Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by Mormon pioneers led by John Brigham in what is now Utah State. I stopped off here on my drive from Vegas to Yellowstone. It’s a convenient place to stop and do some City sight seeing in between all the nature. The world’s first ever KFC opened here, and Salt Lake is also known for being super gay friendly!

I had decided to spend two nights here to break up the 909km worth of driving. There’s a few interesting things to do around the City. But I wish I’d had time to drive over to Salt Lake itself and check it out, maybe next time!

I stayed at The Little America hotel which was fabulous. The reception area was opulence at it’s best and there was a pool. The location was also really good, I was ready to do some walking after all that driving.

I arrived late in the evening on the first night so it was time to hit some bars and unwind.
First up was Bar X, famous for being owned by Phil from Modern Family! It was a cool bar and the cocktails were really good. I had completely forgot about ID checks in the U.S. and luckily had my driving license out with me.

Next up I found this really cute place called The Red Door. There was some live music, great cocktails again and a really cool crowd. I was surprised as I had preconceived notions of what Salt Lake City would be like.
Finally I ended the night at the Beerhive. Serving up loads of different beers, it’s a proper beer room. I tried a jalapeno beer and it was absolutely amazing!

The next day was a Sunday, and I awoke with just a little hangover. So I treated myself to a lie in before forcing myself up and out. It can be tough to motivate even when on holiday!
I decided to try out a breakfast place called The Rose Establishment, when I got there it was about a 45 minute wait which worked out perfectly. I decided to see what was close by and found loads of cool street art at The Gateway mall. Breakfast was delicious, a sweet potato hash with eggs.

Then I wandered up to the “You Are Here” art installation. Filled with random slogans on signs and designed by Maine artist Aaron T Stephan, it’s a cool concept and great for the ‘gram grid.
I didn’t realise at the time but there’s a whole art trail app you can download to find all the best stuff around the City too! Go HERE to find out more.

I was excited to see Temple Square and the huge Mormon church (even as an atheist, I find these things fascinating). Unfortunately for me it was all under construction and scaffolding! I could just about get the scale and some of the buildings were still open. It was built in 1853 and encompasses lots of Mormon buildings across 10 acres!

Not to be disheartened I headed up towards the Capitol Building. I stopped off at the Brigham Young historic park to learn a little more about the pioneers. Then walked up a pretty steep hill to find the Capitol Building of Utah state! It opened in 1916 and was designed by local architect Richard Kletting. I even found out it was used in the film Legally Blonde 2, amazing pop culture reference right there.

I had wanted to go on a hiking trail just North of the capitol, but it started to pour down with rain so I found shelter in a Nacho Daddy. Margaritas and nachos were consumed. Then I meandered back to the hotel, finding some cool pieces of street art and sculptures. I also stopped off at Red Rock brewing for a beer and found a cute little Asian restaurant for some warming noodles.

So that was my sneak peek at Salt Lake. I wish I’d had longer than 24 hours to properly explore and check out more of the City. Driving through I saw so many rainbow flags which felt amazing. I also love it when you can see mountains from a City and Salt Lake is already 1288m or so high! For more USA trip ideas, check out my other blogs HERE.

Published by Tom

Wanderluster, forever day dreaming of my next destination. Nurse by day, gay, geek, love sports and marvel comics. Determined to visit every country in the world! View all posts by Tom