Utah’s very own Mike Lee has reintroduced the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act. The Republican Senator had previously introduced an identical bill in May 2019, but legislators ran out of time to vote on it before the congressional session ended. The bill—S.B. 1686—would revise language in the 1964 Wilderness Act prohibiting the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, motorboats and other forms of mechanical transport in wilderness areas. S.B. 1686 only seeks to amend the part regarding “mechanical transport”—which currently includes items such as non-motorized mountain bikes and game carts—such that non-motorized travel in which the sole propulsive power is one or more persons would be allowed at the discretion of local managers of designated wilderness areas.
The bill may sound relatively innocuous but it’s garnering intense scrutiny and inspired debate. The issue of bicycles in wilderness areas has been a touchy subject, especially after some places which were home to mountain established bike trails were included in newly designated wilderness areas, thus closing access for cyclists. Some argue a non-motorized bicycle doesn’t have any more impact than travel on horseback, which is still permitted in wilderness areas. People and organizations opposing that viewpoint argue designated wilderness areas—composing just 2.7% of land in the continental United States—should simply be off limits to bicycles, game carts, strollers, etc. to protect them from excessive human impact.
Sen. Lee’s involvement is certainly complicating debate. Lee has been historically hostile to federal control of land and is a proponent of handing over control to state and local authorities. In Utah, the Bureau of Land Management controls 42% of the state’s total area, which largely protects it from sale to developers or extractive industries. Federally-managed public lands belong equally to all Americans. Lee’s critics point out that transferring land from federal to state and local control would risk taking it from the public for the sole economic benefit of the few who have no historical or other claim to public land (aside from living near it). This bill does not strip federal control over designated wilderness areas, but conservationists worry a slow chipping away at federal regulations and protections in favor of local control is a slippery slope.
It’s important to note the bill would not be a blanket allowance for non-motorized travel in which the sole propulsive power is one or more humans in wilderness areas. It would allow local managers who are still federal land managers to decide on a case-by-case basis whether it’s prudent to allow bikes, game carts and the rest in the designated wilderness areas they oversee.
Sen. Lee on his website promotes the bill with the following language: “The National Wilderness Preservation System was created so that the American people could enjoy our country’s priceless natural areas. This bill would enrich Americans’ enjoyment of the outdoors by expanding recreational opportunities in wilderness areas.” The U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior supported the original bill in 2019 but have yet to update a public stance on the bill’s reintroduction. Some conservation groups including the Sierra Club oppose the bill. Many are caught in the middle, supporting protection of federally managed lands while still wishing to be able to use those lands to bike, hunt and otherwise access those lands in a low-impact manner.
We will update this piece as the legislation moves forward. Read more about the outdoors in Utah.
Thanks to our mountain playground, Salt Lake is known as a lifestyle city. It seems no one interested in work-life balance wants to move away, and lots of folks are moving here to stay. While that presents growth challenges, the mayor’s office and bike enthusiasts see opportunity knocking. Could our Rocky Mountain city be an outpost for not just recreational but commuter biking as well?
As an American living in Amsterdam, Jared Madsen adopted its urban biking lifestyle. Pedaling alongside students and professionals, past older cyclists carrying groceries in their baskets and weaving around parents toting children in front-cargo “bakfiets,” Madsen says the experience charted his course. A decade later in 2008, MADSEN Cycles was born.
The father-of-three traded in his job in manufacturing to tinker with a new cargo bike design for toting around his own brood. The Salt Lake-based company specializes in family-style “bucket” bikes with a unique backloading design that allows for a smoother, comfier ride compared to its European competitors.
Jared Madsen, Co-founder of Madsen Cycles; Courtesy Madsen Cycles
“I wanted to recreate the experience because, of course, we’re happier when we exercise,” says Jared, “but biking gives people a sense of community and a sense of belonging to the life in the streets.”
From the outset, Jared’s wife and company president, Lisa Madsen, harnessed the emerging sheen of social media to their enterprise. Capitalizing on the rise of the selfie, MADSEN Cycles developed a cool-factor on Instagram.
“Our customers are generally young, hip and love the attention that comes from riding a Madsen bike with their kids, their dog, their groceries or all three,” she says. “We tapped into the Instagram world early and influencers immediately loved the look. It’s like the ‘cool mom’s’ ride.”
Courtesy Madsen Cycles
The Madsens, and “cool moms” everywhere, are not alone when it comes to reimagining the role of bicycling in their lives. Its popularity has skyrocketed, with companies like Contender Bicycles (in Salt Lake’s 9th & 9th area) reporting record sales in 2020, likely as people sought safe alternatives to the gym and to too many Zoom meetings in pajamas.
It’s not just the spandex-clad going nuts for two-wheeled transport. The sales for electric bikes and errand-running cruisers have also climbed, evidenced by the rising success of MADSEN Cycles—which introduced its first electric bucket bike in 2018, as well as conversion kits for its older models. (Turns out, pedaling the kids, dogs and groceries up the hill can be a bit of a drag.)
Courtesy Madsen Cycles
On all fronts, it seems many folks are channeling their inner, bike-riding child—and just in time.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall ran on a promise to fix our city’s poor air quality and build a “smarter” city where we can live, play and work within 15 minutes without a car. She aims to increase multimodality in hopes of luring 20% of residents out of their cars on any given day in the city. Like the Madsens, she’s also looked to the Dutch as a guiding light.
