Places to go

Restaurants, parks, museums and more: places you can go most days, with no date to catch. Pick a category; the number on each is how many places it has with the choices you have made.

Explore areas & districts

We can put the nearest ones first and tell you how far each one is. Nothing here is sorted by distance until you say where you are measuring from.

Everything

Showing the first 50 places. Show more at the end of the list loads up to 50 more.

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playground · Bluffdale

Wardle Fields Regional Park

Some details are not confirmed yet.

The best playground in the south valley and the one worth driving past closer ones for: a big climbing structure, a zip line, and a splash pad that runs roughly May to September. The lot fills by late morning on a hot Saturday, and there is almost no shade over the water, so go early or come back after four.

Freeabout 2 hours · ages 1–12

2920 West 14000 South, Bluffdale, UT 84065

Partially full IMAX theatre with nebulae and space objects displaying on the IMAX screen

planetarium · Salt Lake City

Clark Planetarium

Photo: saltlakecounty.gov

in The Gateway

Some details are not confirmed yet.

The exhibit floor costs nothing, which makes it a genuine free option rather than a ticketed one with a free corner.

Freeindoors · about 2 hours · ages 4–90

110 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

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trail · Draper

Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge, Corner Canyon

Short hike to a real suspension bridge, which gives a young child an obvious destination instead of an abstract one. Start from the Coyote Hollow trailhead for the shortest approach. Shares trail with mountain bikers, so keep children to one side.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · ages 4–75

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playground · South Jordan

Bingham Creek Regional Park

Newer and much bigger than a neighbourhood park, with a splash pad and shaded pavilions you can actually sit under. Quieter than Wardle Fields for the same kind of afternoon.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · ages 1–12

farm · Murray

Wheeler Historic Farm

Photo: saltlakecounty.gov

Some details are not confirmed yet.

Animals and open ground, and free to simply walk around.

Freeabout 2 hours · ages 1–70

6351 South 900 East, Murray, UT 84121

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trail · Herriman

Yellow Fork Canyon

Gentle old road grade up a shaded canyon, so it climbs without ever feeling steep, which is the rare combination that works with a five year old. Best in spring when it is green; the last stretch of access road is dirt and gets rutted after storms.

Freeabout 2 hours · ages 4–75

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trail · Sandy

Bell Canyon Trail

Some details are not confirmed yet.

Reservoir at the first mile makes a natural turnaround with children. Parking fills early on Saturday mornings.

Freeabout 2.5 hours · ages 7–70

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trail · South Jordan

Jordan River Parkway

Paved and flat the whole way, which makes it the reliable answer for a family ride with mixed abilities. Rideable in winter when it is clear.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · ages 2–90

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trail · South Jordan

Oquirrh Lake Loop

Flat paved loop around the lake in Daybreak, about three miles, with playgrounds and beaches spaced along it so a tired child is never far from a reason to stop. Works with a stroller or a balance bike.

Freeabout 75 minutes · ages 2–85

park · Salt Lake City

Sugar House Park

Some details are not confirmed yet.

Large open park with a pond and playgrounds, and in winter the hill below the upper car park is the best sledding in the city. It closes to vehicles around the Fourth of July for fireworks.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · up to age 90

1300 E 2100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84106-2871

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park · Sandy

Dimple Dell Regional Park

A deep wooded gully running through the middle of suburban Sandy, with several trailheads so you can pick a short out and back. Snow melts off it earlier than the canyons, which makes it a good March answer.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · ages 3–85

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library · Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Main Library

Worth visiting as a building, not just a library: a spiral walkable roof, a glass atrium and a children's floor with its own small rooms. Free, warm, and open on Sundays when most alternatives are not.

Freeindoors · about 1.5 hours · up to age 90

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place · Sandy

Scheels

Some details are not confirmed yet.

An odd one that works: a shop with an indoor ferris wheel, aquariums and a wildlife display, all free to wander. Genuinely useful on an inversion day when you need somewhere warm that costs nothing.

Freeindoors · about 75 minutes · ages 1–80

11282 S State St, Sandy, UT 84070-5113

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trail · Sandy

Temple Quarry Nature Trail

Paved half-mile loop at the mouth of Little Cottonwood past the granite the temple was cut from. Short enough for a toddler and flat enough for a stroller or wheelchair, and it pairs well with something else nearby.

Freeabout 30 minutes · up to age 90

place · West Jordan

Gardner Village

Photo: gardnervillage.com

Some details are not confirmed yet.

Old mill turned into a cluster of small shops with a creek, ducks and footbridges. Free to walk around, and the seasonal displays in autumn and at Christmas are the reason to time a visit.

Freeabout 1.5 hours · ages 2–85

1100 W 7800 S, West Jordan, UT 84088

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library · Riverton

Salt Lake County Library, Riverton

Some details are not confirmed yet.

Free, warm, and open when almost nothing else is. Runs its own children's programmes, which the library events source picks up separately.

Freeindoors · about 60 minutes · up to age 90

12877 South 1830 West, Riverton, UT 84065

place · Salt Lake City

University of Utah

Photo: utah.edu

Worth knowing as a container as much as a destination: the museum, the garden, Kingsbury Hall and the library are all up here, so two stops on campus are a walk rather than a second drive and a second car park.

Free

201 Presidents' Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84112