Things to do in Salt Lake City, UT

From SD? My home state (for now)!! We live in Sioux Falls, in the boring East River part of SD.

I assume you are visiting the Badlands in SD, as well as Mt Rushmore, then on to Devil's tower and up to Yellowstone. There are the "prairie dog towns". There's also Crazy Horse, the new monument being constructed VERRRYYYY slowly in the Black Hills.

No visit to SD is complete without a stop to see the fabulous Corn Palace in Mitchell SD. However, as that is not a National Park, you will probably not be seeing it.

What parks in UT are you visiting? There are a bunch. There is also Goblin Valley State Park, which is the location for the "living boulder" scene in "Galaxy Quest".

If you have access to a car, then go to Antelope Island State Park - it's truly amazing, especially the colors and the roaming buffalo. There are other nice day trips to hiking spots (e.g. Big Cottonwood Canyon) and to Park City, etc. In the city proper, Temple Square is very pleasant and there are some activities to see there. It makes for a nice walk. The Tabernacle Recital will be a highlight.

PS. There is amazing gelato in SLC. Try one right next to Settebello Pizza, it's called Capo Gelateria.

We are on a Gate 1 tour from Great Falls, SD ending in Jackson, WY.

After visiting cousins in Idaho Falls, Idaho, we are spending three days in SLC.

Recital of the Tabernacle Choir seems to be on Thursday evening and apparently there is no charge to attend. That is when we will likely see the recital.

We won't have a car, but tours are available. Thanks for your comments.

We enjoyed Antelope Island and Big Cottonwood Canyon while we were there a few years ago.

I have family in Utah and have been there many times. Here are my recommendations. Sunday morning you can attend a live broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir. Thursday evenings they have practices and you can attend that too. There are several free guided tours you can take on Temple Square also. Beyond SLC, going to the Olympic park in Park City is really cool. Depending on your energy level, it is possible to take a run on the bobsled track (they have a sled with wheels for the summer and a professional driver to keep you safe). Park City is also a rally cool town to explore. Trolly Square just east of SLC is a nice shopping area and used to be a train station. City Creek center is just next to Temple Square and also a nice shopping area with lots of restaurants. There is a nice airplane musuem north of SLC that is really good and has some big and historical planes in there. South of SLC in the Provo area is Mt. Timpinogus and you can hike up there and see the inside of the mountain with Stalagtites and Stalagmites and the thousands of years of formations. That is really cool. There are also several museums in SLC worth checking out. I hope you have a nice trip!!

I love Salt Lake! My brother lives there so I visit him and always enjoy exploring the city. If you have any interest in genealogy, I highly recommend the Family History Library on NW Temple. It is run by the LDS and is free and so interesting! The last time I visited my brother, my then-12 year old grandson and I went there, and he had the best time, as did I. They give you an iPad loan when you go in and show you how you can search for relatives. The have all kinds of fun searches there - for example, one shows you a chart of famous people you are related to and the exact relationship. You can make free family videos there as well. The place is really amazing and the staff was so incredibly nice (which is true of Mormons in general, I think). If you go, it saves time to already have an account with familysearch.org (the genealogy website run by the LDS) but it's free.

There are also some wonderful hikes in the city, including some with spectacular views of the city, if you like hiking. I agree with the above about seeing museums and all the other sites mentioned, including Temple Square. As Charles mentioned, Park City is very cool but you would need a car to get there so that's probably out. There is a bus but the trip would take about 90 minutes each way so probably not worth it. Trolley Square is fun to see, and Salt Lake really does have some great shopping.

Haven’t been, but on the list. Timpanogos Cave NM.

Five National Parks are in Utah, and you could see two of them with a rental car.
Highway 89 south of SLC about 270 miles is Zion.
Returning north on Highway 89, Bryce is about 75 miles.
Bryce to SLC is about 200 miles.
You might want to give these parks some consideration, and if you decide to visit them, make reservations to stay inside the parks.

Not sure if you are aware, but much of the Temple Square area is currently closed to the public due to construction.

This Is the Place Herritage Park is up on the east bench and is pretty intersting. It's a collection of historic homes and buildings and the end of the Mormon trail. Hogle Zoo is across the street from This is the Place and is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. If you are into museums, The Leonardo in downtown SLC is a great museum. If you're a baseball fan and the Bees are in town, the stadium is easily accessible by public transportation and it's a great stadium fto catch a game at. Tracy Aviary and Botanical Gardens in Liberty Park is also fun.