“Amsterdam was completely car-centric 30 or 40 years ago,” she says. Now, folks prefer public transit, and a whopping 36% of citizens report biking as their primary mode of transportation. “As its population exploded, they saw no choice but to change the way they moved people. That’s where we are now.”
Mendenhall says Salt Lakers can flip the script on how we view our streets. “Once our streets were the public forum, now they are dedicated entirely to the vehicle. We need to undo that mindset and turn over more street-to-foot traffic, greenspace and bikes,” she says. “With wider-than-usual roads and underutilized alleyways, in many cases, the infrastructure is already there.”
Courtesy Madsen Cycles
In addition to dramatically extending existing bike paths and creating new ones, this “if you build it, they will come” approach applies even more urgently to macro-level planning. Affordable residential development plans, which include 3,600 units in our urban center, are aimed at tackling not just recent housing price-hikes but also the sprawl that makes transit biking problematic.
Salt Lake City has another reality to contend with if it hopes to be a biker’s paradise: it is, after all, perched in the Rocky Mountains—with the weather and hills to prove it. So, until snow gear and spandex aren’t prerequisites for our office commutes, it may be hard to persuade 20% of us to give up our cars.
City planning director Nick Norris says they’re taking Salt Lake’s snowier weather and hillier topography into account. For commuter-biking to be realistic in our region, public transit that works in tandem with bikers will be essential. The 2018 “Funding our Future’’ sales tax bump put an emphasis on expediting public transit and amping up street maintenance (that includes adding dedicated bike lanes and keeping on top of snow plow-created potholes—a biker’s nightmare).
“As we work on our streets, we’ll create clear, safe and, in many cases, dedicated bike lanes that run alongside circulator busses equipped with bike racks that come so often, folks can hop on and off without having to check a schedule,” Norris says. “If the weather is wet or you don’t feel like pedaling up that hill, you won’t have to.”
Courtesy Madsen Cycles
Quick Facts
WHAT IS A MADSEN BIKE? A back-loading cargo bike made for one or multiple passengers
ACCESSORIES: E-bike kits, cargo canopies, front racks, lights, leather seat upgrades, bike bells, water bottles, messenger bags and T-shirts.
FIRST BIKE, LISA: Schwinn Stingray Fair Lady. “As the fifth kid in a family of 13 children (no joke), I did with hand-me-downs, so it was definitely memorable when my dad let me pick out a new bike.”
FIRST BIKE, JARED: 1972 Schwinn Midget Sting-Ray in campus green. “It made my world so much bigger. I’d draw maps of my neighborhood and explore on my bike.”
The homebound world has forced us to find out which family members had quality cooking skills. Cooking gadgetry (air fryers? Instant Pot?) started trending. Now that the weather is improving, the backyard kitchen beckons, and it’s time to bring out the big guns: Big Green Egg and the Utah-based Traeger grills.
Both have a similar goal: optimize and simplify the ancient method of cooking meat (and veggies) slow and low. Here’s a breakdown of why these two outdoor cooking stars inspire fanatical followings (and how much it would cost to join the faithful).
BIG GREEN EGG
Enthusiasts call themselves Eggheads, and this ceramic cooker has a cultlike following for a reason. Recognized by its signature egg shape and dark green color, the BGE can grill, bake and smoke foods—and even make pizzas—regulated by its two air draft doors. The idea of cooking in ceramic is reminiscent of Moroccan tagines, known to produce tender, flavorful meals. The BGE is heated by specially formulated charcoal, and the larger eggs (there are seven sizes) can reach temps of 1,200 degrees. The temperature is achieved in good time, and the draft doors allow surprisingly specific heat control. Food cooks pretty quickly, unless you want the ribs to cook for a few hours, and then low temps are used.
COST: The Mini (smallest cooking surface, at 10 inches) is $400. The largest (29 inches) retails for $2000. Upside: These have been handed down in families because they are fairly indestructible.
COOKBOOK: Celebrating the Ultimate Cooking Experience, by Big Green Egg Inc.; Andrews McMeel Publishing; updated 2014. This book has recipes that run the gamut from appetizers to desserts and a vegetarian section, $38.
TRAEGER WOOD PELLET GRILL
This wood pellet grill is all about the flavor of cooking over an open flame with the versatility, convenience and safety of a convection oven. Hardwood pellets feed the flames and a fan circulates the heat, which adds that distinct wood-fired flavor to food—customizable with a variety of wood types, depending on what you’re grilling, smoking, roasting or barbecuing. While pork ribs are the most popular choice for people new to the “Traegerhood,” the oven-like controls allow for the consistent heat necessary for baking everything from cookies to the ever-trendy sourdough bread. Because you can just “set it and forget it,” there’s no need to hover over an open flame for hours checking and adjusting temps, and the built-in drip system means dreaded grease fires are a thing of the past.
COST: Traeger’s three series of WiFi-enabled home grills range from $800 for the Traeger Pro 575 to $2000 for the Traeger Timberline 1300. Portable wood pellet grills available for $300 to $470. (Add-on accessories include hardwood pellets, grill covers, grilling tools, sauces and rubs.)
