City Guide 2025 

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• TETRASKI
• A Tetra skiier enjoying the slopes of Snowbird

Accessible Adventuring
Utah's outdoors can be a joy for people of all abilities.
By Babs De Lay

I've been handicapped since I was 6 years old, when I developed Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, which is common in boys and not so many girls. Basically, blood stopped flowing to the femoral head of my hip bone, causing me to drag my leg as I walked. My grandfather noticed that the top of my right saddle shoe was worn down, due to me dragging my foot—and soon I was in a body cast, then a wheelchair, then a brace and crutches. I later had surgery in my 30s that shortened my leg by almost two inches, and my piriformis muscle shrunk so that I basically feel like someone is constantly stabbing me in the butt with a hunting knife. I limp and can't hike or take walks—but I can swim and play golf if there's a cart!

People often move to Utah because of our massive outdoor recreation possibilities—from skiing to boating, hunting and fishing, hiking and camping and so much more. But Utah also has several organizations that assist people with disabilities who want to enjoy our great outdoors.

One of the best-known groups is our National Ability Center (discovernac.org), founded in Park City in 1985 by Paralympic skier Pete Badewitz and his former wife, Meeche White. While they began the nonprofit offering adaptive skiing lessons for veterans at Park City Mountain Resort, they have grown over the years to offer activities like cycling, horseback riding, water sports and team-building programs with high ropes challenges and rock climbing. They also offer lessons in a variety of other activities, including accessible camping for families, and can provide specialized equipment and trained staff to help people participate in their activities and sports.

TRAILS (Therapeutic Recreation and Independent Life Styles, utrails.us), created in 2001 at the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital at the University of Utah, is a program that offers recreation, sports, wellness and education for people with physical injuries or diseases. The rehab pros aim to maximize physical and mental health in their clients and get rave reviews for teaching people how to use the TetraSki—the world's only independent alpine ski for athletes with a complex physical injury or illness (think sitting down and balancing on one large ski).

Other organizations include: Achilles International (achillesinternational.org), an adaptive-running nonprofit that offers weekly workouts for all abilities and paces; Logan Adaptive Aquatics (loganutah.gov), which assists people with disabilities to use the Logan Aquatic Center; Highland-based Courage Reins Therapeutic Riding Center (couragereins.org); and Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation Adaptive Program (saltlakecounty.gov).

AdventureVet (adventurevet.org) is a non-profit organization based out of Moab that delivers outdoor adventure activities, motorcycle and recreational therapy, vocational training and additional life-changing and life-saving holistic wellness programs specifically developed to assist wounded and amputee combat veterans.

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures (cgadventures.org) helps to enhance the lives of youths and adults with disabilities through quality outdoor recreational activities, and just completed "Hunt the Beav," a scavenger hunt/fundraiser for all abilities to ski down Beaver Mountain. They offer multi-day trips to flat-water rafting areas in and around Moab, along with trips to Glacier National Park, dogsledding in Jackson, Wyo. and cycling trips around Idaho. This group was created as an AmeriCorps VISTA project in the early 1990s, and serves more than 3,600 people with disabilities annually.

Our "Big 5" national parks (nps.gov) have tried over the years to become more accessible to visitors. Arches National Park has accessible parking, restrooms with grab bars and accessible stalls, lowered info desks, tactile exhibits and accessible drinking fountains. The Devil's Garden picnic area has one paved path to a non-modified table, and campsite #007 has a raised firepit and an accessible table and cooking grill.

All of the major 14 overlooks at Bryce Canyon have level and paved short paths along the canyon's rim, and the visitors' center has accessible parking and restrooms, plus picnic tables with extended ends for wheelchair use. Some visitors with strong balance and enough leg functionality may be able to take a two-hour-long horseback ride below the canyon rim. No modifications have been made, including the mounting system, but assistance can be provided.

Zion National Park provides shuttles, each of which can handle two wheelchairs at a time, but if you register in advance to "Ride with a Ranger," you can hop on a free 40-foot bus with a space for four wheelchairs. Guests with further medical concerns can pre-register to "Ride with a Ranger" (assuming the program continues to get funding from the Trump administration), which uses the bus to get a guided park tour.

• Clint Burlap
• The High Uintas

Best Utah Getaway
1. High Uintas
Need to get away? How does more than 450,000 acres of off-grid wilderness in Utah's highest mountain peaks sound? It's no wonder the High Uintas are our favorite remote retreat, legally designated in 1984 by the Utah Wilderness Act. Dispersed camping can be found nearly anywhere (stay at least 200 feet from water sources), and with a high-clearance ride, you can venture as far off the beaten path as your adventurous side will allow.

