Salt Lake City Activities
Salt Lake City is home to a great variety of fun things to do. Visitors and residents have no need to be bored.
Winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, are popular activities in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who play their home games in EnergySolutions Arena and are the only top-level professional sports team in the state. The city's other professional sports include Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League, and the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League (minor league baseball).
Temple Square is the most popular tourist attraction in Utah, attracting around 5 million visitors a year. The grounds, which feature a number of gardens, often host concerts and other events. During the Christmas holiday season, hundreds of thousands of lights sparkle from trees and shrubs around Temple Square. The lighting of Temple Square time is a popular event, attended by tens of thousands of people.
Salt Lake is home to several museums. Near Temple Square is the Museum of Church History and Art. Operated by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the museum contains collections of artifacts, documents, art, photographs, tools, clothing and furniture from the history of the LDS Church, which spans nearly two centuries. The University of Utah campus is home to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Utah Museum of Natural History. West of the university, located at the Gateway District near downtown, is the Clark Planetarium, which also houses an IMAX theater. Also in the Gateway District is the Discovery Gateway, a children's museum. Other museums include the Utah State Historical Society, Daughters of Utah Pioneer Memorial Museum, Fort Douglas Military Museum, and the Social Hall Heritage Museum.
Salt Lake City provides many venues for both professional and amateur theatre. The city attracts many traveling Broadway and off-Broadway performances. Local professional acting companies include the Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Plan-B Theatre Company. The Off Broadway Theatre, located in Salt Lake's historic Clift Building, features comedy plays and Utah's longest running improv comedy troupe, Laughing Stock.