If you're into genealogy like we are, visit the FamilySearch Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in downtown SLC. It's a genealogical research facility with millions of items in their collection. You don't have to be Mormon to enter or use the resources. It's open to the public. Go with some basic family information and you may hit the jackpot!

It's probably too late to rearrange things, but I would have spent the extra days in Jackson because I'm sure the Gate 1 tour doesn't give you enough time in Grand Tetons or Yellowstone! None of the tours do so this is not just Gate 1.

I spent 2 weeks in SLC a number of years ago on 2 back to back Road Scholar genealogy programs. I did the choir rehearsals and the Sunday AM live TV presentation and they were really good. I'm sure you've looked at the website to get the scoop for your visit time frame but here it is if not.

https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/events/music-and-the-spoken-word.html

When are you going? I might also consider staying in Park City over SLC in the summer but the locals can weigh in on that. It would also require a rental car. Any chance of renting a car in Idaho Falls and driving to Park City?

Park City (old mining town, now wealthy ski/vacation spot) is a great place to visit. There are several other ski resorts in the nearby mountains that I believe offer summer activities. Some of them maybe on National Park lands - I dont know.

I'd recommend visiting a ski resort. They're beautiful in the summer. Snowbird is my personal favorite, you can usually take a tram up to the mountain tops and hike down (or take the tram or ski lift down.)
Antelope Island is quite interesting, but if you're there in the summer, the little marsh bugs will be busy and there is no shade.

For food in Salt lake downtown and near public transport: The Red Iguana can't be beat for quality Mexican food, huge portions, but everyone knows it so you probably want to make a reservation. Crown Burger is a favorite of mine, they do Greekish fast food, I personally love their namesake burger with pastrami.

This is the Place is great for kids and pioneer history, the Utah Natural History museum is great also for wildlife, dinosaurs, and indigenous cultures (past and present), and Red Butte Gardens are beautiful as well.

You can take the frontrunner (train) to Thanksgiving point which has huge botanical gardens, a great dinosaur museum, and an excellent children's museum.

You could see if there are any outdoor concerts during your visit, there's a variety of jazz, rock, alternative, etc outdoor events throughout the summer.

Kind of a weird Utah specific thing is soda shops. Fiiz, Swig, Twisted Sugar...They're everywhere, they're worth a try if you are a soda drinker.
Utah is pretty serious about ice cream too. If you can get yourself to a Leatherby's, they serve up old fashioned ice cream sundaes that are delicious and absurdly big with the best hot fudge.

In addition to what has already been suggested, I enjoyed a tour of the state capitol (I'm a government nerd). I attended the choir rehearsal which was beautiful. The family history center was also quite interesting - I had an odd branch of the family tree that the volunteer provided some super helpful suggestions about how to tackle future research. Amusingly, I was able to get tickets to see the musical "Book of Mormon" which was on while I visited. It was an interesting experience to see it in that venue.

Again, you haven't told us when you are traveling, but SLC has amazing cultural institutions during what is essentially the school year: theatre, symphony, opera, ballet, etc.

We have attended and greatly enjoyed several Utah Symphony performances.
https://utahsymphony.org/schedule/

Red Butte Garden is beautiful.
https://www.redbuttegarden.org/

I've heard that Utah State Capitol tours are nice.
https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/visitors-tours/schedule-a-tour

Park City. Olympic Park, fun Main street. Park Silly Sunday street fair, but check schedule. It isn't every Sunday. Kimball Art Fair beginning of August which is a big deal. Restaurants and fun shops too.

If you have a car, take Guardsman Pass from Park City to Big Cottonwood canyon. I just drove it the other day. Its beautiful. Have breakfast, lunch or dinner at Silverfork Lodge. You'll drive past Solitude. big Cottonwood canyon let's out on Wasatch. Turn left and go a few miles to Little Cottonwood canyon. The water run off is epic. You'll head up to Alta. We still have alot of snow up there. But roads are clear.

Sugar house is a nice section of town. Saturday is a big farmers market near downtown.

There is alot to do. It all depends on what your interests are.