Salt Lake City Airport

I have a 3 hour layover later this month in the Salt Lake City airport. Other than sit around in the airport bar drinking $8 beers, is there anything in a short distance that one can do in this amount of time? Is the Great Salt Lake in a reasonable distance? Are there any shops or places to have a quick lunch nearby?

Thanks for the help…

The Great Salt Lake sits right at the edge of the runway, so yes, you are close. However, if you want to find a beach, you will need to travel west toward Tooele. Maybe e even stop at the old Saltair (an old amusement park that has been restored as a music venue/shops). The best way to experience the lake is from Antelope Island, unfortunately you will probably not have time. It would take you almost an hour each way to get on the island. Too bad really. Lots to see and do there. Biking trails, buffalo, beaches. . . .

The airport sits outside of the city limits but the diving time is fairly quick. You won’t be able to walk anywhere from the airport as it sits off alone. If you make it to the city, Trolley Square has some great shops and restaurants. I can give you directions if you are interested.

There are some very nice museums if you are into that sort of thing as well as micro-breweries with the specialty beer.

You may also want to check out Temple Square as it is close. Although you may not be into the religion thing, it is very impressive and interesting. Free admittance as well.

Because Salt Lake is so spread out, it will be hard to find somewhere to go in such limted time. You won’t have time to drive too far up the canyons and definitely not time to drive to Park City or Sundance. Which is also too bad.

Let me know if you want more info.

Thank you so much, Diane, that information is very helpful.

Would you say the Great Salt Lake is a quick cab ride? In essence, we probably would only have time to take a quick ride out there, hang out for a little while, then get back to the airport. This is, of course, depending on weather/airplane traffic/acts of God and anything else that may screw up my flight schedule that day.

I must say, though, that even with this brief information you gave me, it makes me want to go back there sometime! Maybe on my next venture out west I’ll make my layover in Salt Lake City last a full day :slight_smile:

Thanks again!

Diane’s said it all. It’s been some time since I was back in The City of the Saints, but, even with the impending Olympics, I suspect the basics are the same.

– Salt Lake City has a weird alcohol policy, which we’ve talked about on this board before. I suspect they’ve loosened up in view of the Olympics, but I’ll bet that you still have to declare hotel bars “private clubs” in order to get anything stronger than 3.2 beer.

– If you’re into Comparative Relion (I am) go to Temple Square and let them show you all the goodies. They’re not obsessive about converting you or making you pray. Your main reaction, if you haven’t really encountered the Mormons before, is likely to be mild culture shock – “This has been going on in this country for how long?” If you haven’t grown up in the culture, the completeness of it can be overwhwlming. Even if you are familiar with the folks of the LDS, I suspect that the Planetarium Jesus in the North Visitor’s Center will blow you away.

– If you’re into Geneology, you can go to the Geneology Library across the street from Temple Square. The last time I was there, it was still free!

– There’s the Church Museum of Art across from Temple Square, too.

– Crossroads Plaza and the ZCMI CEnter Malls, also across from Temple Square.

– Trolley Square, mentioned by Diane, is at 7th East and about 7th south (think of SLC as a big grid of graph paper. For a surprising distance, the blocks are square and the streets are numbered in order as you go away from Temple Square. It’s also 100 numbers to the block, except in pathological cases like The Avenues), seven blocks east of the Temple and Seven blocks south of it. Lots of shops in what used to be the old SLC Trolley barns.

– You can look at the new Olympic viewing stands that just got erected near Temple Square, according to the Boston Globe.

Anything else is probably going to get you lost and take up too much time. There’s not that much to see at the State Capitol, Hogle Zoo and the University (with its museums) are a little too far. There’s nothing you’ll want to see at the Salt Palace, Gilgal is closed, the Aviary at Liberty Park probably isn’t worth the drive, and you’ll probably get lost looking for the odd little historical spots in town (like the monument to the Tree Stump – the only one in the valley when the Mormons first came – around 3rd south and 6th east).

Considering the on-time reliability of many airlines nowadays, I’d just bring a good book and say ‘to hell with it’. 3 hours ain’t that much of a layover. (Of course, this is my way of handling many things…)

Cal filled in a lot of very good points for me. The alcohol law is pretty strange, but most restaurants have gotten around it pretty slick. If you want something more than beer, you just have to know where to go.

That reminds me. Still don’t know if you would have the time, but there is a place called The Mayan that sits around 91st south (as Cal said, the city is laid out in grid with the Temple as the center point so it is south a little ways - 91 city blocks). The food is so-so, but the setting is great. Tropical forest setting that is actually done quite well with cliff divers that do performances off the cliffs and into a pool of water. It’s kinda fun.

My suggestion is to save the trip to the lake for another time when you can pack up a picnic, blankets, swimsuits, and stay for the day. Instead, hop a taxi to Temple Square (probably a 15 or 20 minute ride unless it’s during rush hour).

The LDS Church has expanded Temple Square by purchasing the section of road between the Temple and the Joseph Smith Building and other church office building, including Brigham Young’s home (which is also pretty interesting to tour) and have made it into a very nice park with a reflection pool. You can also enter the Tabernacle where the Choir does their performances. You’ve probably seen the pictures of the huge pipe organ. The new visitor center north of the Temple opened last year. I haven’t been inside but I hear it is very nice.

You’ll also see more than one wedding parties that have just left a temple ceremony with photographers taking pictures of the bride among the gardens.

Be forwarned however, the park as well as the Temple grounds are private property of the church so smoking or drinking is not allowed. As Cal also said, the tour guides do not pressure you to join the Church, they are just there to answer questions and to present their faith. You may be a little taken back by the Mormons and their scrubbed innocence, but all in all they are wonderful people (no, I’m not one :)).

The Jesus planetarium is pretty cool. I think they are trying to give the impression of rising up to heaven to Jesus. Evenso, it’s kinda pretty.

The gardens and fountains in and around Temple Square are awesome as well. I know a gardener who works there and he tells me that the flowers gardens are continuously changed.

If you still have time, walk down to 2nd South and State Street (State Street is the street that runs north and south and begins at the front door of the Capitol Building) to the Galivan Center. It is a park with a sculptures, outdoor cafes, amphitheater, ice skating rink, etc. It is going to be a main meeting spot during the Olympics. Good place for a picnic.

To really see Utah, you should come back for a week or two and visit Zions National Park, Bryce Canyon, Moab, Flaming Gorge, and other spots. For now, I would just stick to Temple Square.

If you want to stay in the airport and have a drink, the private-club portion of Utah’s weird liquor laws won’t apply to you. The airport is exempt from that portion of the laws, and you can get beer or cocktails from early morning to late evening in the lounges and in a couple of the restaurants in the terminals. One of my favorite microbreweries, Squatters, operates a restaurant in the C concourse, and they make pretty good beer.

The airport also recently underwent an upgrade of sorts among its own shopping venues. Some SLC residents consider the airport a shopping destination in its own right. I’m not among them, but there are a couple of nice bookstores and you can easily while away a 3-hour layover browsing around.

And you can call us and we can come out there and entertain you too… :smiley:

(Seriously, I’d be happy to meet you if you like – my email is in my profile here…)

Ahhhh yes, Squatters, brewers of my favorite girlie beer Raspberry Wheat!

Corixidae - Do you live in SLC?

Yup, born’n’raised in the Avenues near LDS Hospital and lived on 12th Ave until June. Now I’m in the middle of the valley.

My fave is the hefeweizen. :slight_smile:

Interesting thread. I will be going to SLC again soon. I wonder if I will have time to meet anybody while I am there…?