2. The Cliff Spa
Atop the Snowbird ski resort's Cliff Lodge, this is a majestic way to get away from the everyday in style. With a pool and hot tub situated below stately mountain peaks, a serene fitness center and quality treatments like facials and massages, you can jumpstart your morning or relax after a particularly trying day. Reserve an appointment or get a membership, and you'll be on your way to personal rejuvenation.
snowbird.com

3. Crystal Hot Springs
A natural wonder that long predates the city later built in its vicinity, Honeyville's Crystal Hot Springs are a delightful destination for any local or visitor in need of an escape. Drawing mineral water from both hot and cold springs, the fun of the pools and waterslide are enhanced by the therapeutic qualities of the natural resource itself. Go ahead; take a trip out of town and go for a soak. You'll feel better.
crystalhotsprings.net

• discoverygateway.org
• Busy hands at play at Discovery Gateway

Explore SLC with Kids
Family-friendly fun abounds in Salt Lake City.
By Bryan Young

Thanks to our nanny-state legislature, it's not like you can just take your kids to the local pub for a nice meal and a board game while you have a drink as you can in civilized states and countries. You've got to work to find family-friendly and kid-oriented activities to do, but City Weekly has your back.

Unsurprisingly, Salt Lake City has no shortage of options for these sorts of activities and this list is by no means exhaustive. The valley is home to three world-class facilities that keep animals for preservation and study. Long gone are the days when they were all just cooped up in inhumane conditions. Hogle Zoo (hoglezoo.org) is a conservation-based non-profit right up Sunnyside Avenue spanning three acres; it's always worth a day of exploration for the whole family. The original site of the zoo in the Southwest corner of Liberty Park is Tracy Aviary (tracyaviary.org), which is one of only two accredited standalone aviaries in the entire country. It boasts bird shows and walk-in habitats that let you experience birds first-hand—and year-round. The third you'll want to visit is the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (livingplanetaquarium.org) down in Draper. They've got penguins, otters, stingrays and all manner of aquatic life, and it's just not something you'd want to miss.

If the botanical side of nature is more your thing, Red Butte Garden (redbuttegarden.org) is a great way to spend the day with the family, taking a walk through the plants of Utah and beyond; they also have a robust kid's playground.

If you and your kids are more into history and arts than animals and nature (and that is more than fair), there are further options on the proverbial table. The Leonardo (theleonardo.org)—which is also the new home of Ken Sanders Rare Books—boasts a great science and technology-focused museum with permanent and rotating exhibits, many of them hands-on, perfect for kids and adults alike. Discovery Gateway (discoverygateway.org) features a children's museum and is the best place for a parent to get a rest from their small kids. Sure, you'll be following them around the museum all day, but they will barely notice you are there, and you can read a book pretty easily. This Is the Place Heritage Park (thisistheplace.org) is another spot where the history of Utah's early pioneer settlements come alive, preserved in startling detail and easily worth exploring for a day. You can even arrange to spend time riding through it on horseback. You can also find carriage rides at Thanksgiving Point (thanksgivingpoint.org), with a Museum of Ancient Life (translation: big dinosaur bones) that is of one of the two natural history museums within easy driving distance. The second is the Natural History Museum of Utah (nhmu.utah.edu), located right on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (bonnevilleshorelinetrail.org), so once you're done crawling through dinosaur bones, you and the family can go on an invigorating hike through some of the most gorgeous foothills the state has to offer.

If you want to blend hiking and history, Ensign Peak is absolutely the right place. With easy parking and a mild hike, you can take the whole family up to an important part of city history and get an incredible view of the city from behind the Capitol building.

If you're looking for pure, unadulterated entertainment, the Salt Lake Valley is no slouch. Lagoon (lagoonpark.com) in nearby Farmington is the biggest name around. With historic roller coasters dating back more than a hundred years as well as some of the newest, most state-of-the-art coasters and fascinating historic offerings, it is an important piece of amusement park (and Utah) history—how many other regional amusement parks got namechecked by the Beach Boys? Closer to home, the arcade, laser tag, bumper cars and bowling at Pins & Ales (pinsandales.com) inside Valley Fair Mall is a favorite of my family after catching a movie at the Megaplex Theatres (megaplextheatres.com). For smaller kids who want to run wild and parents who want to take a breather, the indoor jungle gyms and motorized vehicle tracks of Kids Empire (kidsempire.com) at 1082 S. 300 West can't be beat for hours of entertainment.

No matter what you seek, there are options in every direction you can imagine for kids of all ages, whether those kids are in the single digits ... or triple.

