I can’t say it enough- I love Utah! Where else can you get a city ticked into the mountains that has a plethora of family fun activities all a short drive away? The boys and I were very excited for a fun-filled weekend with my brother Bruce and his family. We made the most of it and crammed in fun activities every single day.
Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum
Cost: $15.50/person (Ages 1-65)
Annual Family Membership $195
Bruce and Lauren have a Family membership to the Children’s Museum and I can see why! We spent a couple of fun-filled hours and barely scratched the surface of all the interactive displays and activities this museum offers.
Of their many exhibits; the honey climber exhibit, the water play exhibit, and the Intermountain Healthcare exhibit (aka. the Helicopter) were the biggest hits with my boys.
Tynan spent a good 20 minutes or more “flying” the helicopter as other kids hopped in and out and pretended to fly. Logan was enamoured with the honey climber’s ball air chambers, sending ball after ball into the tubes to be sucked up and away.
Night Boarding at Brighton Resort
Adult night ticket: $53-$65 (depends on day)
Bruce and I have started a wonderful traditional of hitting the slopes whenever I visit in the winter. This was my first time snowboarding since having kids and to say I was super nervous is an understatement! It had been five years since I was last on a board (though I did some skiing) and I’m currently in the worst physical shape of my life.
Luckily, it was like riding a bike! After a nervous first run, I got my legs back underneath me and started feeling comfortable on the runs. It helped that Bruce likes to go fast, and it pushed me to keep up with him.
Some things are different, my gut gets in my way when I put my binding on and it’s much harder to pull myself up from a seated position. Ha ha!
My favourite part of night skiing at Brighton was looking over a sparkling Park City from the top of the run. The lights were dazzling and it was so cool to see that mountain town tucked away in the Wasatch. No wonder it’s so expensive to live there, what a view!
Crystal Hot Springs
Cost: $18.00/ person (Ages 3)
Under 2: Free- swimming diaper required
This was a major family highlight of our visit! We loaded all four kids into my car and drove about an hour north of SLC to Crystal Hot Springs. Lauren sends us pics of the boys enjoying these outdoor hot springs often and I had to go check it out for myself.
My first thought was that the water was too hot! There are four pools of varying temperature and I had to find the coolest one to go in for the boys and myself (I’m a wimp about hot water).
The highlight was the waterfall/cave. The waterfall water was cool and behind it was a very shallow sitting area that was cooler water. It was the perfect spot for kids!
Bonneville Salt Flats
About an hour and a half west of SLC are the Bonneville Salt Flats. It’s crazy because they are right on the side of the highway at a rest stop. You pull over and BAM! 30,000 acres of salt flats!
I wasn’t overly keen on the extra driving but when we got there I was so glad Bruce insisted. This place is SO COOL! Photos don’t capture how big these flats really are. Tynan said it was like walking on the moon. Logan kept licking the ground. Ha ha!
We spent an hour walking on the flats with the boys. There were a few people all over who drove their cars onto the flats to find more remote spots. I told Bruce I would really like to go and walk across the flats to the mountains on the north edge. It’s impossible to get a feel for how far that it is because the ground is so flat.
It was a jam packed long weekend of adventures and I vowed that I’ll make my visits longer from now on. We need at least a week to get as much enjoyments as possible. We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the fun family things to do in Utah.
