Summer Vacation - Salt Lake City??

Rambo

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Aug 27, 2014
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Central Iowa
A few years ago I posted here for our summer vacation and got some great suggestions that made our vacation fantastic. So another try...

We are planning our summer vacation and just found some reasonable lodging just outside of Salt Lake City. Are there enough outdoor opportunities in the area to occupy us?

We spend our time hiking and wildlife viewing with some fishing mixed in. Also love old west history. Is it worth staying 5-7 days in the Salt Lake City area? Not a huge fan of crowded attractions. Any tips or suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 
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You could visit Antelope Island. Drive Hwy 150 into the Uintas and hike some trails. Timpanogos Cave.
 

KineKilla

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Plenty to do around here. To the East you have the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. There is plenty of hiking within 30 minutes of downtown in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.

Depending on the time of year, you can fish hundreds of back country lakes throughout the Uinta mountains.

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SgtTanner

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My wife and I enjoy Copper Common in SLC for dinner and drinks. Think upscale pub type situation. For a nicer/collared shirt kind of place, check out Bambara. Bring your wallet for that place.

As mentioned, Antelope Island is cool. There’s some hiking and wildlife to see. If you’re into desert-like landscapes, you could head west on I80 a bit out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Don’t take your vehicle off the pavement. I’ve had some friends get helplessly stuck on the salt flats.
 

sneaky

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If the weather is nice you'll have company almost anywhere you go near SLC.

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Muttman

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Along everything everyone else has mentioned
Bryce Canyon is amazing & doesn’t get the crowds like zion & arches
Flaming gorge &- green river fishing below dam
Hiking High line trail along uintahs, will see a lot of critters & not many peeps


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Cervid

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A few years ago I posted here for our summer vacation and got some great suggestions that made our vacation fantastic. So another try...

We are planning our summer vacation and just found some reasonable lodging just outside of Salt Lake City. Are there enough outdoor opportunities in the area to occupy us?

We spend our time hiking and wildlife viewing with some fishing mixed in. Also love old west history. Is it worth staying 5-7 days in the Salt Lake City area? Not a huge fan of crowded attractions. Any tips or suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
SLC can be very hot in the summer, so I would stay up in the mountains as much as possible. There are convenient day hikes in the Wasatch a short drive from SLC (near the ski resorts).
 
OP
Rambo

Rambo

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Central Iowa
Thanks so much everyone for the input and suggestions, I really appreciate it!
 
OP
Rambo

Rambo

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One additional question. Our lodging options are Bountiful or Salt Lake City. Is one place any better than the other. Is one closer to the hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing we want to do?

Thanks again!
 

mylsuhat

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Mandeville, LA
Depending on the time of year, you can fish hundreds of back country lakes throughout the Uinta mountains.
me and a buddy are going in mid August (hike in Wednesday evening, out Saturday morning). Any trails/loops/lakes you'd recommend?


 

nobody

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Sep 15, 2020
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One additional question. Our lodging options are Bountiful or Salt Lake City. Is one place any better than the other. Is one closer to the hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing we want to do?

Thanks again!
As someone who lives out here, I would stay truly outside Salt Lake if I was you. I live about 40 mins outside Salt Lake and haven't gone to Salt Lake county for anything except for meetings with General Contractors for about the past 2 years. Lots to do in the Wasatch Mountains, and way too crowded and nasty down there for my taste. It reminds me of my 2 year stay in Los Angeles, and I'm in NO hurry to go back there! Having said that, Antelope Island is really pretty cool, especially if you are into the old west history. Take your binos and look at buffalo, glass for some big deer (lots of big mulies on the island, tags to hunt there go for stupid amounts of money), and watch the Great Salt Lake for a sighting of the whales that were supposedly turned loose 80 years ago ;)

Any particular reason you would stay down IN Salt Lake? Why not look at lodging in the pretty part of Utah?
 
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Skip the Wasatch and go to the Uintas. Stay somewhere in Kamas and/or do some camping 👍.
 

MTtrout

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Western Montana
If the choice is Bountiful or SLC, I’d choose the later for sure. Many more options for dining, cocktails, entertainment, nightlife,... Plus you will have to drive through SLC for most of the adventures listed above. Antelope Island is cool but not so much during the dead of summer. If you have already done the bison thing then it may be worth skipping. Are you willing to stay somewhere else and how far would you want to drive for a day trip? Many cool things within a few hours of SLC
 
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If the choice is Bountiful or SLC, I’d choose the later for sure. Many more options for dining, cocktails, entertainment, nightlife,... Plus you will have to drive through SLC for most of the adventures listed above. Antelope Island is cool but not so much during the dead of summer. If you have already done the bison thing then it may be worth skipping. Are you willing to stay somewhere else and how far would you want to drive for a day trip? Many cool things within a few hours of SLC
Yep, Bountiful is typical Wasatch Front suburban blah. Strip mall restaurants and car dealerships.
 
OP
Rambo

Rambo

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Our vacations are doable by saving on lodging. We have enough points on our Raddison Rewards card to stay in a Raddison or Country Inn for our entire trip at no cost. The downfall is that there aren’t many in the rural areas of the west so we are stuck in the larger metro areas.

So, since we’ve never explored Utah, we are ready to check it out. The good news is all we do is sleep there at the hotels. Roadside meals most of the time, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing are the focus. Occasional restaurant here and there but that isn’t our focus.

Thanks again for all of the tips and input, much appreciated!!👍
 
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