miami it is apparent just how different the urbanism is there and even in Tampa Bay compared with SLC. Not better or worse, and honestly I appreciate the differences each has, but just quite different. It will be a nice contrast I think actually, and where the nature is almost an equal component of exploring the city/region as it is in Salt Lake. Anyways, I’m just excited all around, and hoping to maximize my time in town. That said, having a near term trip to plan for made it a bit more bearable to wait until July for sure. Hoping even in June to maybe do Asheville/Smokies etc at start of the summer to help the time pass by. That said, I do think Salt Lake has to be unparalleled in the US for natural surrounding, so that will still be the big dog trip, esp as I haven’t been to the Mountain West in a long time.
Hey, cavsfan. Every day I think about getting back to you, but then always something seems to come up and I forget. I realize that there's no big rush, but I promise to get back to you with some ideas tomorrow.
Okay, cavsfan... Sorry for the very long delay, but here is the information I promised you. I would definitely take a walk at least part way up South Temple Street. Clicking on this link will take you to Preservation Utah's website. From there, you can click on the word "map" and you'll see a map of the street. If you click on "South Temple: A tour," you'll get a PDF of what once was a printed brochure, telling about each of the 38 points of interest on the street. I wouldn't get too awfully hung up on making sure you notice and learn about every building shown on the map. You'd be there all day if you did that. What I would do instead is just walk up the street and when something catches your eye, you find it on the map and read about it. The street is truly a beautiful old street, and where there are some newer buildings on it, there's still a lot of early Salt Lake City history left to see.
If you do walk all the way to Thirteenth East (1300 East), you'll be within about a block of the lower campus of the university of Utah (to the south). So, when you reach 13th East, turn right and walk until you see the stone wall/plaque commemorating the founding of the University in 1850, just three years after the pioneers arrived in the area. As you face the sign, you'll be looking east, up towards the Park Building, which is the university's administration building. It is at the top of what is known as "the Circle" (even though "the Circle" is actually shaped like a "U"). This is the oldest part of the campus and has a lot of character. The campus is actually enormous (1500 acres) and the Circle is, I think, the prettiest part. After you've walked around the Circle, head back to South Temple. If you just focused on one side of the street when you were walking up the street, you might walk down the other side and pay more attention to the buildings on that side of the street. What I would suggest, though, is that you check out the buildings on both sides of the street as you're walking from downtown to the University and then, rather than walking back down South Temple, you walk to the first street north of South Temple and then walk back to the downtown area on 1st Avenue. "The Avenues" is a residential area that also has some architecturally interesting homes, and along the "lower aves" are among the oldest homes in the city.
This walk, should you do it in its entirety, is about 5 miles long. If that's longer than you had in mind, you can definitely just stop anywhere along South Temple and cut over to 1st Avenue and head back. Do walk as far as the Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine, though and spend a few minutes inside it. It's really gorgeous. About three blocks east of the cathedral is the Governor's Mansion (aka the Kearns Mansion), and almost exactly across the street from the Governor's Mansion is the Masonic Temple. Notice how the windows in the Masonic Temple do not have 90 degree corners. Lastly, keep in mind that this brochure is a number of years old and may not be 100% accurate. I noticed, for instance, that it mentions Holy Cross Hospital, which is now known as Salt Lake Regional Hospital.
I'll go ahead and post this right now, and then will give you a few more suggestions in another post.
Another nice walk in the area is up to the State Capitol Building and then down from the capitol grounds into Memory Grove Park, which is a beautiful park established to commemorate the veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean War. A the far end of the actual park, you can continue walking, if you'd like, up City Creek Canyon, which is one of seven canyons surrounding the Salt Lake Valley (the others being Red Butte Canyon, Emigration Canyon, Parley's Canyon, Millcreek Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon). The road up City Creek Canyon is closed to automobile traffic, but open to bicyclers, joggers and walkers (including dogs). I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to walk the entire distance of the canyon. Once you start walking on the road up the canyon itself, you'll have already walked about a mile through the park, so just walk however much further you feel like.
Main Street is the best street in downtown Salt Lake to get a feel for the vibe of the city. I would suggest taking a light rail system ("Trax") from either the Temple Square or City Center stops. Take the blue line train, which (if it's going in the right direction) should say "Sandy" on the front. Get off at the Courthouse Station and walk back a half a block to Fourth South (400 South). Turn right and walk up to the City and County Building. It's a beautiful old brownstone building with a clock tower at the top. To be honest, there's not much to see inside, but the grounds and the building are worth a look. Keep walking (you'll be headed east) to the main branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library. You mentioned being interested in architecture, I think. This building is AMAZING. Be sure to go inside. Walk through the courtyard, and then go into the building itself. Walk up the ramp to the roof of the building. It's only about 5 stories high, so the view isn't spectacular, but still worth a look. The building was designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie, who had the cobblestones in the courtyard imported from Israel.
After you see the library, backtrack two blocks to Main Street. (There's not much to see in the blocks immediately east of the library and you'll run into a fairly good size number of homeless people who hang around the library. I guess that's the unfortunate truth about any decent sized city). Anyway, then walk back to South Temple Street along Main Street. It's a pretty street, well-maintained and about as "vibrant" as any city in Salt Lake (which isn't saying a whole lot, especially in these days of Covid).
Wherever you walk in Salt Lake City, keep in mind that there are just under 7 blocks to the mile. That's really different from most cities. In other words, the walk from Library Square back to Temple Square is about 1 mile. I don't know whether this will be helpful to you or not, but here's a little bit of information on how to find your way around the city.
If you're interested in architecture, there are three buildings in Salt Lake where the contemporary architecture is pretty amazing. I already mentioned the City Library. The second of the three is the LDS Church Conference Center. Do not get it mixed up with the Salt Lake City Salt Palace Convention Center. Hopefully, by the time you're here, they'll once again be giving tours of the Conference Center. If they are, be sure to see the incredible 21,000 seat auditorium and go up onto the roof of the building, which is covered with trees and wildflowers.
The third piece of contemporary architecture that is worth seeing is the Utah Museum of Natural History. Both the building and its super-impressive and creatively displayed collection of dinosaurs (among many other things) are magnificent. The top floor has a glassed-in observation deck where you can overlook the entire Salt Lake Valley, looking from the east to the west. You'll be about 100 feet higher at the museum than you are in the downtown area, so unless it's a smoggy day, it should be a great view.
I'm on a roll now. More to come.
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