Things to Do in Salt Lake City

When Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Brigham Young, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), proclaimed “Here we will build a temple to our God.” The place where this pronouncement was made eventually became known as Temple Square, whose centerpiece is the Salt Lake Temple — the largest of 135+ Mormon temples.

Located in downtown Salt Lake City, Temple Square is the world headquarters of LDS Church, as well as Utah’s number one tourist attraction, drawing in 3-5 million visitors each year. Contained within the Square’s 35 acres are the Salt Lake Temple, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, two visitors' centers and the largest genealogy library of its kind in the world. It is also home to the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra.

Free guided tours take in historic sites, interactive exhibits, art displays and films, parks.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square was built between 1863 and 1875 and originally housed meetings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church). It was also the location of the semi-annual LDS General Conference for 132 years, before the conference moved to a new center in 2000.

The Tabernacle’s unusual design is said to have come to Brigham Young while he was contemplating a hollowed-out eggshell. After the facility was completed it was considered an architectural wonder of its day, leading Frank Lloyd Wright to dub it “one of the architectural masterpieces of the country and perhaps the world.” Nearly 1.5 million feet of lumber was chopped in the nearby Wasatch Mountains to complete the project. The grand 11,623-pipe Tabernacle Organ, which pipes are made of hand-carved wooden staves, is one of the largest and sonorous organs in the world.

You’ll enjoy your trip to the Great Salt Lake more if you understand the history and science that put it on the map. The Great Salt Lake is what’s left of pre-historic Lake Bonneville. It’s the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River.

Great Salt Lake is salty because it is a terminal lake, meaning its water does not flow to the sea. The only way water can leave is by evaporating. When that happens, the salt gets left behind. Too salty for fish, only algae and brine shrimp live in the lake. Flies in the area are a common complaint, but they are a primary food source for the many birds that migrate to the lake.

Since the water is so salty, it’s easy to float, making swimming a must do for many visitors. White sand beaches, and typically its lack of flies make Antelope Island State Park a popular place to take the plunge.

Founded in 1894 to gather genealogical records and assist members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) with family history and genealogical research, the Family History Library is the largest library of its kind in the world. Its main purpose is to fulfill one of the LDS Church’s fundamental tenets: to baptize and perform other saving ordinances on deceased family members. However, many individuals use the library simply to research their ancestry and chart their genealogy.

The library’s collection includes more than 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 727,000 microfiche; 356,000 books, serials and other formats; and over 4,500 periodicals and 3,725 electronic resources. The library is open to the general public free of charge. It maintains 100 full- and part-time professional staff, as well as some 700 trained volunteers, to assist visitors with their research.