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A friend of mine is going to be vacationing in SLC this coming summer and asked the group if there was anything "must-see" in the area. Since I know there's a respectable sized clump here, I figured I'd ask you!
Sounds like it's going to be a long trip, as Mary mentioned going to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and specifically Yellowstone National Park. What else should they do while they're in town - or if anyone knows about the other areas as well?
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Most of the scenic landscape in Utah is in southern Utah- Arches National Park , Bryce Canyon , Zions National Park. I also suggest looking into Moab if she plans on doing some of those. Moab is a... decent place in Southern Utah to get a hotel, and hit those areas.
Park City is a more northern location that is actually quite a nice vacation spot, and holds the Sundance Film Festival- I believe in the Summer. Sundance Film Festival is something I've wanted to do for sometime, but keep forgetting. If I am correct and it is in the summer when your friend in there, I would ask her if she'd be interested, and if she is, tell her to get tickets way ahead in advance. Lots of celebs in Park City at that time. If she doesn't like crowded areas, then don't even bother mentioning this.
Posts: 530 | Registered: Jan 2003
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If your friend is planning on spending any serious time in Idaho, and is an "outdoorsy" person, the best favor they could do themselves is to spend some time spelunking in the Arco Desert. BLM 15 minute maps show virtually all of the great caves out here, and even just the state topographic maps can get you to where you need to go. If your friend needs more info, feel free to email me.
Posts: 3 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Is she outdoorsy? The Yellowstone area is a must for anyone touring the area, but activities range from seeing the sites to hiking to extreme sports like rock climbing and kayaking.
If she's into history, there are a lot of ghost towns in southwest Montana that make an easy couple days' adventure for someone staying in Yellowstone. If she's got a bit more time, western Montana has some wonderful amazing places to go, including Glacier National Park - which is breathtaking enough as a drive, but also offers hiking, climbing and fishing opportunities. If she's here in June or July she could go huckleberry picking in the back woods, go on a trail ride, or backpacking trips.
If she or her family are at all into fishing, southwest Montana and the Bozeman area are prime for flyfishing - they shot A River Runs Through it here, and it's everyone's favorite pasttime. Bozeman and Cody, Wyoming, the two major towns nearest Yellowstone Park, also have a good selection of museums and historic town areas.
Tell your friend she can email me (address in my profile) if she has questions or needs reccommendations about the Yellowstone area - I've lived in Bozeman for five years, and worked in Big Sky and the surrounding areas, so I'm familiar with places to go and know a lot about the lodging opportunities in the area as well.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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Well, after living five years in Jackson, Wyoming, she absolutely must travel to Yellowstone via Teton National Park. THere are many beautiful hikes - particularly along Jenny Lake) and a gorgeous log cabin church as you first enter the park.
Jackson has expanded so since I lived there, that I am not sure of it's charm anymore, but if the "ShootOut" is still going on in the town square evenings, that's a must see. (My dad used to play the drunken town doc ) and you'll learn about how the stage coach is right on time, three days late . . . also, swing by Valley BookStore, a wondrous nook of a shop. The Fountain on the north side of the square has an excellent old time fountain, and Snow King is always worth a little hiking (on the south side of town.) The rodeo grounds are in town - the rodeo is always fun, and be sure to check out the Wort (pronounced wurt) Hotel. Oldtimers (and folks that were there) can tell you stories of when the place burnt down. (And yes, I was one of the many silly kids that went in past the barriers when it was still smoking to explore.) Jackson Hole Playhouse usually offers quality shows. Anthony's Restaurant offers good Italian fare for fancy dining, but really look for small diners with beat-up pickup trucks for the best native style food.
I think I'm homesick . . .
For good fishing (trout and brookies) take the day and head up into the Sleeping Indian (the mountains framing the east side of the "hole") or find a place along the Gros Ventre. Watch out for low-flying planes. They swoop along and have precious little room to land -
and remember - early spring or late fall is the best time. The local joke was that Jackson's population was less than 5000 nine months out of the year. The other three, it exceeded a million - every blessed day.
Oh! And how could I forget! The Hell's Angels tour through each year on their way to Sturgis, in case your interested . . . Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I think though Yellowstone draws a far larger crowd, the Tetons are far more beautiful. Yellowstone is exciting and new and different, but really it's not beautiful. The Tetons are absolutley spectacular, especially with snow, though it's rather expensive to visit if you don't camp, which is of course much more difficult to do in the snow. Groveont (spelled differently I'm sure) is a great campground and close to everything, as well as huge, I always recomend starting to plan a Teton visit from there.
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Lots of great ideas! Thank you! I'm just going to email her a link to this thread so she can read them directly instead of playing cut and paste.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Goody, Our family just vacationed there last year, seeing lots of friends out that way.
Depends on what kind of things you friend likes to do, but if she's into outdoor sports at all, my kids and I love hiking at the City of Rocks in Idaho -- not far from the Utah state line.
And I love ALL the major state and federal parks in Utah -- it is just a gorgeous state. Yellowstone is nice too -- but I really liked Utah better.
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Clark Planetarium? Hmm... I wouldn't call it a "must see", but its a nice place to go to. Does she like KFC... you could take her to the first KFC... except for the jerkfaces bulldozed it and built a new one!
Posts: 530 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Ah! Now I understand! Gros Ventre is a tribe in Northeast Montana. It means "fat belly." That was just a tidbit, by the way.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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) and you'll learn about how the stage coach is right on time, three days late . . . also, swing by Valley BookStore, a wondrous nook of a shop. The Fountain on the north side of the square has an excellent old time fountain, and Snow King is always worth a little hiking (on the south side of town.) The rodeo grounds are in town - the rodeo is always fun, and be sure to check out the Wort (pronounced wurt) Hotel. Oldtimers (and folks that were there) can tell you stories of when the place burnt down. (And yes, I was one of the many silly kids that went in past the barriers when it was still smoking to explore.) Jackson Hole Playhouse usually offers quality shows. Anthony's Restaurant offers good Italian fare for fancy dining, but really look for small diners with beat-up pickup trucks for the best native style food.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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