How would I spend a wheelchair weekend in the Salt Lake Area?
This question crossed my mind recently as the result of an experience a few weekends ago. We were bike riding the neighborhood one Saturday morning and stopped at the local farmers market where Fox and Raven Studio had a booth set up. A new batch of prints by local talented artist, M. Scott Hammond, were on display, the one shown below depicting the Saltair Resort in its heyday during the late 19th/early 20th century:
Scott and I chatted some on the popularity of the early Saltair – it was quite the tourist attraction at the time and was one of the first amusement parks in the United States. After I bought the Saltair print (and a few others for my home office) and was riding away, I thought about what Salt Lake offers to tourists now. The original Saltair Resort is long gone. But Salt Lake has a different group of sites and activities to draw travelers and it is easy to plan an enjoyable and fully wheelchair accessible weekend here.
Overview and Assumptions for a Salt Lake Visit
In writing this post, I made two assumptions for a weekend trip. First, this is a summer/early fall trip agenda. Second, I limited travel to only Salt Lake County and have included a map below of what that encompasses:
As seen in the map, the city is completely surrounded by mountains and no trip is complete without exploring them. They hold the true beauty of the area in my opinion. The city has some places where we have had some memorable family activities I will mention. Finally, given that Salt Lake was founded by Mormon pioneers trying to find a peaceful place to live and practice their religion, which embraced polygamy, the area also has a colorful history to explore.
Below is a map of the heart of the city where I have marked sites that I feel are worth visiting:
Let’s dive in and examine what some of these places can offer a vacationer.
A Taste of Mormonism
Temple Square is completely accessible to wheelchairs and the grounds are nicely kept and free to enter. What’s more, church missionaries, smattered throughout the area, go out of their way to accommodate when a wheelchair is involved. There are some unique and beautiful buildings painstakingly constructed by the early settlers and flanked with small garden areas. The Assembly Hall shown below is one of my favorites:
The Tabernacle that follows it is home to the world-famous Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
(formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). The acoustics in the building are impressive and you may experience them first hand if you happen to be lucky enough to be there during a performance:
The Temple Proper and Other Buildings
The temple itself is iconic, but nonmember visitors may view it from the outside only. Unfortunately, the Church reserves entry to members it deems to be in “good standing”.
Presently, major construction is taking place on the temple and a Mormon neighbor of mine tells me they are working to make it more earthquake proof. I understand that it will take several years, so if you go anytime soon, you will probably be disappointed to see this view (the inset shows the temple preconstruction):
The rest of the area contains a number of buildings, museums, and sites that are Church related and most all of them, with the exception of the Beehive House, are wheelchair accessible. The Church will even loan you a wheelchair for use in the area if needed.
It is fun just to sort of meander around the area and see what surprises you find. Below is one of my favorites – a 19th century cabin placed between two museums administered by the Church. Surrounded by sidewalk, you can wheel up close:
Another View of Mormonism
Here, you can see sculptures depicting one man’s deeply held beliefs, adding another dimension to learning of this religion. The man, Thomas Child, did not put the garden together until his late fifties and I understand that after his death, neighbors in the area rescued it from development.
It is small and you can wheel around the main walkway (asphalt) in 10 minutes or so, but I find the quirkiness worth the trip. The first sculpture you come to is a sphinx with the face of Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith:
I really have no clue how to interpret what the artist intended 😊
Liberty Park
It has come a long way since I took field trips there in my elementary school days and all the grounds are accessible. For buildings that would otherwise be two stories, they have constructed them such that you go up a ramp and down again as you view the birds housed there. Below are some examples of the grounds.
The aviary has a show or two relatively infrequently, so to attend one, check their schedule to arrive at the correct time. When you finish at the Aviary, head east.
Favorites on the Foothills
Adjacent to the mountains and east of the University of Utah lie two enjoyable destinations. Red Butte Garden is a botanical garden with beautiful plants and exhibits. The times we have gone, it has not been a big deal to get a handicapped parking spot.
You are getting right next to the slopes of the mountain here and Red Butte has recognized that the grade challenges those in wheelchairs. It offers a tram service (basically a large golf cart) at no extra charge to the disabled and I have to say it was a blessing to get around with Jamie this way – it is hilly terrain! Unfortunately, I understand they are not offering the tram service during the COVID pandemic and it is probably best to check on this before going.
Just below Red Butte Garden is the Natural History Museum of Utah, which focuses on the prehistoric era of Utah and how it developed geologically. The following mocked up Google map gives you an idea how close these two venues are to each other:
With many dinosaur skeletons and a variety of exhibits, the museum is especially fun for kids. Ramps and elevators are conveniently placed for getting around. Go on a Sunday for minimal crowds.
All of these places are nice to visit, but as I mentioned earlier, no trip to Salt Lake is complete without heading up the mountains.
To the Mountains!
I’ll say upfront that the disabled parking here is hit or miss – I believe there are only two or three spots and it is a popular area in summer. There is a boardwalk that meanders through the area and about any kind of wheelchair could go on it rather easily. Over the years, it has become a little uneven here and there, probably due to the marshy land on which it sits, so be careful.
The boardwalk gives way to a trail that is quite nicely maintained, but unless you have a chair for that kind of terrain, you probably want to stick with the boardwalk. Usually when we have taken Jamie, we have her jogger stroller so we can go all the way around the lake. But the trail is also doable with the Freewheel attached to her chair like we did here:
Take a picnic to enjoy as restaurants are sparse in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The natural surroundings are awesome though, as you can see:
Wrapping Up a Salt Lake Weekend
I hope if you make it to Salt Lake, you may find as much enjoyment out of the sites mentioned as our family has.
As Jamie and I drove home from taking photos for this post, we made a stop at the latest version of Saltair that lies about a mile west of the original 19th century one. Sure, it lacks the grandeur of the first one, but it is still a pretty cool building used for concerts that come to town. We took a walk behind it and saw the lake in the distance. I wondered what it would have been like to be an excited tourist 120 years ago with the rides and the midway.