COOKBOOK: Traeger Everyday Cookbook, by Traeger Grills; Traeger Pellet Grills, LLC; 2011. This book contains dozens of meal, appetizer and dessert recipes and guides to Traeger-brand wood pellets, sauces and spices. Traeger’s website also provides access to more than 1,600 recipes, including the devotee-favorite “3-2-1 Rib” recipe, and an active community of Traeger fanatics eager to offer grilling advice, $20.
Make the most of your food and drink this summer with our food section. While you’re here, subscribe to our print magazine.
Jurassic Park’s fictionalscientists reconstituted dinosaurs from T-rex DNA preserved in amber. We watched as a thin needle bored into the amber’s smooth surface, accessing the precious biological matter stored inside. While we haven’t (yet) reconstructed the DNA of dinosaurs to breed them back into existence, the idea is based on real science. It’s markedly similar to how the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover could find signs of life on Mars, and it connects to the study of ancient microbial organisms at The Great Salt Lake. Yes. The one here. In Utah.
Photo by the Great Salt Lake Institute
The historic landing of Perseverance represents one more small step in the lengthy journey to put human boots on the red planet. The rover is conducting trials of instruments that future explorers will use to traverse the Martian terrain. Perseverance does this while carrying out its primary mission: seek signs of ancient life.
Photo by NASA
Dr. Bonnie Baxter is a professor of biology at Westminster College in Salt Lake City and Director of Westminster’s Great Salt Lake Institute. She has studied microbes encased in minerals at the lake for more than a decade. “When minerals form, they have these little fluid pockets inside,” she says, demonstrating with a coin-sized salt crystal. When she tilts the crystal, a bubble slides beneath the transparent surface. “All of the microbes living in the water at the time can be trapped inside these salt crystals.”
Photo by the Great Salt Lake Institute
These microbes can be hundreds of millions of years old, left behind in salt beds as the lake dries up. “What we’re finding is these salty microbes can survive all that time,” says Baxter. “They go into some kind of sleep, like a Rip Van Winkle phase.”
The Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats have served as a stand-in for alien landscapes in film and TV, and now, in another example of art imitating real science, it’s served as the proving ground for the real thing. “Jezero Crater, where Perseverance landed, is an ancient lake,” explains Baxter. “As water disappeared on the surface of Mars about 3.5 billion years ago, life was erupting on Earth in the form of microbes in bodies of water. Mars would have looked very similar to Earth at that time—with oceans, seas and lakes.”
Photo by NASA
What happened to Jezero Crater billions of years ago could mirror the same thing that happened to Lake Bonneville as it evaporated to form The Great Salt Lake, which is essentially “a puddle left behind at the bottom of the bathtub,” Baxter says.
Baxter’s work with the Great Salt Lake Institute garnered the attention of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. She says, “Because we’d been doing this work, and the Lake Bonneville to Great Salt Lake transition is such a wonderful analogy for what happened at Jezero Crater, JPL asked me if they could use the Great Salt Lake to test samples and do some experiments on what kind of signatures of biology are leftover in the salt.”
Photo by the Great Salt Lake Institute
Great Salt Lake Institute hosted and aided JPL scientists in the fieldwork that allowed them to develop special equipment for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover—ultimately, providing invaluable support to the rover’s mission of seeking out ancient life and collecting samples for a possible return to Earth. Great Salt Lake Institute also collaborated with JPL on three publications surrounding their work.
Baxter’s hypothesis: If there was life on Mars in a lake at Jezero Crater, then those microbes became salt-tolerant microbes (adapting to the water’s increasing salinity as it evaporated). When the water was gone, it would have left behind a salt flat at the bottom of the basin with the microbes trapped in the minerals, just like the ones at The Great Salt Lake. “And I’d like to look inside those fluid pockets,” she adds.
Photo by the Great Salt Lake Institute
The microbes on Mars in this hypothesis would be billions of years old by now, not a measly 250 million years old like the still-living microbes found at The Great Salt Lake. “Billions of years is a big ask to find existing life,” she says. But, as we all learned from Jurassic Park, life often finds a way.
“There might still be signs of that life. It probably left some biological molecules behind.” That’s what Perseverance is looking for, “life signatures” like DNA. “If we find those signatures,” says Baxter, “we would know that biology had been there.”
More Mars On Utah
Orem company Moxtek developed one of the instruments on the Perseverance Rover that will help search for signs of life. It’s called the PIXL, an instrument on the end of the Perseverance rover’s arm that will search for chemical fingerprints left by ancient microbes.
We’ve been told that Mars is the planet most like Earth. And Utah is the place on Earth most like Mars. (Just look at all that red rock.) So it seems appropriate that the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is located just outside Hanksville, Utah, near the San Rafael Swell. The “astronauts” never leave the Earth; their job is to simulate what life could be like if/when humans ever get to Mars.
To explore more alien landscapes here in Utah, click here.
Jurassic Park’s fictionalscientists reconstituted dinosaurs from T-rex DNA preserved in amber. We watched as a thin needle bored into the amber’s smooth surface, accessing the precious biological matter stored inside. While we haven’t (yet) reconstructed the DNA of dinosaurs to breed them back into existence, the idea is based on real science. It’s markedly similar to how the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover could find signs of life on Mars, and it connects to the study of ancient microbial organisms at The Great Salt Lake. Yes. The one here. In Utah.
