Located in the heart of Ogden, the 152-acre nature preserve and education center are open to the public year-round. Visitors enjoy 1.5 miles of walking trails, picnic areas, tree houses, bird blinds, and an exhibit of live birds of prey. The preserve is a hot spot for birding. Two of Utah’s greenest buildings are on site to teach about sustainable structures. A unique gift shop is located in the Visitor Center.
The Ogden Nature Center offers a wide variety of classes & workshops for all ages, including art, photography, birding, wildlife in Utah, outdoor recreation, conservation, sustainability, summer camps, and more.
Wheeler Historical Farm is open every day during daylight hours to walk the grounds and visit the animals as a public park and part of the Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation Department.
There is NO ADMISSION FEE to enter the grounds. No fees are charged for activities such as wagon rides, milking the cow, and special events.
Wheeler Historic Farm is a working farm, and the animals serve an agricultural purpose. They have cows, horses, chickens, pigs, sheep, turkeys, goats, and rabbits. They are not trained, or domesticated but may be petted with caution.
Bells Canyon Trail to Lower Falls is a 5.4-mile out-and-back hike featuring a lake and city views. Located between Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons in Sandy, Utah offering fishing, hiking, and winter snowshoeing.
Utah’s first museum for the visual arts, this beautiful Spanish Morrocan Style building would be worth visiting even if there were no art. Dedicated as a “Sanctuary of Beauty and a Temple of Contemplation ” by David O. McKay, the Museum houses over 2,000 works; 1,500 of which are Utah art. The impressive collection of 150 years of Utah fine art, twentieth-century Soviet Socialist Realism and American art, and 15 exhibitions per year are displayed throughout 29 galleries.
The history of the Museum began in 1903, with the donation of two works of art to Springville High School by Cyrus E. Dallin and John Hafen. Dallin became famous for his heroic depictions of the American Indian, and Hafen for his sensitively rendered impressionistic landscapes. In 1907 several Utah artists agreed to donate paintings to the school, including James T. Harwood, John B. Fairbanks, and Mahonri M. Young. The students became interested in art and collecting, and began purchasing paintings and sculptures through an “Art Queen” program. Each student paid a penny per vote. The girl with the most votes was named queen, and the funds were used to purchase artwork for the Museum’s collection.
Cultural and educational offerings at the Museum have expanded over time in response to community desires and needs. A Paris Salon-style exhibition was put on in 1921 by the High School students, which has continued as the Annual Spring Salon to this day. In 1925 the Museum, then called the High School Art Gallery, became incorporated. Generous donations from the Smart, Steed, and Lund-Wassmer Collections have strengthened the Museum’s permanent collection. By 1935 the collection had grown so much that the students and townspeople raised $100,000 during the Great Depression to construct the present facility. The Museum has since been expanded and modernized with the addition of the Clyde Wing in 1965, and the George S. and Delores Dore Eccles Wing in 2004. The latest addition doubled the size of the facility, adding 20,000 square feet to the Museum.
The Brigham Young University Museum of Art is a four-story, modern facility of more than 102,000 square feet in size. The museum houses ten exhibition galleries, an auditorium, classrooms, a small theater, a print study room, a gift store, and security and administrative offices. The museum also contains state-of-the-art design, fabrication, imaging, registration, and storage areas. The Museum Café overlooks a beautiful sculpture garden and reflection pool.
Spruces Campground is a Utah favorite for winter sports like sledding, tubing, and snowshoeing. Hiking and mountain biking are popular summer activities on canyon trails, including the Donut Falls Trail, which begins in the nearby Jordan Pines Campground. Fly-fishermen enjoy casting on Big Cottonwood Creek.
The Salt Lake City Union Pacific Depot is a spacious building located in the new Gateway District, next to the Jazz Basketball Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Built from 1908 to 1909 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Originally called the Union Station, it was jointly constructed by the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad and the Oregon Short Line, both later wholly owned by the Union Pacific at an estimated cost of $450,000. Both railroads’ initials were prominently displayed on the front of the building.
The sandstone building is constructed in the French Second Empire style and includes a terrazzo floor and stained glass windows. One ceiling mural by San Francisco artist Harry Hopp depicts the driving of the Golden Spike north of Salt Lake City at “Promontory Summit,” signifying the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Another mural by San Francisco artist John McQuarrie shows the 1847 arrival of Mormon pioneers to what is now Salt Lake City.
Several side rooms were originally used for separate male and female waiting areas. The depot once housed an emergency hospital, lunchroom, baggage rooms, and offices for both of the original railroads.
In January 2006, three floors of the old Union Pacific depot re-opened as a restaurant and music venue fittingly called The Depot. The Depot brings a wide variety of musical talent to Salt Lake City.
The Utah Cultural Celebration Center is dedicated to enriching and strengthening communities by promoting the expression of the arts, education, opportunities for economic development, and the celebration of human diversity.
The center is committed to:
The preservation and perpetuation of cultural traditions
Creating a setting for cultural exchange and experience
Promoting the visual and performing arts as well as the humanities
Encouraging education through creative thinking and experiential learning
Enhancing opportunities for economic development
Providing a social infrastructure for networking within the community
Establishing a ‘home’ for diverse artistic achievement.
The Center is designed to strengthen a sense of unity among the people of the Wasatch Front by highlighting cultural wealth and creativity and offering a forum to celebrate our residents’ talents in music, dance, performance, and visual arts. Providing a place where family and friends can come together, and where cultural arts are nurtured, promoted, and celebrated.
The Peteetneet Museum and Cultural Arts Center was named after the Ute Indian Chief, Peteetneet, who lived near the creek that runs through what is now called Payson. Although he died on December 23, 1861, the Peteetneet School, which was erected in 1901, was named in his honor. This building is a historical landmark in Payson. The Victorian-style building served as an elementary school until 1988.
