Salt Lake City has been surprising visitors ever since the 2002 Winter Olympics ushered it onto the world stage. Its stunning setting amidst the Wasatch Mountains makes it a natural place for outdoor enthusiasts, and thriving culinary and arts scenes offer culture vultures a wealth of places to explore.

Take a private Salt Lake City tour and let a local guide show you the highlights, history and hidden gems of this lakeside town.

A stroll along South Temple Street is a must. Historically the city's most fashionable street, it boasts numerous elegant mansions, historic churches and heritage buildings. You can't miss Temple Square, Utah's most visited attraction, which is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and home to the city's 19th century Salt Lake Temple. Outside the city, state parks like Antelope Island invite you into the rugged Utah wilderness.

Have fun exploring with your guide on your private Salt Lake City tour.

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Salt Lake City Highlights Private Express Tour

Salt Lake City boasts world-class arts, culture, and sports, luxury shopping, and a metropolitan food scene. Many don't realize this if they've never been, but by the end of this tour, you'll wish you had planned more time in Utah's capital city. From South Temple Street lined with grand historic buildings to the hallowed ground that is Temple Square, on this tour, you'll get a crash-course in what made and makes Salt Lake City what it is today. I'll introduce you to the history and people and the architecture. You'll leave with an appreciation for it all.

This tour is perfect for someone with limited time, perhaps here for business or a conference or maybe a long layover. And, if the timing works, we can include the organ recital at the Tabernacle on Temple Square, an daily event that's been going on for nearly 150 years. If you want a deeper dive with more highlights including the Great Salt Lake, please look at my 4-hour tour option.

Salt Lake City and County Building in Utah

replica of original Eagle Gate at This Is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah

Assembly Hall and Seagull Monument on Temple Square in Salt Lake City

Brigham Young Monument on Main Street and South Temple Street in Salt Lake City

Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City

Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah - site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City

This is the Place Monument in Salt Lake City, Utah

Union Pacific Depot in Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah

interior murals at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City Utah

Utah State Capitol Building rotunda in Salt Lake City

Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

Experience the highlights of Utah's capital city including Cathedral of the Madeleine, Utah State Capitol, and more

Salt Lake City and Great Salt Lake Private Half-Day Driving Tour

My first summers living in Salt Lake City, I led groups of teenagers on historical reenactments pulling handcarts up a small peak on the edge of the city. From the top of this peak, we could see the whole valley laid out before us from the University of Utah to downtown and even beyond to the Great Salt Lake. This city has grown a lot since 1847 when a company of religious pioneers staked claim to the valley. It's now the capitol city of one of the fastest growing states in the U. S. , the headquarters to a world religion, and has hosted the Olympics. On this tour, we start where Brigham Young declared, "This is the place. " Then, we drive through the city seeing its highlights along the way. At some stops, including the Capitol Building, This Is the Place Monument, and Great Salt Lake State Park, and Ensign Peak we'll get out to explore. By the end of the tour, you may even want to move here.

Experience the highlights of Utah's capitol city including the Great Salt Lake and more

Great Salt Lake's Antelope Island Private Half-Day Driving Tour

As a college student, I introduced students to Antelope Island in my first travel article for the student-run newspaper. I wrote that the Great Salt Lake's largest island provides "a perfect venue for the adventurous student who wants to have a truly unique Utah experience. " I'd add today that a visit to Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake is a must for any visitor to Salt Lake City. Just one year after the Latter-day Saint Pioneers began settling near the lake, a tithing ranch was set up on the island. Today, America's third largest herd of wild bison roams the island along with other native wildlife including a plethora of birds. Oh, and we can't forget the extremely briny water that surrounds it. People once came to Utah just to experience the super buoyancy of the salt water that was said to have curative properties. On this tour, we'll experience the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feel of everything the this amazing place has to offer. I promise it will be a highlight of your time in Utah.

Visit "America's Dead Sea" and its largest island full of wildlife including bison!

Park City and Salt Lake City Highlights Private Full Day Tour

In 2002, Utah welcomed the world for the 19th Olympic Winter Games, just months after the world changed forever by the attacks of September 11, 2001. Many thought the already scandal-plagued games shouldn't take place at all. But, with new leadership and increased security, Utah hosted a very successful winter games spread out across the Salt Lake Valley, Park City, Midway, and other venues in Weber County and Provo. When Brigham Young and others hiked to the top of Ensign Peak two days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, they probably couldn't have envisioned such a large event like the Olympics despite raising their biblical "ensign to the nations. " On this tour, we'll delve into these stories and everything in between, from the first peoples to live in Utah to the tech of Silicon Slopes. This tour includes both Utah's capitol city and its ski capitol. Stops include Utah Olympic Park, Temple Square, Utah State Capitol Building, This Is the Place Monument, and more.

Experience the highlights of Utah's capitol city and ski capitol

Trains, Planes, and Bison - Northern Utah Highlights Private Driving Day Tour

The first time I saw the Jupiter locomotive at Golden Spike National Historical Park, I was an adult, but I felt like a kid, giddy with excitement as steam billowed from its stack while it chugged up the track. In 1869, Utah and America changed forever when the Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Summit. This momentous occasion allowed people, fashions, and goods to get to traverse the country in a matter of days instead of weeks or months. Today, this momentous history is preserved at Golden Spike National Historical Park. That's just one of the amazing destinations on this tour of Northern Utah's highlights. We'll also visit the Great Salt Lake's largest island where one of the biggest herds of wild bison lives. There's a very good chance we'll see other wildlife on the island including coyotes, owls, and pronghorn. We'll also visit a rocket garden and enjoy lunch under a plan at an aerospace museum.