Courtesy Great Salt Lake Institute
The historic landing of Perseverance on Mars’s beautiful Jezero Crater represents one more small step in the lengthy journey to put human boots on the red planet. The rover is conducting trials of instruments that future explorers will use to traverse the Martian terrain. Perseverance does this while carrying out its primary mission: seek signs of ancient life.
Courtesy Great Salt Lake Institute
Dr. Bonnie Baxter is a professor of biology at Westminster College in Salt Lake City and Director of Westminster’s Great Salt Lake Institute. She has studied microbes encased in minerals at the lake for more than a decade. “When minerals form, they have these little fluid pockets inside,” she says, demonstrating with a coin-sized salt crystal. When she tilts the crystal, a bubble slides beneath the transparent surface. “All of the microbes living in the water at the time can be trapped inside these salt crystals.”
Few events unite the country like a successful venture into space. Millions watched on Feb. 18, 2021, as the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover safely reached its destination, plunging through the Martian atmosphere at 12,000+ mph, after a seven-month journey through space. Courtesy NASA
More Mars on Utah
Orem company Moxtek developed one of the instruments on the Perseverance Rover that will help search for signs of life. It’s called the PIXL, an instrument on the end of the Perseverance rover’s arm that will search for chemical fingerprints left by ancient microbes.
We’ve been told that Mars is the planet most like Earth. And Utah is the place on Earth most like Mars. (Just look at all that red rock.) So it seems appropriate that the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is located just outside Hanksville, Utah, near the San Rafael Swell. The “astronauts” never leave the Earth; their job is to simulate what life could be like if/when humans ever get to Mars.
These microbes can be hundreds of millions of years old, left behind in salt beds as the lake dries up. “What we’re finding is these salty microbes can survive all that time,” says Baxter. “They go into some kind of sleep, like a Rip Van Winkle phase.”
The Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats have served as a stand-in for alien landscapes in film and TV, and now, in another example of art imitating real science, it’s served as the proving ground for the real thing. “Jezero Crater, where Perseverance landed, is an ancient lake,” explains Baxter. “As water disappeared on the surface of Mars about 3.5 billion years ago, life was erupting on Earth in the form of microbes in bodies of water. Mars would have looked very similar to Earth at that time—with oceans, seas and lakes.”
What happened to Jezero Crater billions of years ago could mirror the same thing that happened to Lake Bonneville as it evaporated to form The Great Salt Lake, which is essentially “a puddle left behind at the bottom of the bathtub,” Baxter says.
Baxter’s work with the Great Salt Lake Institute garnered the attention of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. She says, “Because we’d been doing this work, and the Lake Bonneville to Great Salt Lake transition is such a wonderful analogy for what happened at Jezero Crater, JPL asked me if they could use the Great Salt Lake to test samples and do some experiments on what kind of signatures of biology are leftover in the salt.”
The Great Salt Lake from space; Courtesy NASA
Courtesy Great Salt Lake Institute
Great Salt Lake Institute hosted and aided JPL scientists in the fieldwork that allowed them to develop special equipment for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover—ultimately, providing invaluable support to the rover’s mission of seeking out ancient life and collecting samples for a possible return to Earth. Great Salt Lake Institute also collaborated with JPL on three publications surrounding their work.
Courtesy Great Salt Lake Institute
Baxter’s hypothesis: If there was life on Mars in a lake at Jezero Crater, then those microbes became salt-tolerant microbes (adapting to the water’s increasing salinity as it evaporated). When the water was gone, it would have left behind a salt flat at the bottom of the basin with the microbes trapped in the minerals, just like the ones at The Great Salt Lake. “And I’d like to look inside those fluid pockets,” she adds.
The microbes on Mars in this hypothesis would be billions of years old by now, not a measly 250 million years old like the still-living microbes found at The Great Salt Lake. “Billions of years is a big ask to find existing life,” she says. But, as we all learned from Jurassic Park, life often finds a way.
Courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
“There might still be signs of that life. It probably left some biological molecules behind.” That’s what Perseverance is looking for, “life signatures” like DNA. “If we find those signatures,” says Baxter, “we would know that biology had been there.”
Last summer, well…It just wasn’t summer, right? Sure we went on hikes, longer than usual walks, dusted off the bike to pedal around empty streets and generally got away from our locked-down lives as best we could, but, meh. We’re talking about summer—all caps SUMMER—with festivals, parades, patios and unbridled, unfettered, just-plain goofing off. And while not everything will be back in full form, there are rumors and rumblings of a proper Salt Lake Summer about to come out of hibernation and roar. As we, hopefully, tentatively, carefully, nervously look forward with our bleary eyes toward SLC’s summer glories, we find ourselves with a little bit of that old spring swing in our step. We’ve got a lot to make up for. This year it’s DOUBLE SUMMER. Get out there and make it count.
