We did not necessarily choose Salt Lake City, it was more a case of Salt Lake City choosing us. It may be hard some times to find a good city as a starting point for road trips in western USA that does not require a stopover in the US. And for us Europeans, a changing of flights in the US means going through immigration at the gateway airport with the stress and fear of missing the next flight, due to the fact that absolutely no one can say how long the line for immigration is at any time and how long this will take. We have done this mistake a few times, and never again. The reason for Salt Lake City as a destination was simply that KLM and Delta has a direct flight from Amsterdam, which means only one stopover on the way to USA. And that around Salt Lake City there are some fantastic national parks!

The Airport

It is not often we wax lyrically about an airport but we have to say that Salt Lake City airport was excellent! It gave us the shortest time ever in the US from the plane landed, until we cleared immigration and had our luggage, it took only 1 hour! Fastest ever! Normally just standing in line for immigration takes between 1-2 hours, our record is 3 hours just in line at Phoenix airport some years ago. The airport is light and fresh, built new for the 2002 winter Olympics, and it is only a short 15 minutes by car to the city centre. Departure was great too, security was a breeze and plenty of restaurants and shops to make waiting for the departing flight no stress at all.

The City

It’s known for its picturesque mountain surroundings, with the Wasatch Range to the east. Founded in 1847 by a group of Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young. Seeking a refuge from religious persecution, they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley and established a settlement. The city quickly became the centre of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), with Brigham Young serving as the leader. Over the years, Salt Lake City played a significant role in the westward expansion of the United States. It served as the capital of the Utah Territory, which was established in 1850. The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 further boosted the city’s growth and connectivity. The city’s economy diversified over time, and it became a hub for mining, trade, and later, as a regional financial centre. Salt Lake City gained international attention when it hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, a highlight for us snow crazy Norwegians, we won 13 gold medals! Throughout its history, Salt Lake City has retained its ties to the LDS Church, but it has also developed into a culturally rich and diverse metropolitan area with a thriving arts scene, outdoor recreational opportunities, and a growing tech industry.

What did we think of the city?

Salt Lake surprised us, we did not have any expectations, like most people we knew about the Mormons and we knew that Utah is considered a conservative state. What we found was a cool vibrant city, in stunning surroundings with broad avenues and cool neighbourhoods. It had a kind of big city with small town vibes, not as stressed out as New York and not as cool as LA but it had its own thing going on, and we liked it.

We stayed at the Towne Place and Suites, the price was good and the hotel was nice and the location was excellent.

We got our shopping done at the City Creek Shopping centre, and it is not often we can say that a shopping centre is nice but this place was very cool with an indoor/outdoor section with a small creek running through it. All the shops you need to get that last minute shopping done.

The Sugar House area

We asked around what was the hipster area of town and we were pointed towards the Sugar House district. We took an Uber for about 15 minutes from downtown and ended up at the cool Sugar House Coffee for lunch. It is a great space for coffee, food and just a hang with nice people. A safe space for everyone. We did not think that there would be such a thriving and vibrant rainbow community in Salt Lake, we though it was a strict conservative town. When we asked about this we were told that this was a recent push back from the community against conservatives in the state and town.

From the Sugar House coffee we walked and shopped around in cool thrift stores, book stores and just had a great afternoon in the sun in what became our favourite part of Salt Lake City.

And while we talk about coolness and coffee, we have to mention what became our “local” coffee shop while in Salt Lake, the awesome Cupla Coffee in the city centre.

Food!

Salt Lake City has a great food scene and we would like to mention just one of the best places we have eaten in the US, Current Fish and Oysters. You would not think that an inland city would have such great seafood but we had oysters and fish rivalling the freshest seaside town restaurants anywhere in the world.

Will we go back?

Probably not to visit Salt Lake City as a town but we will more that likely use Salt Lake as a gateway to road trips in the future, and if that happens, we will of course spend a couple of days in a very nice and surprisingly liberal town, to sample the food, the coffee and the laid back vibe.