After visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park, we headed back for 2 nights in Salt Lake City before flying back home. We got in during the late afternoon on our first day there, and left early on the last day, so we only had a little more than a full day to explore. In our short time in SLC, here’s what we did:
- Visited and played at Sugarhouse Park
- Went to the City Public Library (twice)
- Explored the Natural History Museum
- Toured Temple Square
- Relaxed and played at Liberty Park
As much as we enjoy experiencing the outdoors, exploring new cities is just as fun and exciting. We stayed in the Hotel Monaco, right in the middle of downtown. One of the cool things about this line of hotels is that they will give you a pet goldfish in your room during your stay. The boys loved that!
When we asked for a good place to grab a cup of coffee, the hotel recommended Eva’s, a french bakery, which was across the street basically. That recommendation was spot on, as we ended up going there 3 times in less than 48 hours. Their coffee was incredible, and their breakfast offerings were perfect.
From the tiny bit of reading up I had done before the trip, I knew that the public library was supposed to be really awesome. We decided to go there the first evening in town since it was close by. WHOA…we hit the jackpot there! This library is ah-mazing. Granted, this is coming from a family who could hang out at bookstores all day long for fun.
The SLC library has 5 stories + a basement. Heaven! We stayed there for hours. The boys discovered some Star Wars graphic novels they had never seen before, and I took the opportunity to try to find books that I have pinned on my Children’s Books Pinterest board, but not found at our local library. They pretty much had all of them! We read and read and read. They did not want to leave, but we eventually had to because it was getting dark.
Gorging on stories.
The children’s area was similar to our library in some ways, but it was much larger. Also, they they had these cool rooms filled with nooks where kids could go and read. You can see the doorways in the photo below.
One of the rooms was set up like a giant fort, full of platforms of places kids would like to set up camp with their books.
On the following day, we visited the Natural History Museum of Utah. It was another slam dunk. We spent 3 hours there exploring all of their gorgeous hands-on exhibits. The museum is right up against the foothills above the city, and the architecture is contemporary. I love the juxtaposition of learning about prehistoric animals and rock formations in a building that is so clean and modern.
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The lobby of the museum.
The view from the outdoor balcony was gorgeous.
After the museum, we went to Temple Square. Did you know that Utah is the only state in the country that has a dominant religion? In the case of Utah, it is 60% Mormon (a.k.a The Church of Latter Day Saints). Temple Square is a large area in the middle of downtown where the Salt Lake City LDS Temple is located, among many other important buildings for the Church of Latter Day Saints.
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The grounds are beyond exquisite! Gorgeous flowers planted everywhere.The visitor’s center is so beautiful and well-appointed. There are many missionaries there available to give you a tour of the buildings, share their history and faith, plus answer any questions you may have. We requested a tour, and had two lovely ladies show us around. We enjoyed learning about their faith and seeing how dedicated they were. I think it was good to have the boys hear from them, and Max even asked some really good questions of Sister Huang. We were very impressed with how well-organized Temple Square was run.
After Temple Square, we ate lunch at Whole Foods at Trolley Square, then headed over for some play time at Liberty Park for some relaxation and play time. One of the things we always look for when traveling with the boys are places where we can take them to unwind and play. We found just that at Liberty Park. We were looking forward to visiting the Aviary there, but it closes at 5pm, and that is just about when we arrived. Definitely want to go back and see it. Nevertheless, we spent about an hour and a half at Liberty Park, watching the kids run, play and make new friends.
Play time at Liberty Park in SLC.
After the park we headed back to the library downtown by popular request. The next morning was time to leave (but not before another yummy breakfast at Eva’s). There were so many places we still wanted to see. That just means we will have to return 🙂
I have to say, Salt Lake City is a place that truly caters to families while still maintaining a metropolitan feel. I would totally move here! Maybe I am saying this because we visited in Spring and not in the middle of winter. “Kudos” to Salt Lake City for being such a welcoming and vital place to visit.
