Salt Lake City is the also called, because of its location, Crossroads of the West. It is known by most because served as host to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The city proved a perfect choice because the event was a success.
The climate of the city and of all Utah is not only favorable for winter sports, but for any other activities, having the average daily temperatures during summer between 13 °C and 32 °C.
Salt Lake has the 18th busiest airport in the world meaning that is a popular destination among visitors from all around the world. Tourism began to rise following the Olympic Games. From then on, the city puts a real effort to be up to tourists’ expectations. You can choose from a large variety of sport and recreational activities. Skiing and snowboarding are the most popular winter sports.
The Crossroad of the West has a well-developed network of ski resorts, having eight of them just 80 kilometers from the city. The number of visitors has increased by 29% in the last 6 years only. These resorts also take advantage of the potential the mountains offer.
During summer, the hills and cliffs are ideal for extreme sports lovers. They can either try rock climbing or mountain biking. Those who would enjoy other less dangerous activities can go hiking, camping or road biking. The rivers and reservoirs in the Wasatch Mountains area provide enough space for boating and jet skiing. Fishing is also a popular activity during summer. Those who would like to watch delightful scenery should consider walking in the neighboring national park.
Salt Lake City is also home of several professional sport teams, such as the Utah Jazz NBA team, the Utah Blaze Arena Football League team and Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer team. Other two regional teams are present here: Utah Grizzlies playing in the ECHL and Salt Lake Bees running for the PCL baseball trophy.
The transportation in Salt Lake City can cover the city’s needs. There is also a very rare feature that some of the buses held here: they are equipped with ski racks, so the skiers won’t have to worry about how to carry their skis.
The city has several museums. Many of these have strong religious influence, like the Museum of Church History and Art. Different collections are presented here, such as clothing, furniture and artifacts from the Letter-day Saints church’s history. The University of Utah operates two museums: the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Utah Museum of Natural History. An another cultural area is the Gateway District, which in fact is an open air retail, residential and office complex, which houses among others the Clark Planetarium – with one of the two IMAX theater in Utah – and the Discovery Gateway – a children’s museum. Numerous shops, fast foods and restaurants are also present in this district. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Salt Lake Children’s Choir and the Utah Symphony Orchestra also hold many music events. The city’s university is home to the Ballet Department and the Department of Modern Dance, which are two highly ranked dance departments.
Salt Lake City, especially the downtown area, is shown in many films, ads or music videos. These include blockbusters like High School Musical, and the sequel, Dumb and Dumber and Independence Day. It was also revealed that the author of the critically acclaimed movie, The DaVinci Code, visited two temples in the city as an inspiration for his future works.
The city was in international spotlight during the 2002 Winter Olympics, which, according to many, was one of the most successful winter olympics ever. Now the city shows interest in hosting it again bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but several other events are held yearly. These include the Sundance Film Festival, the international Salt Lake City Marathon – since 2004 – and the Thyagaraja Music Festival of Utah.
A city that proved that is able to host a very successful winter olympics it’s surely suit to make your holiday an unforgettable reminiscence.