Day Trip #1: Urban Outdoors
1. Start your day with coffee and a lovely selection of French pastries at Eva’s Bakery. (155 S. Main St., SLC, 801-355-3942)
2. Lace up your light-hikers and head up to the Utah State Capitol building to explore the grounds, enjoy views of the valley and explore the history inside the capitol rotunda. From this perch, you can experience just how close Salt Lake is to the great outdoors with a drop into Memory Grove (a collection of memorials and monuments honoring Utah’s Veterans) and a hike up the paved trail into City Creek Canyon. The canyon’s relative wildness has been preserved to protect the precious water flowing down its namesake waterway.
Photo by Matt Morgan, Courtesy Utah Office of Tourism
3. After you’ve closed your fitness rings, grab a bite at Laziz Kitchen (912 S. Jefferson St., SLC, 801-441-1228) a modern Lebanese cafe serving small plates (muhammara, falafel, salmon ceviche) and full meals, including brunch. (Watch out for the sporadic Sunday Drag Brunch, an outrageously fun party.)
Laziz Kitchen; Photo by Austen Diamond, Courtesy Utah Office of Tourism
4. Set out to explore the Granary District, a newly emerging area built around the warehouses and grain silos where our forebears used to sock away summer harvests for the winter. Start with dessert at the retro-fabulous shop RubySnap FRESH Cookies (770 S. 300 West, SLC, 801-834-6111) with its Rosie the Riveter vibe and cookies named after fictitious 1940s pin-up girls—like Trudy (classic chocolate chip) and Judy (velvety orange dough, topped with buttery cream).
5. Nibble your cookies while browsing the stacks of old and new vinyl at Randy’s Records Shop (157 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-532-4413) and then drop into Thyme and Place (362 E. 900 South, SLC, 385-381-9216), a tiny shop specializing in tiny plants for tiny homes and apartments.
Thyme & Place; Photo by Adam Finkle
6. For dinner, find your way to SLC Eatery (1017 S. Main St., SLC), where a nondescript facade hides delights like fresh coriander noodles with lamb in a fermented black bean sauce, prawn-stuffed agnolotti and rare smoked beef and a rolling dim sum-like cart loaded with appetizers.
Bikeshare & Artshare
Curate your own exhibit of public art on SLC GREENbikes.
A tour of downtown Salt Lake City’s public art lets you get to know the city and its maze of lesser-known alcoves and alleyways, concealing an eclectic collection of breathtaking murals and installations. It requires some mild zigzagging through Salt Lake’s wide city blocks, but the treasure hunt is well worth it. The tour also gives you the chance to stretch the pandemic atrophy from your legs and brain (and snap some great pics for the ’gram)!
1. Grab a GREENbike from the SLUG Mag Station (200 S. 200 East.) and head west along 200 South.
2. Right off the bat, there’s the Ave Maria (156 E. 200 South, El Mac & Retna), a mural depicting a vibrant, larger-than-life Virgin Mary on the side of the old Guthrie Bicycle building.
3. Stay the course and you’ll find the cosmic mural Constellation Owl (200 S. State St., Yvette Vexta), a celestial owl leaving a comet trail of rainbow-colored geometry across the matte-black brick wall of Impact Hub Salt Lake.
Constellation Owl; Photo by Christie Porter
4. After the owl, turn onto Regent St. to get a splash of high-contrast color from the Eccles Theatre Mural (146 Regent St.), painted with the unique canvas in mind: slated loading-bay doors. The signature style is that of mural artist Traci O’Very Covey, whose work is also on display in South Salt Lake.
Eccles Theatre Mural; Photo by Christie Porter
5. Head back to 200 South and cross the street to the north side of the Gallivan Center (approx. 50 E. 200 South.). There, you should see one of the most eye-catching art installations currently in Salt Lake City: a heart made of super-reflective intricate designs engraved on dichroic plexiglass, koro loko.
6. You can cut through Gallivan Center to the next stop on our tour, which is a little bit harder to spot. There’s an unassuming alleyway just off Main Street you’ll need to duck down (approx. 222 S. Main St.). It will take you to a quiet courtyard and the BookWall mural (Paul Heath), marking the old location of Weller’s Books, where you can take a photo with a giant-size version of your favorite book.
7. Pedal down Broadway toward Squatter’s, passing a number of small but no less interesting art installations along the way, and you’ll see the last stop on our tour: the mural Squatter’s Nod to Beer (147 W. Broadway, Mike Murdock, Trent Call, Chuck Landvatter).
8. Here, you can drop off your bike at the Squatters Station and head in for a well-earned beer. If you’re hungry for more, opt for the GREENbike day pass ($7/day) and go on as many 30-minute rides as you can cram into 24 hours. Get yours at greenbikeutah.org.
The Ultimate Cabin Fever Cure
While you can base any of our day trips, adventures and good-for- the-soul activities from the home+office+school you’ve been hunkering down in for a year, get out for a weekend and check in to Hotel Monaco. Located in the center of downtown SLC in the renovated Continental Bank Building (the hotel restaurant, Bambara, has a private room built into the old bank’s steel cash repository), the pet-friendly boutique hotel is a well-situated and civilized base to help you overcome what by now must be a severe case of cabin fever. Also, starting this summer the hotel offers a selection of guided hiking trips through the local outfitter Utah Mountain Adventures. If you want someone else to do the planning, these customized outings range from day hikes to multi-day backpacking excursions.
