We managed to hike in three completely different biomes in our three full days in Salt Lake City. Day one (Big Cottonwood Canyon) was high alpine forest with wildflower meadows and aspen groves. Day two (Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake) was wide open, dry and rocky.
For day three we chose Mill Creek Canyon and the Pipeline Trail. It was scrub oak and pine, with lots of shady areas in the tree cover and spectacular views of the canyon and down into the Salt Lake valley.
It was a morning well spent, about 4 miles of hiking at 6000 feet. We thought we'd try to find a nice lunch spot on our way back to town but the lines for a table were wrapped around the parking lots. Fourth of July long weekenders, presumably. So we ate leftovers at home, rested up during the heat of the day - high 90's yet again - and visited the Natural History Museum of Utah in the late afternoon.
This museum is one of the best I've ever been to. The architecture was gorgeous and the layout inside was really well done. Easy to follow floor plan and excellent exhibits - great overview on the history of the First Nations People plus loads on the geology and prehistoric animals. Plus every time you came to a bank of windows the view was absolutely stunning.
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| That's Antelope Island way off in the distance on the far right. |
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| The solar panels on the rooftop are the biggest array of panels in Utah. It was a bit underwhelming. I think there are bigger fields than this in Simsbury. But it produces 25% of the electricity for the museum so good on them. |
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