Visit Antelope Island, Golden Spike National Historical Park, and a garden of rockets

As a runner for a Salt Lake City law firm, I delivered documents all over downtown. Once while out on a delivery, I found a small sign about Plum Alley, Salt Lake's historic Chinatown. I wanted to know more. Most people I spoke to who grew up and lived in Salt Lake their whole lives were unfamiliar with it too. I can only imagine what my ancestors thought as they watched a dragon snake its way up the street to celebrate Chinese New Year while the Salt Lake Temple was still under construction. I wonder if any of them tried authentic Italian or Greek food mainly prepared for immigrants who came to work in the mines and with the railroad. Today, most of this heritage is just memories and shadows, but on this walking tour, we'll take a glimpse into the past to explore Salt Lake's rich, multi-cultural heritage. Along the way, I'll share stories and show you historic photographs to provide context.

Learn a bit of Utah's pioneer story, women's history, immigrant history, and more

History and Art of Salt Lake City Walking Tour

From its earliest days, Utah has been a haven of the arts. Prior to the railroad, pioneers would carry musical instruments, poetry, and fine art across the plains in their wagons. After the railroad, pioneers easily returned east and beyond to study art and then bring their talent and skills back to the territory. Noted historical Utah visual artists include Cyrus Dallin, Avard Fairbanks, Maynard Dixon, Arnold Friberg, Mahonri Young, and John Hafen. Their works have impacted and been appreciated by millions of people around the world.

On this tour, we'll see important works of art around Salt Lake City and in Utah County. We'll experience sculptures, murals, stained glass, and more.

Explore Utah's art legacy with public art, at an art glass studio, an artisan hatter, and two world-class art museums

Salt Lake City Art Private Driving Full-Day Tour

A visit to Utah is not complete without experiencing the red rock canyon country of Southern Utah. Every time I enter one of these spectacular places, I am in awe. If ever a natural wonder could be considered a place of worship, it is in the parks of Utah with their massive buttress fins, vaulted arches, hoodoo gargoyles, and stone domes.

On this day trip tour, we'll go to one of the national parks nearest to Salt Lake City and experience as much as we can during for the time that we have. This includes viewpoints and short hikes. Each park has something a little bit different to offer. For history buffs, Capitol Reef is for you. To get up close with the magnificent geological formations, Arches is your choice. Canyonlands offers the best vistas looking out from an "island in the sky" over miles and miles of spectacular canyons. Whimsical hoodoo formations await in Bryce Canyon National Park. Touch dinosaur bones at Dinosaur National Monument.

Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce Canyon NP, or Dinosaur National Monument

Utah National Park Private Day Trip Tour

Movies and TV Shows Filmed in Utah Private Driving Tour

From the red rock backdrops for Thelma and Louise, Stagecoach, and Galaxy Quest to the mountains of Jeremiah Johnson and small towns of Hallmark Christmases, Utah is America's studio backlot. Hundreds of films and TV show episodes have been filmed throughout the state. With iconic scenery and everyday small-town charm, it's no wonder Hollywood loves coming to Utah. On this tour, we'll experience filming locations of blockbusters and film festival favorites alike. You'll get a glimpse into the film industry and see where some of your favorite movies and TV shows were made including High School Musical, Dumb &amp; Dumber, Legally Blonde 2, Halloween 5, Touched By An Angel, High school Musical: The Musical: The Series, SLC Punk!, Carnival of Souls, Andi Mack, The Mistle-Tones, and more. Throughout the tour, you'll get sample some of Utah's best bites from restaurants featured on Food Network or in romantic holiday films and TV shows.

Explore the film industry of Salt Lake City and Utah

Salt Lake City Historic Houses of Worship Private Walking Tour

The Salt Lake Temple isn't the only notable piece of religious architecture in the city. Just a few blocks away, the Cathedral of the Madeleine majestically rises over South Temple. My first experience with this building was as a child, performing there on tour with the Texas Boys Choir. As a kid, I didn't appreciate the richly colored murals and spectacular windows, but after experiencing great cathedrals around the world, I can say that Salt Lake's deserves a spot among them. As a college student studying interior design the shadow of the uniquely Utahn First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake, I truly began to appreciate the city's rich religious architecture and heritage. On this walking tour, we'll visit eight historic houses of worship in downtown Salt Lake City, none of which is home to Utah's predominant religion. I've made arrangements for us to go into some of them, so we can see the beautiful artwork and windows.

Explore Historic Churches and Synagogues in Downtown Salt Lake City

Leaf-Peeping in Utah Autumn Foliage Private Driving Tour

Fall in Utah isn't complete without a drive through the majestic Wasatch Mountains before winter snows close the roads until the next summer. Our state tree, the quaking aspen, turns bright yellow while many other trees add touches of red and orange to the forests.

On this tour, we'll drive through these fantastical landscapes through the heart of the magnificent autumn colors. Along the drive, we'll make stops for photos where permitted and take in the scents and sights of the season. This could include seeing moose and other wildlife. You'll also be provided with Utah's go-to fall and winter treat of donuts and apple cider (non-alcoholic) or hot chocolate.

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