Courtesy Hotel Monaco
Day Trip #2: Fun in the Foothills
1.Take your breakfast on the lush patio at Ruth’s Diner (4160 E. Emigration Canyon Rd., SLC, 801-582-5807) in Emigration Canyon with the sounds of the babbling Emigration Creek in the background. Ruth’s is a Utah classic, with a hearty diner-style menu and its famous “mile- high” biscuits and homemade jam.
2. Walk those biscuits off atRed Butte Garden (300 Wakara Way, SLC, 801-585-0556) a large, beautiful botanical garden that focuses on native plant education in a peaceful spot in Salt Lake’s eastern foothills.
Red Butte Garden
3. For lunch, venture into Millcreek Canyon and enjoy another essential Utah patio at Log Haven (6451 E. Mill Creek Canyon Rd., SLC, 801-272-8255). Chef Dave Jones and the lifer team serve a game-centric menu paired with a thoughtful selection of wines and creative cocktails in this canyon retreat.
4. Spend the rest of the day exploring the Natural History Museum of Utah (301 Wakara Way, SLC, 801-581-6927). Start at the top and wander through the prehistory of the Great Salt Lake Valley to the big payoff, one of the west’s most extensive collections of dinosaur fossils.
Courtesy Natural History Museum of Utah
5. If bones aren’t your bag, consider the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (410 Campus Center Dr., SLC, 801-581-7332), featuring a rotating collection of western artworks. The museum recently hosted “Black Refractions,” an exhibit on loan from the Studio Museum in Harlem, featuring 100 works by nearly 80 artists of African descent, from the 1920s to the present.
“Kevin the Kiteman” by Jordan Casteel; Photo by Adam Reich
6. For dinner, visit the love child of chef Drew and front-of-house angel Angie Fuller, Oquirrh (say: Oaker, 368 E. 100 South, SLC, 801-359-0426). Named after that mountain range out west, the Fullers’ homey restaurant serves new takes on classic comforts—think roasted carrots of many colors, placed vertically in a spicy carrot puree, tiny potatoes cooked in milk or the must-try chicken confit pot pie.
Oquirrh; Photo by Adam Finkle
Day Trip #3 – Explore the Great Salt Lake & Bar Crawl
1. On the industrial outskirts of the city, you’ll find TheGarage on Beck (1199 N. Beck St., SLC, 801-521-3904), a roadhouse-style bar (ages 21 and over) with a Mad Max meets Austin, Texas vibe. Try the huevos rancheros.
2. Keep heading north to Antelope Island State Park. The island is the largest of the “keys” of the Great Salt Lake and is home to a resident herd of roaming bison. Views from the western side of the island reveal the otherworldly landscape of Utah’s salty sea.
The Great Salt Lake; Photo by Adam Thomas
3. Back in civilization, start the afternoon with a pint and a sampling of local sausages in the modern beer-hall environment of Beer Bar (161 E. 200 South, SLC, 385-259-0905).
4. From there, embark on a bar crawl in of the main downtown watering holes. Drop byAlibi (369 S. Main St., SLC, 385-259-0616) for excellent cocktails and walls of art by local artists Dan Cassaro and Dan Christofferson.
Alibi, Photo by Adam Finkle
5. Or get your Donkey Kong on at Quarters (5 E. 400 South, SLC) an arcade bar with a full slate of retro and modern video games, pinball machines and video-game-themed cocktails.
Courtesy Quarters
6. These and more are all within stumbling distance of your hotel and dinner at Eva Restaurant (317 S. Main St., SLC, 801-359-8447), a lovely little bistro featuring small pates and a daring wine list.
Photo by Austen Diamond
7. Close out the night with absinthe at The Rest, a subterranean speakeasy hidden under the street-level bar Bodega (331 S. Main St., SLC, 801-532-4042).
We’re speeding right through shoulder season. You know that part of the year where it vacillates wildly between driving snowstorms and oppressive sunshine and you’re never sure whether to put another coat of spring wax on the skis or pump up the bike tires? At least shoulder season seems shorter this year in comparison to last spring’s apocalyptic Groundhog Day nightmare wrought by the emerging pandemic, and we’re just days away from Utah resorts opening their doors and turning lifts for the 2021 summer operations.
These days the Wasatch Mountains are just as much of a playground in the summer as they are in the winter. With mountain biking, hiking, alpine coasters and more, everyone from serious athletes to families with kids has something to enjoy. Read on for 2021 summer opening dates and recreation opportunities at your favorite resorts. We will update this story as more opening dates are announced.
Park City is opening for the summer season beginning May 28. Scenic chairlift rides, bike haul, the mountain coaster and the alpine slide are all off to an early start in 2021. There’s also mini golf and assorted carnival shenanigans at the Park City base area beginning at that time. Canyons Village is opening its golf course a week earlier, so you can tee one up there as soon as May 21.
The UOP is also kicking thigs off on May 28 with a host of summer activities. The summer bobsled experience on the 2002 Olympic track is truly unique, while extreme tubing, a zip line tours and an alpine slide will also operate all summer until September 6.
Never one to rush at the expense of quality, Deer Valley is waiting until June 18 to start spinning their chairlifts. The immaculately constructed and continually expanding bike park will open at that time, as will opportunities for scenic chairlift rides and lift assisted hiking. Al fresco summer dining is also on the menu, so take advantage of that when the opportunity arises.
