Salt Lake City Utah Sports & Recreation

Salt Lake is a recreational dream of variety and excellence. With unsurpassed wilderness, ski slopes, and water sports, and four distinct seasons, Salt Lake has become the premier lifestyle mind trip. From hiking to sailboarding in the summer, to skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, there’s something to satisfy all your interests.

Skiing the steep and deep attracts national and international visitors from November through April to Utah’s top-ranked resorts. Seven ski resorts, three Nordic ski areas, and the nation’s finest recreational ski jumping complex are all within 40 minutes of the Salt Lake International Airport. National ski magazines consistently rank the state’s ski areas among the best in the country.

The “Greatest Snow on Earth” levels at over 500 inches of snow each year (that’s 40-plus feet)! Superior snow conditions and accessibility were a factor that helped Salt Lake City secure the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Whatever your style or ability, Utah skiing has it all: from cultivated resort slopes to extreme helicopter or snowcat skiing in the backcountry. After a day on the slopes, skiers can relax at après ski lodges, bars, clubs, or in one of the many local microbreweries.

Utah resorts also offer a great deal of diverse terrain for snowboarders. As the sport grows, so does new terrain. Park City Mountain Resort, for example, now boasts four terrain parks, ranked number one by Transworld Snowboard Magazine. The parks include the King’s Crown Super Park for those who’ve mastered the smaller parks. Jonesy’s Park also offers features for an intermediate park rider’s ability level and the new, lighted Payday Park let’s riders jib after dark.

Trails that provide hikers solitude in the summer offer a winter wonderland for snowshoers. In addition, Snowmobiling has become a traditional winter sport in Utah. More than 800 miles of groomed snowmobile trails can be found in the state.

In preparation for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, new athletic facilities were constructed that allow the public to engage in nontraditional winter sports like ski jumping and bobsleigh/luge at the Utah Olympic Park. In addition, ice-skating is open to the public at two Olympic facilities (The Oquirrh Park Oval in Kearns and The Ice Sheet in Ogden), as well as at other facilities.

When the temperature rises and thoughts turn to summer, Salt Lake continues to be an outdoor haven. Utah offers an extensive menu of recreational opportunities to enjoy; whether it’s hiking, fishing, cycling, or horseback riding.

Over the last several years, on- and off-road cycling has presented opportunities for all abilities of bikers. Scenic rides in the alpine terrain in northern Utah are popular as are rides in the red rock country of southern Utah—just four hours from Salt Lake City.

Hiking and backpacking treks allow nature lovers to fully experience Utah’s diverse landscape. Easy day hikes that take you to clear mountain lakes are within a 30-minute drive of Salt Lake in the nearby Wasatch Mountains. For those wanting longer hikes into pristine wilderness areas, the High Uintas are an hour’s drive away.

Golf is a major attraction for visitors to Salt Lake during warmer months. In the Salt Lake Valley alone there are over 40 distinctive golf courses within 30 minutes of each other, and an additional 30 within one hour of downtown Salt Lake City. From high elevation roller coaster tracks along the Wasatch Front, to staid parkland courses more than a century old, to dazzling desert courses in Southern Utah, Utah has it all.

The quality of Salt Lake’s golf rivals the choicest public courses in the country. For example, the Golf Club at Thanksgiving Point, a Johnny Miller signature golf course, ranked
as one of the top 10 new courses in the country by Golf Digest in 1997, and one of fifteen “Hidden Gems” in the country by Links Magazine.

Offshore enthusiasts enjoy water sports such as water skiing, sailboarding, wakeboarding, and river running. Utah ranks in the top ten in the nation in surface acres of boatable waters within its boundaries. The southern part of the state is world-renowned for its whitewater rafting on the Green, Colorado, and San Juan Rivers. Utah is also home to Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in North America.

Hunting is also a popular activity in Utah’s outdoors. Species commonly hunted in Utah are deer, elk, antelope, pheasant, duck, geese, sage grouse, forest grouse, chukar partridge, mourning dove, wild turkey, cottontail rabbit, and snowshoe rabbit. Most species of wildlife are protected in Utah. More than 630 species of animals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians make their homes in Utah’s diverse habitat, so wildlife watching has also become a favorite for many.

