The things to do in Salt Lake City that we could check are Temple Square, the Utah State Capitol, the Natural History Museum of Utah, Red Butte Garden, Hogle Zoo, Liberty Park and Antelope Island State Park. You do not need a car for downtown, because the TRAX train runs from the airport for $2.50. We read the official pages on 15 October 2026.
The sights, with address, hours and price
Temple Square
Address: Downtown Salt Lake City. The pages we read give no street address, so the address is not confirmed (templesquare.org and the Church's newsroom, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: The visitors' center opened on 18 May 2026 and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. No reservation or ticket is needed. The one exception is the 30-minute guided "Inside a Temple" tour, which needs a reservation (Church newsroom, "Temple Square Renovation Update: May 2026", read 15 Oct 2026)
Note: The Salt Lake Temple is under renovation and is not open. The newsroom says the Salt Lake Temple Celebration runs 5 April to 1 October 2027, and that open house reservations opened on 1 September 2026. templesquare.org lists ticket drops on 15 September and 1 October 2026. Its timeline also shows "13 July 2026" next to the visitors' center, but the dated newsroom article says it opened on 18 May. Check templesquare.org for open house tickets
The newsroom says the rest of the visitors' center is self-guided. Neither page lists an admission price.
Utah State Capitol
Address: 350 N State Street, Salt Lake City, on Capitol Hill. Visit Utah says to use the east doors (Visit Utah, Utah State Capitol page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Monday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday to Sunday and holidays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guided tours run Monday to Friday except state holidays, last about 45 minutes, and can be booked up to a year ahead. You can walk around on your own during open hours (same page)
Price: Visit Utah lists no admission price and no tour fee. The Capitol's own website blocked our reader, so we could not confirm that tours are free or read the tour times
Visit Utah says the Pioneer Museum and Council Hall nearby are free and open to the public.
Natural History Museum of Utah
Address: 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (museum website, visit page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Open until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing (same page)
Price: Adult $24.95. Senior 65 and over $22.95. Young adult 13 to 24 $22.95. Child 3 to 12 $20.95. Ages 2 and under free (museum website, ticket page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Red Butte Garden
Address: 300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (Red Butte Garden website, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: October to December 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. January and February 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April and September 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. May to August 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. On concert dates the garden closes at 5 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving Day and from 24 December to 1 January (Red Butte Garden, general info page)
Price: Ages 18 to 64 $18. Seniors 65 and over, military with ID, and students not at the University of Utah $15. Ages 3 to 17 $10. Ages 2 and under free. The page says rates can change without notice (same page)
Utah's Hogle Zoo
Address: 2600 Sunnyside Ave (840 South), Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (zoo website, tickets page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: The page gives one range, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It lists no hours by season and no closing days, so those are not confirmed (same page)
Price: From 1 October to 30 April, adult (13 and over) $22.95 and child (3 to 12) $18.95. From 1 May to 30 September, adult $26.95 and child $21.95. Ages 2 and under free. The page says you save $2 a ticket if you buy online. It lists no gate price and no senior price (same page)
Liberty Park
Address: 600 Harvey Milk Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84105 (Salt Lake City parks page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Concessions are open Thursday to Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (same page)
Price: The city page lists no entry fee. The Tracy Aviary and a pool are in the park, and we did not read their prices. The page says the Rotary Play Park was closed for construction from 2 September 2025 to summer 2026, and we could not confirm it has reopened
Antelope Island State Park
Address: The state parks page gives no street address. The phone number is 801-725-9263 (Utah State Parks, Antelope Island page, read 15 Oct 2026). We did not confirm the distance from Salt Lake City
Hours: Open all year, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (same page)
Price: $15 a vehicle for up to 8 people. $10 a vehicle for seniors 65 and over. $5 a motorcycle. $3 a person on a bike or on foot. The page also says annual passes do not cover the $2 Davis County Causeway fee. It shows no date (Utah State Parks, Antelope Island park fees page, read 15 Oct 2026)
The park page says Uber and Lyft do not pick up from the park, and tells visitors to rent a car so they are not stranded. It also says the main boat ramp is closed because the water is low. We did not read lake levels or swimming rules, so check the park page before you plan a swim.
Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons
Solitude and Brighton are in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Snowbird and Alta are in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Ikon lists them at 32 to 37 miles from the airport, as our Utah ski resorts guide read on 14 October 2026. In winter the UTA ski bus serves these resorts for $5 one way. We did not check summer hiking access or canyon road rules for this page.