Woodward’s indoor activities are open year-round, all 365 days. Their outdoor summer operations open on June 7 when Woodward kicks off an expansive slate of summer camps an addition to opening the public mountain bike park, skate park and BMX trails.
Snowbird’s endless winter season means the tram will running for skiers and snowboarders every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May 31. Enjoy those late-season turns before transitioning to summer fun at the Bird with an alpine coaster and slide, summer tubing, scenic lift rides, mountain biking and more.
Get the latest food, adventures and news from Park City here.
On April 5, Gov. Spencer Cox declared April Dark Sky Month in Utah. Though you wouldn’t know it from the light-polluted urban centers, Utah is actually one of the best places in the world to observe the night sky, no telescope required. The state’s declaration committed to preserving dark sky places—plus the health benefits and tourist dollars they bring.
Utah has 23 locations accredited by the International Dark Sky Association. The sheer number of dark sky parks in Utah—the highest concentration in the world—makes Utah an unofficial stargazing capital. Recognition from the IDA isn’t a simple task. Officials go through a lengthy application process to earn the distinction, which, according to the association, goes to “land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage and/or public enjoyment.”
If you are part of the public who wants to take part in that enjoyment, there are plenty of options for dark sky stargazing throughout the state.
Stargazers in North Fork Park; Photo by Prajit Ravindran; Courtesy Visit Utah
New Kids on the Block
In March, two new Utah parks joined the prestigious International Dark Sky club, making them the newest Utah spots to earn the title. Goosenecks State Park (Mexican Hat) offers spectacular views of the San Juan River 1,000 feet below, and Fremont Indian State Park (Sevier) holds centuries-old artifacts, petroglyphs and pictographs from the Fremont tribe who inhabited the land. They join three other parks awarded by the IDA earlier this year. Jordanelle State Park (Heber City) and RockportState Park (Peoa) are scenic reservoirs near Park City—paddleboard during the day and stargaze after the sun goes down. Further south, Kodachrome Basin State Park (Cannonville) offers sweeping views surrounded by Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Near the City
Luckily for us, the mountains surrounding the Salt Lake Valley helpfully block urban light pollution, which means several dark sky parks are just short drives from major cities. If you want to take in the Milky Way a little closer to home, try Antelope Island State Park (Syracuse), East Canyon (Morgan), North Fork Park (Eden) or Timpanogos Cave (American Fork).
Couple at Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon National Park in January 2017. Bryce Canyon is one of four Utah national parks designated as an International Dark Sky Park. Photo by HagePhoto/Matt & Agnes Hage; Courtesy Visit Utah
National Parks
As if we need another excuse to visit one of Utah’s five national parks, four of them pair jaw-dropping landscapes with nighttime sky views. Take in the desert mesas of Canyonlands (Monticello), sandstone formations of Arches (Moab) and the colorful cliffs of Capitol Reef (Torrey) against a backdrop of endless constellations. Bryce Canyon (Bryce) has been a longstanding stargazing favorite, and the park even holds a yearly Astronomy Festival.
Head South
It’s no surprise that southern Utah is a particularly great area for dark sky parks—the more sparsely populated area boasts both breathtaking views and quiet landscapes. In the southeast is Utah’s first IDA-designated park, Dead Horse Point State Park (Moab). Continue stargazing at Goblin Valley State Park (Green River), Hovenweep National Monument (Bluff) and a pair of Lake Powell favorites: Natural Bridges National Monument and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. In the southwest, Cedar Breaks National Monument (Brian Head) offers summer stargazing programs led by park rangers.
Dark Sky Communities
The IDA also names International Dark Sky Communities, which are “cities and towns that adopt quality outdoor lighting ordinances and undertake efforts to educate residents about the importance of dark skies.” Two Utah cities hold the title: the former mining town Helper and Torrey, which used city ordinances to reduce light pollution.
C’mon. They’re Dinosaurs.
Do you really need anyone to tell you what’s cool about a place called Dinosaur National Monument (Jensen)? (On the way stop at Vernal’s Steinaker State Park.)
To me, golf has always just evoked images of stuffy businessmen in visors, and it is still officially the most boring sport to watch on TV. But I have to admit that it’s the perfect socially-distanced sport. A way to be outside, completely solo or with a small group of friends, golf is the rare sport where six feet of distance is an asset. Plus, when you get sick of hiking, scenic courses are an ideal way to take in a Utah spring, from the sweeping vistas of Park City to southern Utah’s dramatic red rocks. Courses are taking extra precautions to reduce COVID-19 risks, from sanitizing on-course ball washers to disinfected carts. Personally, I’m most intrigued by something called GolfBoards, a mash-up of single-rider motorized scooters and golf carts that are ready to ride at several Utah courses. As the weather warms up, courses in northern Utah are reopening or expanding their hours, while locations down south are open all year.
Our climate is changing. We can keep arguing about what’s causing it or whose fault it is (or isn’t) and what we should be doing about it, but the reality is our Earth is a different place than it was one million years ago, 100 years ago and even one year ago.
Since last Earth Day, the severity of wildfires has continued to escalate—which, along with other factors, has contributed to our worsening air quality—and current drought conditions have warranted a state of emergency in Utah, threatening not only our water but our precious snow and ski season.