Hunting is allowed in most public areas of the state, except in national parks and monuments and state parks. Call the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for specific regulations at 801.538.4700 (www.wildlife.utah.gov).

Salt Lake’s summer event season offers an appealing array of outdoor events such as the Utah Arts Festival, Live Green, Farmers’ Market, Oktoberfest, Jazz and Blues Festival, the Days of ’47 Parade, First Night, and the Greek Festival just to name a few.

Cheering on professional and amateur sports teams is easy when in Salt Lake. The city has received national acclaim for its NBA team, the Utah Jazz. The Utah Jazz was the first major professional sports team in Utah, and with legendary coach Jerry Sloan, Jazz games provide thrilling entertainment for sports fans. Their home arena, the 20,000-seat Delta Center, also hosts many special events and concerts. For more information call 801.325.2000.

The Utah Grizzlies began their affiliation with the American Hockey League, in 2001, and are this year in their 11th season. The Grizzlies skate on the ice at the “E” Center in West Valley City. The team is a two-time winner of The Turner Cup. Also, this year began a new NHL affiliation with the Phoenix Coyotes (whose managing partner is Wayne Gretzky). This change brought an entirely new team, coaches, and a color change from Green and Gold to Brick Red and White.

In the summer, the Salt Lake Stingers baseball team (AAA Anaheim Angels), play ball at Franklin Covey Field. The 15,500-seat stadium is located just blocks from downtown Salt Lake City. For tickets call 801.485.3800.

The newest teams to arrive on Salt Lake’s sports scene involve soccer. Real Salt Lake kicked off its Inaugural Season in April of 2005. This franchise of Major League Soccer, the highest level of the sport in the United States, plays its matches at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium until a new stadium is built in 2007. Real Salt Lake features the highest level of U.S. and International talent. For tickets, visit www.realsaltlake.com. The Utah Blitzz, an outdoor minor league professional soccer team, won the United Soccer Leagues D3 National Championship in 2001 and the Western Conference Championship in 2002 and 2003. The Utah Spiders, a women’s soccer team, formed in 1999 and joined the Women’s Premier Soccer League in 2000.

Collegiate football action is hot during the fall season when teams from Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and Utah State University play for die-hard Utah fans. Utah’s team coaches are also noted for their extreme coaching ability. With Home Depot National Coach of the Year Urban Meyer as head coach, the University of Utah finished its 2004 regular season ranked No. 5 and 6, respectively, in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. The Utes completed their undefeated season with the win of the BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Meyer subsequently accepted a head coach position at University of Florida and was replaced by Kyle Whittingham. BYU also has a new head football coach: Bronco Mendenhall.

There are seven national forests and five national parks within the borders of Utah. Seven national monuments, two national recreation areas, and one national historic site add to the mix. Within a few hours of Salt Lake City are the following national parks: Arches National Park including the famous Delicate Arch with the largest concentration of natural stone arches in the world; Bryce Canyon National Park with its thousands of delicately-carved spires that rise in brilliant color; Canyonlands National Park with a vertical view thousands of feet down to the Green and Colorado Rivers or up to red rock cliffs; Capitol Reef National Park with splashes of color in an inviting wilderness of sandstone formations and cliffs; and Zion National Park, one of the nation’s oldest parks, with a quiet grandeur that has been carved over thousands of years by the Virgin River.

There are many national monuments, recreation areas, historic sites, and state parks (41) that weave a trail of beauty and intrigue throughout the state. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, extending across 1.7 million acres in southern Utah, dominates any map of southern Utah, and is just one example of the vastness and scope of Utah’s public lands. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area contains 207,363 acres of land and water, which are almost equally divided between Utah and Wyoming.

Accommodations in and near the parks and visitor sites are abundant, but early reservations are recommended. Campers can choose from nearly 500 public and private campgrounds throughout the state for camping and backpacking.