Utah State Capitol
The Basics
As one of Salt Lake City’s most prominent landmarks, the Capitol Building is included on most city sightseeing tours. Free tours of the Capitol are led by volunteer docents on weekdays and depart from just inside the east entrance, or you may explore on your own. Highlights include rotating exhibits about Utah’s history and heritage in the fourth floor gallery, and the architecture and frescoes of the Rotunda.
Things to Know Before You Go
A visitor services office is open on weekdays.
A limited number of wheelchairs are available to use at the Visitor Services office.
An access ramp is located between the Capitol and the Senate buildings.
Brochures are available inside the east entrance for those taking a self-guided tour.
How to Get There
The Capitol building is situated at the northern end of State Street, Salt Lake City’s main thoroughfare. It can be reached via public transportation on bus No. 500. Public parking lots are located on the east side of the Senate Building; street parking is also available but visitors should pay attention to street signs for any limits.
Trip ideas
When to Get There
The Capitol Building is open every day, including weekends and holidays. Weddings often take place on the weekends. Other types of events also take place throughout the building and grounds; if you’re lucky, you might catch a choral performance in the Rotunda.
Temple Square
If you’re at the Capitol Building, you’re within walking distance of Temple Square, just 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) away in the direction of downtown. Owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the plaza is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the city’s top visitor attractions, where you can walk around the landscaped grounds and visit temples, monuments, and other sites that are important to the Mormon church.
- Salt Lake Tabernacle
- Temple Square
- Joseph Smith Memorial Building
- Latter-day Saints Church History Museum
- Latter-day Saints Family History Library
- Clark Planetarium
- Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
- Leonardo Museum
- Tracy Aviary
- Liberty Park
- Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA)
- Fort Douglas Military Museum
- Red Butte Garden
- Natural History Museum of Utah
- This is the Place Heritage Park