Climate change and its effects have fallen off our radar during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as we all adapt to the “new normal,” the challenges of the old normal have not simply evaporated. And many of the climate-related challenges we’re facing feed into each other, amplifying the severity across the board when one or the other goes unchecked. Here’s where we stand (and how you can get involved) this Earth Day.
Utah Wildfire Season
Utah has already seen an increase in human-caused wildfires early this year, according to the BLM. By mid-February, there were 13 wildfires in northern Utah and all of them were started by human activity.
Photo courtesy Utah Fire Info (via Facebook @UtahWildfire)
By mid-April, Utah Fire Info reported 126 wildfires across Utah so far this year, burning more than 9.5 square miles. Fire managers say that this is well above the 5-year average for this time of year (46 starts and 189 acres). The overwhelming majority of the wildfires have been human-caused.
Last year, people were responsible for starting 154 of the 170 wildfires in northern Utah—“a grim statistic that we do not want to repeat,” said Brett Ostler, Fire Management Officer of the Utah Division of Fire, Forestry & State Lands.
The increased fire danger is fueled by a lack of precipitation, increased public use and unburned fuel from last year. Climate change is also considered a key factor in multiplying those dangerous conditions, doubling the number of large fires between 1984 and 2015 in the western United States.
Utah Air Quality
Multiple counties in Utah received failing grades for their air quality in the American Lung Association’s recent State of the Air Report, with Salt Lake County seeing an increase in the number of days with unhealthy ozone levels compared to last year.
The Salt Lake/Provo/Orem metropolitan area is one of the most polluted cities, according to the report, ranking 8th for the number of high ozone days.
The report found more than 40% of Americans—about 135 million people—are living in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or pollution (high concentrations of the infamous particulate matter, PM 2.5). The report also found that climate change is making air quality worse, and the authors urged policymakers to take action by shifting away from our reliance on fossil fuels.
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute prepared the Utah Roadmap in 2020 to assist policymakers in improving air quality and address the causes and impacts of a changing climate. The Roadmap recommended the State of Utah reduce carbon dioxide emissions statewide, 25% below 2005 levels by 2025, 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
We’ve yet to see a policy adopting the recommendations, but this past legislative session, Utah lawmakers did pass a few piecemeal air quality-related measures.
A tax credit for alternative fuel heavy-duty vehicles (vehicles that use natural gas, electricity or hydrogen as their fuel)
In March of this year, Gov. Spencer J. Cox issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency due to drought conditions. In effect, the drought declaration activates the Drought Response Committee, tasked with responding to the disaster.
By mid-March, 90% of the state was experiencing extreme drought and the snowpack was at about 70% of the average for the year. Utah DNR reported mid-April that recent storms were not enough to pull the state out of drought. The snowpack peaked 10 days early at 81% of average. Peaking early means the runoff will be less effective at getting water where it needs to go.
Governor Cox also called on Utahns to do their part, “I ask Utahns to evaluate their water use and find ways to save not only because of current drought conditions but also because we live in one of the driest states in the nation.” The Governor’s order directed Utahns to more water-conserving tips.
Utah Earth Day 2021
While the above information can feel overwhelming, Earth Day, and the surrounding weeks, offer a number of opportunities to get involved with climate action, activism and clean-up and conservation efforts on the local level.
Salt Lake City Public Lands Volunteer Events: The Salt Lake City Public Lands Division hosts stewardship events throughout the year at parks and natural lands that need community member volunteers.
Earth Day at the Utah State Capitol (April 22, 2–5 p.m.): Fridays for Future Utah, Sunrise SLC, the Granite School District for Clean Energy and youth organizers and adult allies planned this event at the State Capitol.
Youth Climate Revolution Now! Reclaiming the Climate Change Narrative Through Community Power (April 22, 6–7 p.m. via Zoom): the Sierra Club Utah Chapter hosts a conversation about Earth Day and community-driven climate action. Be sure to register in advance.
Earth Day at the Aquarium (April 22, 10 a.m.): The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is hosting an Earth Day event for the whole family, including take-home seeds to plant.
Party for the Planet at Tracy Aviary (April 22–24): The Tracy Aviary holds a range of activities from scavenger hunts to Aviary keeper talks, virtual nature journaling and birding walks.
A Climate Change Film Tour (April 22–29): The Salt Lake City Film Society’s Climate Change Film Tour celebrates Earth Day, launching “Inspire. Empower. Action.”
Earth Day River Clean-Up (April 23, 3–5 p.m.): HEAL Utah and the Jordan River Commission invite volunteers to the Jordan River for a socially distant trail and canoe clean-up in South Salt Lake.
Earth Day River Clean-Up (April 24, 10 a.m.): Saving Oceans hosts an event to pick up trash at the Jordan River in James Madison Park to help protect the river ecosystem.
Earth Day Placemaking Event (April 24,10 a.m.–2 p.m.): Westside Studio, University of Utah and the SLC Public Lands Division host event for tree planting, sidewalk painting, litter pick up, etc. at Poplar Grove Park & 9th South River Park.
Clean Air & Stewardship Town Hall (April 26, 2-2:45 p.m.): A town hall with Blake Moore, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and the American Conservation Coalition. Be sure to register in advance.
