My wife and daughter recently went to Salt Lake City for a mother daughter weekend. Since they didn’t have a car with them and were reliant on walking and public transportation, they limited their activities to fun things to do in Downtown Salt Lake City. Here are a few of the fun things to do in Downtown Salt Lake City that they did on their weekend there. The Salt Lake City visitors bureau did provide them with 2 Salt Lake Connect Passes (see below).
Where to stay in Downtown Salt Lake City
There are many different hotels and [airbnb] options throughout Downtown Salt Lake City. We ended up staying at the Marriott Residence Inn Salt Lake City Downtown, which was a perfect place for us. We had a 1 bedroom suite with a full kitchen.
You can read my full Residence Inn Salt Lake City Downtown review here
You may also be interested in my guide to the best way to get from the Salt Lake City airport to downtown Salt Lake
Keep in mind that the TRAX (public transit / light rail) has a free zone in downtown Salt Lake City if you are entering AND exiting stops that are both within the free fare zone
The Visit Salt Lake Connect Pass
Depending on how long you’re planning on staying in the Salt Lake City area, you may be interested in the Visit Salt Lake Connect Pass. The Visit Salt Lake Connect Passes offers 15 things to do at 13 different attractions. You get free admission to attractions throughout the Salt Lake Valley from Downtown (Clark Planetarium, Natural History Museum of Utah, Red Butte Garden, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, This is The Place Heritage Park, Utah Museum of Fine Arts. It costs $32 for an adult for a 1 day pass, $48 for 2 days or $60 for 3 days. Seniors and children (ages 3-12) get a slight discount.
Great things to do in Downtown Salt Lake City
Here are a few of the things to do in Downtown Salt Lake that we did while we were there
- Tour Temple Square – Temple Square itself is free and there is a Visitor’s Center there with extensive information about the Mormon pioneers, Salt Lake City and Temple Square itself. The Salt Lake Temple itself is open only to practicing members of the Mormon faith
- On Temple Square, the LDS FamilySearch center will let you trace your family history / genealogy for free
- Clark Planetarium is free for admission to everyone, but you get access to some of the 3D / IMAX shows with the Visit Salt Lake Pass
- Right on Temple Square is the Lion House restaurant. Famous for its rolls, the Lion House was built in 1856 and was the home of Brigham Young. You get lunch or dinner for 2 with the Visit Salt Lake pass.
- Pioneer Park is a good place to hang out and relax – it was the original fort and settlement of the Mormon Pioneers when they first settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
- City Creek Center is an outdoor mall that takes up a few city blocks right in the middle of Downtown Salt Lake and is a good place to hang out, shop or people watch
- Tracy Aviary is worth a stop for outdoor or animal enthusiasts
What are your favorite things to do in Downtown Salt Lake City?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
The best thing to do in Salt Lake is Drive the 25 miles to Park City. Park City might be the best little small town in America and Salt Lake is definitely competing to be the worst large city. Complete dump
Could not disagree more
Although not on the train line one fun place to visit is the National Product Sales retail store just SW of downtown if you are a bargain hunter. It is at 1600 Empire Road and an Uber or cab is fairly cheap from downtown or the airport. The Marriott downtown is decent and I can vouch for that hotel. Nothing exciting but good location.
For its size, downtown SLC isn’t bad, took my wife and kids on a recent work trip and hit the same locations. I would add heading north and visiting the Hill AFB museum if possible.
Natural History Museum of Utah is high on my “must see” list. Nestled against the foothills, on the University of Utah campus, the museum is a gentle stroll through history. Starting on the top floor you experience Utah’s native cultures and traditions, geography, geology, floral & fauna. As you descend from floor to floor you will travel back in time, finishing on the main floor with one of the largest collections of dinosaurs in the world.
Bring your walking shoes and extend your stay with a walk along the Bonneville shoreline. Trail head begins at the museum and travels along the foothills for spectacular views of the Salt Lake Valley and the Great Salt Lake.
https://nhmu.utah.edu