Things to Do in Mormonland

If you ever have a chance to visit, here are some things you won’t want to miss:

Thanksgiving Point has amazing themed gardens and a Children's Garden "next door." Close by is the largest Dinosaur Musuem in the world. In the summer you can see the farm animals or do shopping in their little village. The Harvest is an excellent restaurant for a date-night and there's a small movie theatre close by.

Liberty Park—if only I had known about this sooner… Tracy Aviary, a famous bird park, is great. They have a bald eagle and every other bird you can imagine there. Also at the park, a huge all-abilities playground and a carnival area open during the warmer months and what’s really fun is the water area, it’s made to look like the Salt Lake Valley. The knee-deep water allows the kids to float balls down from the different canyons and into the Great Salt Lake with downtown blocks and State street running all the way thru. Pretty cool! They also have a wide running path all the way around, only 1 mile, but the park feels much larger. 900 South and 600 East is the north entrance.
Temple Square—There’s always something going on downtown. We usually take TRAX, the electric train, and the gardens are always outstanding and the mirror pool in front of the temple is beautiful. You have to go during Christmas just to see the lights. Family History Library, Church Art History Museum, Conference Center (awesome tour info), Joseph Smith Memorial Building (great views and two delicious restaurants) and the Lion House restaurant (to die-for rolls) are all right there as well.
The Gateway—Just to play in the Olympic Plaza and see the water shoot up to the music. Great for summertime play.
Discovery Gateway is a children’s museum that I could spend all day in. The kids absolutely love it and it’s even interesting for adults.
Hogle Zoo—this will give you a little workout if you’re pushing a stroller. It’s a big zoo with awesome bird shows, has a newly remodeled playground area and a mini train you can ride on for a nominal fee. On the far east side of Salt Lake City near the mouth of Emigration Canyon across from This is the Place Heritage Park.
Can you tell I love it here? After 7 years, we finally went to Lagoon and I took the big boys skiing for the first time at Beaver Mountain. :) It's a 2.5 hour drive to Bear Lake but we love it there. Visit http://www.bearlakelodge.com/ for vacation rentals for your next family vacation. Elk Ridge is our favorite! :)
Early December we go to Festival of Trees. It benefits Primary Children’s Hospital and there are fun crafts for the kids, amazing decorated trees and gingerbread houses and other crafts you can buy and yummy food of course.
My newest thing is finding when the local museums offer free days! Search it out in your area!
And oh my, what beautiful mountains we have here. I bought a backpack carrier for N so we could go hiking. There’s a great book we borrowed at the library that’s called “Best Hikes for Kids in Utah” or something along that line and has all the distances, routes, what to look for, etc. in it. The kids loved hiking up to Cecret Lake and finding a mountain of snow in the middle of summer!