Exploring Salt Lake City: A Journey Through Faith, Film, and Fresh Mountain Air

When you think of Salt Lake City what do you think of? The birth place of the Mormon religion? Home of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City? The winter 2002 and 2034 or maybe you know it as the home to East High – the filming location for the iconic Disney Channel movie High School Musical (Go Wild Cats!). Earlier this month I was lucky enough to visit Salt Lake City as part of a learning journey with the incredible Canyon Spirit (more about Canyon Spirit in a later blog!). I hadn’t known much about Salt Lake City before I set off on this adventure, and have to admit a little trepidation going into the birth place of the Mormon religion and to a state with heavy restrictions on alcohol but not on gun ownership. My fears were completely misplaced when I found myself in the most welcoming city I have encountered in a very long time. This gorgeous city is set in the valley of the Wasatch Mountains Salt Lake City is surprising, interesting, clean and most of all welcoming! Temple Square, the centre point of the Mormon religion is currently covered by hoardings and scrim as the city works on an ambition programme to float the Temple on earthquake safe foundations. I was lucky enough to visit the city with friends who took me into the Conference centre for the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints where you could see a diorama of what the Temple will be once the construction has been finished.

The city is full of impressive sculptures, is clean and well cared for. I loved the free tram transportation around the Central Business District – so easy to hop on at my hotel and then off again in Temple Square or at the mall. At every turn within the city you could see mountains at the end of the street, at our hotel we could watch planes skilfully piloted into the airport between the mountains and in close proximity to the city.

Head up the hill to Utah State Capitol Building for a self guided tour and you find this impressive building that is filled to the brim with more sculptures, frescos and exhibits showcasing the regions involvement in film and a huge number of beehives hidden in plain sight all around the building!

Beyond the city is Park City and Snow Bird ready and raring to go for the ski season. Park City is the location for the winter Olympics for 2034 and where it was held back in 2002. Snow Bird is the family friendly ski resort with restaurants, high ropes, a luge and a gorgeous hotel and spa – all to keep the family happy on a ski holiday. Snow Bird is about 30 minutes outside of the city and Park City about another 15 minutes further into the mountains. Both easily accessible for a day skiing from the city and both heavily used by the local community in the winter months.

Also just outside of the main city limits is This is The Place – a living museum dedicated to the foundation of the Mormon religion and how it found itself in Salt Lake City. A great morning out that affords amazing views of the city and the mountains in the background along with a really interesting look at Salt Lake City in Pioneer times (with recreations of tiny homes that hosted huge families through the harsh Salt Lake City winter).

With two days in Salt Lake City I only scratched the surface. I would love to go back and take part in the free tour of East High (where High School Musical was filmed), head out to Great Salt Lake, visit Antelope Island State Park to see Utah’s free roaming Bison and perhaps have another trip to Swig and Traders Joes! All this without venturing far from the city. Perhaps I’ll make a whole holiday out of it, spend some time in Yellowstone and then follow the Utah State film trail?

Lots to think about for my next adventure.

Signed, A new fan of Salt Lake City and Utah x