utah travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake, or its initials, S.L.C. It was originally known as Great Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake City Public Library is a system of free public libraries. There are six locations: the main library downtown, the Anderson-Foothill branch, the Chapman branch in Glendale, the Day-Riverside branch in Rose Park, the Sprague branch in Sugar House, and the Corrine & Jack Sweet branch in the Avenues.

This 200,000-square-foot facility is part of an ambitious program by the library to double its space for collections, establish a landmark in the city’s civic core, and create a lively interactive public space currently missing in the downtown area. The new library features a triangular main building, adjacent rectangular administration building, glass-enclosed “urban room”, and public piazza. The new Salt Lake City Library is a splendid addition to the downtown area, and it has won several architecture awards. The gradually rising outer wall is both striking and functional, housing a study area, which is connected to the main building by walkways over the atrium. Also highly functional is the raised access floor covered with modular carpet. The library’s underground parking facility can be accessed by turning mid-block from eastbound 400 South. Parking in this facility is free for the first half-hour, then 75 cents per half-hour after that.
Natural light is introduced into all of the spaces where people sit and work. Infused with light from all sides, the library has paid careful attention to ensure that library materials and technology are not affected by direct sunlight. The clear glass on the lens of the triangle has the highest UV rating available for energy efficiency.

Library patrons expressed the desire for even more from the City Library collections - a request that challenged the library to provide more depth and enlarge both the scope and breadth of the collections. For the past three years, collection development librarians have selected and acquired more than 80,000 new items. This brings the collection size for the new Main Library close to 500,000 items and the total library system collection to 750,000. Library materials now include not only books, but audio cassettes, compact discs, videocassettes, DVDs, and CD-Roms, in addition to visual materials such as art prints and slides. The technology center and training lab offer 42 computer stations with Internet access; an additional 121 Internet computers are located throughout the building. The computers in the technology center have been partially provided through a Gates grant, and staff is available to assist users as they write papers, work on resumes, and develop computer skills.

Amazing sandstone arch in the Arches National Park, Utah, United States.Arches National Park is of course famous for the red arches of Entrada sandstone that occur there in great profusion, and the visitor center sells a map showing the location of over 1,000, ranging in size from Landscape Arch with an 89 metre span to small cavities 3 feet across, which is the minimum dimension for an opening to be officially classified as an arch. But there are also many other striking rock formations scattered over the park’s 73,000 scenic acres, and to see the whole area would take several days. As with most other low lying regions in south Utah, temperatures in Arches National Park may reach 110 degrees F which restricts hiking activities, although summer brings frequent cooling afternoon thunderstorms. The winter weather is not too extreme, and any snowfall is usually quite light.

More info you can find here.

Salt Lake City’s Wasatch Mountains are home to 7 world-class mountain ski resorts, all within 30 to 45 minutes from the Salt Lake Valley. An abundance of beautiful sunny days, various terrains to suit everyone’s needs, and quick access up the canyons, makes Skiing Salt Lake a very wise choice for your next ski vacation.
Here is list of mountains around Salt Lake City for Skiing:

Snowbird:

* 85 runs, 2500 skiable acres
* 29 miles from airport, in Little Cottonwood Canyon
* small slopeside pedestrian village
* look for Kids Ski Free deals
* Mining Camp fun park
* combined Alta-Snowbird pass gives skiers 4700 acres
* many programs for kids including nursery and child and youth night-time programs
* condo lodging
* flagship accommodation: Cliff Lodge & Spa

Alta

* skiers-only!
* 115 runs, 2200 acres
* 33 miles from the airport
* handful of lodges, condos, restaurants
* ski into neighboring Snowbird (with the right pass)
* ski school, day care, Children’s Ski Adventure Center

Brighton:

* 66 runs, 1050 acres
* 35 miles from airport, at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon
* combined Sol-Bright pass adds Solitude resort
* popular with teens and ‘boarders
* known for terrain parks
* voted #1 for Child/Family Friendly Terrain by local parenting magazine
* skiiing, boarding, any day, all season: kids under 10 ski free
* many lessons available, including Kinder Lessons for ages 4 to 7
* affordable slopeside Brighton Lodge has 20 rooms

Solitude:

* 64 runs, 1200 acres
* 28 miles from the airport, in Big Cottonwood Canyon
* Ski School with kids’ programs
* attractive “village” has ski-in, ski-out condos and inn, restaurants, grocery store, ice-rink, Club Solitude club-house with heated outdoor pool and whirlpools, theatre that shows family movies, games rooms, and lounge

The Canyons:

* Utah’s largest ski and snowboard resort has 152 runs, 3700 skiable acres, 8 mountains
* 33 miles from SLC airport, 4 miles from Park City’s historic Main Street
* kids programs include all-day daycare for ages 2-3 with 1 hour lesson
* teen clinics, terrain park clinics
* slopeside Grand Summit Resort Hotel is a AAA Four Diamond-rated property with outdoor heated pool, gourmet dining, etc. Nearby “ruggedly elegant” Sundial Lodge has rooftop hot tub, outdoor heated pool, lodgings from studios to multi-bedroom condominiums. Both offer ski-free packages.
* surrounding village has food, shops

Park City Mountain Resort:

* so close to Park City that “Town Lift” is actually in the historic part of town
* over 104 runs, 3300 skiable acres, 6-pack lifts
* 37 miles from SLC airport
* Fast Tracks passes skip lineups, and are free w/ 4+ multi-day tickets
* 4 terrain parks, Olympic Superpipe
* Kids Mountain School
* many services, & lodging options

Deer Valley:

* 90 runs, 1750 acres
* chic skiers-only spot with top-of-the-line services
* 36 miles to airport
* childrens’ ski programs, age 3 and up; teen ski programs; child care, 2 months to 12 yrs. old
* Tricks n’ Turns (TNT) terrain park for family fun, with features for novices

The seven ski spots around Salt Lake City are so close that if you want a low-cost mega-snow vacation can stay in a motel in Salt Lake City (as low as $39) and ski / snowboard at a different spot each day. More information about each one of the resorts you can find here.