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Kids Korner |
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| Take your pick. Would you rather bike or hike, fish or river raft, shop till you drop or listen to music? Utah has got it all, including alpine slides and national parks. The state that's famous for its powder in winter is just as much fun in summer and fall, whether you're six or 16. You might even learn a little about your family tree along the way. The hard part is deciding what you want to do first! |
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Did You Know?
- Native Americans grew corn in southern Utah centuries before Christopher Columbus discovered America. Utah takes its name from the Native American word “ute” meaning “top of the mountains.”
- People come to the Family Search Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City from all over the world to fill in the blanks in their family trees. It's the biggest library devoted to family history. Check out www.familysearch.org. To create your family tree, start with your parents and work backward. How many generations back can you go?
- Utah has five national parks. They are Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. Visit www.nps.gov to find out what kids like to do at the parks.
- The Union Pacific Railroad laid tracks across the plains from the east while the Central Pacific Railroad came from the west. They met in Promentory, Utah on May 10, 1869, completing the first trans-continental railroad in North America. Today you can visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site.
- There are some 1,500 dinosaur bones still embedded in the rock where they were found at Dinosaur National Monument. The monument is so big that it straddles eastern Utah and western Colorado. The Dinosaur Quarry has produced the fossils of at least 10 kinds of dinosaurs.
- There are great places to go river rafting in Utah. In fact, Utah has more than 400 miles of raft-able rivers. You might fly over rapids, bounce up and down, and just when you don't think you can take anymore, the river slows and you float lazily along. Many families like to raft on the Green River.
- Brigham Young brought pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 because they wanted a place to practice their religion. They were Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They named Salt Lake City for the salty lake that dominated the desert. The Great Salt Lake is huge–90 miles long. Today, Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah and you can visit Temple Square where you can see the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse.
- There are 11 ski resorts within an hour of Salt Lake City, 13 in the state and they're as much fun in the summer as the winter. You can mountain-bike and hike, fish, zip down an alpine slide, swim, and horseback ride. Check out: www.skiutah.com
- Even though the Utah Winter Olympics of 2002 is long over, you can still visit Utah Olympic Park in Park City where Olympic hopefuls put on freestyle aerial shows every Saturday in summer. You can tour the competition sites and visit a Ski Museum. If you're 14 or older, you can take a turn on the bobsled that goes up to 70 miles an hour! Check out: www.utahathleticfoundation.com
- More than $400 million in silver was mined from the hills surrounding Park City. There are still more than 1,200 miles of tunnels through the surrounding mountains. Today, of course, Park City is known as a ski town with three major resorts: Park City, the Canyons and Deer Valley. It's also home to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association. In the summer, kids mountain-bike and fly down alpine slides. There are more than 325 miles of trails here! You may meet some Olympic athletes out on their rollerblades or bikes or at the free movies in City Park. Visit www.parkcityinfo.com
- Utah Ski Resorts get 500 inches of snow a year and some seasons they're open until the end of May.
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument is the world's largest natural-rock span. It's solid sandstone and stands 278 feet wide and 309 feet high.
What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Salt Lake City . . .
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Meet: Serena Stiehl (age 8) and her dog, Molly, who live in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the daughter of Southwest Airlines Customer Service Supervisor Marjalee Stiehl.
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She says: "Salt Lake City is an awesome place to live because we have mountains, lakes, and all kinds of other fun stuff!"
Don't miss: Lagoon for fun rides, swimming, and good food.
Don't go home without: Going to Snowbird Ski Resort, it's the place to go. Serena says snowboarding is definitely better than skiing!
Best places to eat:
- Reno's Italian Restaurant (they have good noodles)
- Golden Corral Buffet (they have bread that tastes like a piece of heaven)
The best places to visit outside of Salt Lake City: St. George and Lake Powell
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Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .
- Utah ski resorts offer bargain accommodations in the summer and just as much to do as in the winter, including music festivals and special kids activities.
- Check out:
- Snowbird (www.snowbird.com) where packages start as low as $59 per person and there is a Camp Snowbird program all summer.
- Sundance (www.sundance-utah.com) with Family Gathering packages and art classes for kids as well as adults.
- Park City (www.parkcityinfo.com) where condos start as low as $55 a night and there are free outdoor movies in the park, miles of mountain bike trails, and an alpine slide.
- Snowbasin (www.snowbasin.com) with summer concerts.
- Solitude (www.skisolitude.com) with disc golf and fishing, among other activities.
- The “Visit Salt Lake Connect Pass” enables you to visit up to 12 of the area's best attractions from the Children's Museum of Utah to Snowbird's tram. Check out: www.visitsaltlake.com and www.utah.com.
- Many families also like to tour Utah's national parks–Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, and Capitol Reef, though they can be hot in the summer (www.nps.gov). There are also seven national monuments and two national recreation areas in Utah. Ask the national park rangers to suggest hikes and other activities that are age appropriate.
- Consider house boating on Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the United States with hundreds of canyons, inlets, and coves (www.lakepowell.com).
- Wherever you go, remember plenty of sunscreen, water, and the camera!
See Past Editions of Kids Korner.
By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™