• Courtesy photo
• Utah Hockey Club’s Kevin Stenlund in action

Get Your Head in the Games
Salt Lake City offers a wide range of pro sports options
By Connor Sanders

While Salt Lake City is a small sports market on the national level, it's full of passionate fans and intimate viewing experiences that you might not get in bigger, more hoity-toity cities.

As is the Utah way, professional sports teams here are industrious, operating on tight budgets and needing to win on the margins. That means reasonably-priced concessions, random bench players becoming cult heroes overnight (seriously, ask a longtime Jazz fan about Sundiata Gaines), and always rooting for the underdog.

Whether you're spending one night here or looking to become a season ticket holder, here's your guide to pro sports in SLC. Rosters are always subject to change.

UTAH JAZZ (NBA, nba.com/jazz)
Arena: Delta Center
Key Players: Lauri Markkanen (F), Walker Kessler (C), Keyonte George (G), Isaiah Collier (G)
Founded in 1974, the team was originally formed as the New Orleans Jazz, but moved to Utah in 1979 (hence the slightly out-of-place nickname). The Jazz have consistently been one of the most well-run franchises in the NBA since the move, especially since the John Stockton/Karl Malone era of the late '90s.

However, the last few years the team has been in the throes of a rebuild after trading stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They're hoping to hit on some high draft picks and build a playoff team all over again.

Jazz games are still fun, though, even if the on-court product is currently uninspiring. You'll be surrounded by kids screaming their approval at every made basket and breaking out goofy dances to get on the jumbotron. Tickets are pretty cheap, and so are basic concessions. Make sure you take a picture with the Jazz bear.

UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (NHL, nhl.com/utah)
Arena: Delta Center
Key Players: Clayton Keller (C), Dylan Guenther (RW), Mikhail Sergachev (D)
The Arizona Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City in April 2024 after being acquired by Jazz owner Ryan Smith. After a quick rebrand, Utah Hockey Club (final mascot still TBD at press time) has taken off in popularity in its local debut season.

There's a ton of young talent on the ice, and the pace of the game combined with the heartier atmosphere makes for a great way to spend an evening. Where else can you watch a couple of Canadian dudes swing on each other while you guzzle a beer? This is the bandwagon to jump onto if you're looking for a team to root for in SLC.

Be warned, though, as some parts of the arena only offer limited views of the ice at this point. You can, however, snag a nice discount on your ticket if you're willing to watch some of the game on the big screen. The club finished its inaugural season smack in the middle of the Western Conference standings, just outside the cuttoff for the 2025 playoffs.

For budget hockey viewing, consider cruising over to the Maverik Center for a Utah Grizzlies (utahgrizzlies.com) game. The Grizzlies are a minor league affiliate for the Colorado Avalanche.

REAL SALT LAKE (MLS, rsl.com)
Arena: America First Field
Key Players: Diego Luna (MF), Braian Ojeda (MF), Dominik Marczuk (F)
Real Salt Lake is kind of the team you root for if you're a bit of an alt/hipster sports fan in the area. The team is consistently good, and being able to watch a match in a soccer-specific stadium during the warm months is rad. The atmosphere is lively, with lots of chanting and berating opponents and referees. But it's soccer. It's not everyone's cup of tea.

That said, RSL is the only team in the local market to win a league championship, taking home the Major League Soccer Cup in 2009. Currently, they're also facing a rebuilding year, having lost some key players in the offseason. But the front office has performed alchemy on blah rosters before, and coach Pablo Mastroeni and his players have a reputation for hard-nosed play.

America First Field is also the home of the Utah Royals (rsl.com/utahroyals), playing its second season in the National Women's Soccer League. The Royals had a previous stint from 2017 to 2020 before moving to Kansas City. Attacking midfielder Ally Sentnor might be the single most talented team sports athlete in the Utah market. At just 21-years-old, she's already scored her first goal for the United States Women's National Team, and projects to be a future Olympian and World Cup participant.

OTHER SPORTS:
SALT LAKE BEES (Baseball): The Bees just moved to a new stadium in South Jordan after decades downtown. The team is the Triple-A minor-league affiliate for the bottom-dwelling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

LOVB SALT LAKE (Volleyball): League One Volleyball is a new effort to bring professional women's volleyball to the United States. The team plays home matches at Bruin Arena in Taylorsville, and boasts Olympic-level talent in former United States gold medalists Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington.

UTAH WARRIORS (Rugby): Also in its debut season in 2025, the Utah Warriors compete at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, where RSL houses its training and youth sports academy.

UTAH SHRED (Ultimate Frisbee): Nothing will make you question why you like sports so much like going to a Shred game, also at Zions Bank Stadium. In all seriousness, pro Ultimate is fast-paced and extremely physically demanding. You'll laugh at how good these grown men are at hucking the disc.