Park City day trip
Park City has its own ski resorts. Our Utah ski resorts guide says Ikon's Deer Valley page lists the airport at 39 miles. We did not confirm a bus from Salt Lake City to Park City or a driving time, so check UTA and Park City transit before you go without a car.
What is free
The Temple Square visitors' center needs no ticket, except for the "Inside a Temple" tour, which needs a reservation. Visit Utah calls the Pioneer Museum and Council Hall near the Capitol free, and lists no admission price for the Capitol itself (we could not confirm tour cost). Liberty Park has no entry fee on the city page. Check each place for events and extra charges.
Where to stay in Salt Lake City
We did not check any hotel rate or room list, so we give no prices. Rates change by season and by event, and ski weekends are busy.
| Area | What it is near |
|---|---|
| Downtown | Temple Square, the Capitol, TRAX City Center Station |
| University of Utah and the foothills | The Natural History Museum and Red Butte Garden. UTA says the Red Line runs to the University of Utah |
| Near the airport | The TRAX Green Line station just outside the terminal |
| Canyon or Park City bases | Ski resorts in winter. See the ski resorts guide for passes and the ski bus |
Getting around and from the airport
Subway: TRAX Green Line. UTA says the Airport Station is just outside the terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport, and service runs every day from 5:21 a.m. to 11:21 p.m. Ride to City Center Station, or change to FrontRunner at North Temple Station. FrontRunner does not run on Sundays. UTA's TRAX page says trains come every 15 minutes at peak times (UTA, Airport Travel and TRAX pages, read 15 Oct 2026). The ride time to downtown is not confirmed, because the timetable did not load for our reader
Price: One way $2.50, good on local buses, UVX, TRAX, On Demand and S-Line for 2 hours after purchase. Day pass $5. For TRAX, buy the day pass before you board, at a station ticket machine or in the Transit app. UTA's fare page lists no airport extra charge (UTA, Current Fares page, read 15 Oct 2026)
On a FAREPAY card, UTA caps regular fares at $5 a day and $20 a week. Reduced fares cap at $2 a day on local service. Express buses cost $5. FrontRunner is $2.50 for one station plus $0.60 for each added station, up to $9.70 from Provo to Ogden.
The UTA ski bus costs $5 one way, as our Utah ski resorts guide explains. UTA says it usually starts in late November or early December.
Do I need a car in Salt Lake City?
You can see downtown, Temple Square, the Capitol and the university area without one. TRAX links the airport, downtown and the university. A car makes sense for Antelope Island, where the park says rideshare does not pick up. It also helps for the canyons outside ski season, since we did not find a summer bus. If you plan to ski, read the ski bus section of our resorts guide first. That guide also covers the traction rules on winter canyon roads.
The best time to visit
Normals are from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 data for the Salt Lake City airport station, read through the NCEI data API on 15 October 2026. Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38.6 | 24.2 | 1.43 in |
| April | 61.9 | 41.8 | 2.16 in |
| July | 94.0 | 68.2 | 0.49 in |
| October | 65.5 | 43.6 | 1.26 in |
April and October are mild for walking around the sights. July is hot and dry. January is cold, and it is the month to pair with a ski trip. The airport's website says it sits more than 4,200 feet above sea level. These are averages, not a forecast.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 15 October 2026: the Church's newsroom article "Temple Square Renovation Update: May 2026", templesquare.org, Visit Utah's Utah State Capitol page, the Natural History Museum of Utah's visit and ticket pages, Red Butte Garden's general info page, Utah's Hogle Zoo's tickets page, Salt Lake City's Liberty Park page, Utah State Parks' Antelope Island page and park fees page, UTA's Current Fares, Airport Travel and TRAX pages, the Salt Lake City airport home page, and NOAA's NCEI 1991 to 2020 monthly normals.
Not confirmed: a street address for Temple Square, Capitol tour times and whether tours are free, Hogle Zoo's gate price, senior price and closing days, Tracy Aviary and pool prices, whether the Liberty Park playground reopened, the distance from Salt Lake City to Antelope Island, how the causeway fee is charged, the TRAX ride time from the airport to downtown, any Salt Lake City to Park City bus, summer canyon access, and every hotel rate. Prices and hours change, so check each official page for your date. We did not visit Salt Lake City for this page.
