Start from 44 curated places around Salt Lake City, UT, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Red Iguana
The city's most famous Mexican restaurant, a family institution near downtown built around a deep bench of complex house moles, from almond to the smoky negro. The line out the door is constant and earned. Best for the mole sampler and a margarita, ideally on a weekday to dodge the wait.
Lola
An airy Mexican bistro in the 9th and 9th neighborhood that walks the line between casual and elevated, with bright modern plates and a good cocktail list. It's the date-night counterpoint to Red Iguana's mole-and-margarita classicism. Best for a relaxed neighborhood dinner with a mezcal cocktail.
Trails & outdoors
Ensign Peak Trail
A short but steep climb to a rocky knoll on the city's northern edge, where Brigham Young's advisors first surveyed the valley. Under a mile round trip, it delivers a huge payoff: the whole valley, the Great Salt Lake, and the surrounding ranges. Best for a quick sunset hike with one of the best views in town.
City Creek Canyon
A shaded stream canyon that begins just blocks from downtown, with a gentle paved road and dirt trails following the creek up into the foothills. It's car-restricted much of the year, so it's quiet and cool even in summer. Best for an easy, shaded walk or run right from the city center.
Things to do
Natural History Museum of Utah
A spectacular museum in a copper-clad building on the foothills above the U, with one of the best dinosaur halls in the country drawn from Utah's rich fossil beds. The building, the views, and the exhibits all impress. Best for a half-day with kids or anyone into deep time and the West.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The state's flagship art museum on the University of Utah campus, with a wide-ranging permanent collection from antiquities to contemporary work and strong rotating shows. It's compact, well-curated, and rarely crowded. Best for a focused art hour, often paired with the natural-history museum nearby.
Landmarks & sights
Temple Square
The five-block heart of downtown built around the granite Salt Lake Temple, with manicured gardens, monuments, the domed Tabernacle, and free guided tours. Whatever your beliefs, it's the founding landmark of the city and a calm green oasis in the grid. Best for a stroll through the gardens and a look at the Tabernacle's famous organ.
Utah State Capitol
A grand 1916 neoclassical capitol on a hill above downtown, ringed by cherry trees and full of WPA murals of pioneers and trappers under the dome. The hilltop setting gives sweeping views over the valley and the Wasatch. Best for a free self-guided wander and the city view from the steps.