Amusement
Utah also has an eclectic collection of other fascinating people to visit, places to see, and things to do. From the Monticello’s “Horse Head Peak” to the Park City Silver Mine Adventure, visitors to Utah are never at a loss for fun and adventure. The picture on the right is Capitol Reef National Park, located in Southwestern Utah.
Alpine. The Peppermint Place candy factory offers tours and samples. (801) 756-7400.
Brigham City. The naturally created pools of Crystal Hot Springsare year round favorites for swimming and soaking.8215 N. State Route 69 (435) 279-8104.
Farmington. Lagoon, I-15 exit 325 or 326 in Farmington, has long been the amusement park in Utah with the wild and mild rides, entertainment, food, and a Pioneer Village. It is open daily in the summer, and weekends in fall and spring. The adjacent waterpark, Lagoon-A Beach offers acres of water slides and swimming pools. (801) 451-8000.
Kaysville. Cherry Hill Recreation Park has camping, batting cages, a water park and a miniature golf course. (801) 451-5379.
Heber. The Historic Heber Valley Railroad has a turn-of-the-century steam engine, which departs from Heber City and Vivian Park in Provo Canyon on regularly scheduled tours year round.450 S. 600 W. (435) 654-5601.
Lehi. Adjacent to I-15 at Lehi, one of the features of Thanksgiving Point, a community gathering place, is an agricultural learning center with an animal park and expansive vegetable, flower gardens on display throughout the growing season, restaurants and golf course. (801) 768-4940.
Logan. South of Logan, the Hardware Ranch offers wagon and sleigh rides through herds of Rocky Mountain elk, cookout meals, and overnight cowboy adventures. (801) 245-3131.
R.V. Jensen Living Historical Farm, is a 1917-era living farm with special events throughout the year. It’s also the site of the Festival of the American West and cowboy cookouts each summer. 4025 S. US 89-91 (435) 245-4064
When it’s time for a snack, Utah State University’s Food Science Building on the eastern side of the Logan campus is famous for its homemade ice cream. There are also several restaurants in Garden City on the shores of Bear Lake, with unforgettable raspberry milkshakes blended fresh with locally grown berries.
Willow Park has a small zoo with more than 600 animals. 419 W. 700 S. (801) 752-3060.
Magna. The world’s largest man-made excavation and first open-pit copper mine, Kennecott (Bingham) Copper Mine, is located 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. An observation deck, accessible via 7800 South, is open April-October. (801) 252-3234
Ogden. The Children’s Treehouse Museum in the Ogden City Mallhas a focus on literacy. The Treehouse Theatre hosts a variety of special events. (801) 394-9663.
George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park, an outdoor museum, contains prehistoric creatures in a realistic environment, including water moat, volcano, and special above and below ground exhibits. 1544 Park Blvd. (801) 393-3466.
Ogden’s Municipal Garden at 25th St. and Grant Ave. is five acres of flowering beds, trees, and picnic areas. During the holiday season, it hosts an elaborate Christmas Village.
The Ogden Nature Center is a wildlife sanctuary with indoor and outdoor interpretive activities.966 W. 12th Street (801) 621-7595.
Park City. At Park City Mountain Resort, summer offerings include the Alpine Slide (a luge-style sled track which sweeps 3,000 feet down the mountainside), Silver Putt Miniature Golf, and the Little Miners Park playground. (435) 649-8111.
The Park City Silver Mine Adventure highlights the areas rich mining history with exhibits and tours located in an actual silver mine. Tours include a tour of an actual mine shaft 1,500 feet underground, including simulated blasts and drilling. (435) 649-8011.
Provo. Seven Peaks Water Park has thrilling water slides and a giant wave pool. (801) 373-8779
Salt Lake City. The Children’s Museum of Utah has imaginative, interactive exhibits, a puppet theater, and daily arts and craft activities housed in a historic building. (801) 322-5268.
The Hansen Planetarium offers star shows, exhibits, and laser/music shows. 15 S. State St. (801) 538-2104
On the eastern edge of Salt Lake City, Hogle Zoo has over 1,200 exotic animals, a petting zoo, miniature railroad, and hands on exhibits. 2600 Sunnyside Ave. (801) 582-1631.
The International Peace Gardens, inside Jordan Park, have botanical displays representing twenty-five countries. 1606 S.900 W.
Raging Waters offers ocean-like waves, thousands of feet of slides, cascading waterfalls and other fun ways to sun, soak, float or dive. 1200 W. 1700 S (801) 972-3300
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum. 150 acres of trees, shrubs, herbs, wildflowers, and stream-fed pools tucked into a private canyon in the Wasatch foothills. Large area of gardens and features geared to children. A concert series is held each summer. West edge of campus, through Research Park on Wakara Way to the mouth of Red Butte Canyon, (801) 581-4747
Eleven Acre, Tracy Aviary located in Liberty Park, has more than 1,000 birds on display and free-flying bird shows. 589 E. 1300 S. (801) 322-2473.
Wheeler Historic Farm a children’s farm-like park with a Chore Tour to help feed the farm animals and milk the cows, and horse-drawn hayrides. 6351 S. 900 E. (801) 264-2241
West Desert. Located 26 miles east of Salt Lake City on I-80, Karl Momen completed the 87-foot-tall “Tree of Life” sculpture in 1981. The abstract “tree” is made of 225 tons cement, almost 2,000 ceramic tiles, five tons of welding rod, and tons of minerals and rocks native to Utah. The idea for the tree sculpture came from Momen’s desire to have something beautiful rising from the sterile soil of the Great Salt Lake Desert.
West Jordan. Gardner Historic Village consists of many turn-of -the-century retail buildings including a restaurant located in a mill. The Village is a must see during the holidays! It is at 1100 W. 7800 S. Call (801) 566-8903 for more information.
Marysvale. At the Big Rock Candy Mountain, minerals have colored this distinctive landmark green, tan, brown, orange, yellow and gray. In 1897, “Haywire Mac” MacClintock, a railroad brakeman wrote the song, “In the Big Rock Candy Mountain”, later recorded by Burl Ives and Tex Ritter. (888) 560-7625.
Mona. The Young Living Family Farm, “Where the West is Fun!” is the world’s largest herb fam for the production of essentials oils. It’s not only a farm but also an exotic zoo, with wagon rides, visitor center, western town and family fun, 888-690-5204.
Price. BLM’s Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, has a 20-foot Allosaurus skeleton, and other exhibits. The quarry is 30 miles south of Price on state routes 10 & 55. (435) 636-3600
In 1898, a posse had a shoot-out with two outlaws and announced they had killed Butch Cassidy. An inquest was held and many people came to view the body. One man in the back kept chuckling. Later, when a Wyoming lawman positively identified the body as another outlaw, people then realized the man who had been snickering was none other than Butch Cassidy himself. The outlaw they thought was Butch Cassidy lies in the Price City Cemetery. The story is printed on the tombstone.
The Desert Wave Pool has three action waves and calm water for year round swims. (435) 637-7946.
Goblin Valley State Park has intricately eroded rock creatures perfect for hiking and a good game of hide and seek. The park is between Green River and Hanksville off state route 24. (435) 564-3633.
Kanab. Twenty minutes south of Zion National Park on U.S. 89, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is the nation’s largest sanctuary for homeless animals. Tours are offered daily. (435) 644-2001.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park has a boardwalk trail and acres of fine, pink sand on which to play. It is 11 miles off U.S. 89 near Kanab. (435) 874-2408.
Capitol Reef National Park. The Fruita orchards at Capitol Reef National Park allow self-serve picking of several types of fruit in season, and attract deer and other animals each evening. (435) 648-2800
Springdale – Zion National Park. The Springdale Fruit Company, surrounded by apple orchards, has a small market, and a lovely picnic area. State route 9. (435) 772-3222.
At the Springdale entrance to the park, the Zion Canyon Cinemax Theatre shows lavish scenic IMAX® films of the area every day of the year including “Zion-Treasure of the Gods,” on a screen six-stories high and 80-feet wide. (435) 772-2400.
A Junior Ranger Program offered through Zion Nature Centerfocuses on the geology, flora and fauna of the park with explanations and activities geared to children under 12 years old. (435) 772-3256.
Moab. Arches Vineyard, one of only a handful of commercial wineries in Utah, producing about 80,000 bottles annually. Free 30-minute tours are offered in season, and the winery has a tasting room. (435) 259-5397
At Hole ‘n the Rock, Albert Christensen spent over twenty years building – or rather, chiseling, sculpting and blasting – a 14 room home for his family in a solid sandstone ridge. This curiosity is 15 miles south of Moab on US 191, and tours are available. (435) 686-2250.
Monticello. More than a century ago, cowboys in this area “saw” a horse’s head and ears formed by the trees, shadows, and terrain on the east side of the Abajo Mountains. Since then, “Horse Head Peak”, has become a southeastern Utah landmark. Locals claim that it can be seen from virtually any place in town, but if you need a little help, find the carefully placed viewing pipes in the City Park at Main and Center Streets.