How To Do 1000 Hours Outside In Salt Lake City, Utah
Spending time outdoors with my kids has made every day life that much better.
And although I don't believe in a magical number of hours kids need to go outside in a year, the 1000 hours challenge has helped us get out more than ever before.
There are tons of ideas online and I even bought Ginny Yurich's book of outside activities which I do not recommend.
However, I had to come up with a lot of ideas on my own in order to get outside as much as possible while living in Salt Lake Valley.
Outdoor play is going to look different depending on where you live. And I wanted to know what I can do specifically in north-central Utah.
It's tricky to be consistent with going outside unless you have some kind of plan.
I'm not saying it's crucial to plan out a whole year's worth of outdoor activities, but it has been extremely helpful to keep an ongoing list of ideas for myself.
Fortunately, Utah (where I live) is chock-full of family friendly things to do. The downside is that we get relatively cold winters and hot summers.
So, I've made a list for myself with tons of ideas organized by season, kid-friendly hikes, our favorite parks, free local events, etc. to help us get outdoors year round.
I spent so much time researching and thinking up my own ideas that I figured this information might be helpful to other parents living in the Salt Lake area, too.
All this can be found elsewhere, but I haven't found another list of this sort all in one place.
Now, this is not an all-inclusive list of all the things you could possibly do outside in Utah. Rather these are ideas that we have tried and enjoyed.
Let me know what my list is missing in the comments at the end!
SPRING
 |
| Tulip Festival, Ashton Gardens in Lehi |
1. Color Festival at Spanish Fork Krishna Temple - The last weekend in March
2. Cherry blossoms at the Utah Capitol Building. Peak is usually in the first or second week of April.
3. Baby Animal Festival at Cross E Ranch. From April through the first half of May.
4. Tulip Festival at Ashton Gardens. April through first or second week in May.
5. Baby Animal Month (May) at Curiosity Farms in Thanksgiving Point.
6. Living Traditions Festival at Library Square. Middle of May.
7. Paint Egg Hunt On Canvas - while cooking with eggs, crack them close to one end so you can save most of the shell. Wash the shells out thoroughly and save them until you have a couple dozen. Fill them with a little paint and use them in an Easter egg hunt. Give each kid a canvas so they can throw the eggs they find at it to create a unique painting.
8. Glow in the dark egg hunt - just put little glowsticks in the eggs, or tealights if your plastic eggs are big enough. Don't bother with candy, there will be plenty candy filled eggs.
9. Feed ducks - Liberty Park, Murray Park, Ashton Gardens, Daybreak Lake (you can't feed them here anymore but they are still fun to see).
 |
| My kids play longer when I do a season themed hopscotch like flowers for spring, ice cream for summer, snowman for winter, and so on. |
10. Chalk Art: draw roads to play with cars, make season themed hopscotch courses, recreate chalk art you found online.
11. Draw a flower hopscotch pattern.
12. Catch and study insects like butterflies, roly-polies, and ladybugs.
13. Fly a kite.
14. Make mud pies. You can get secondhand pots, bowls and cooking utensils from a thrift store. Add leaves, grass, and flowers for more color and sensory fun.
15. Have a picnic or tea party. We like to choose flowers from our garden together to decorate our outdoor table. We make it fancy with tiny sandwiches and thrifted teacups.
16. Nature bracelets. Take very sticky tape, like packing tape. Wrap a piece around your kid's wrist with the sticky side out. Let them stick whatever they want to it whether it be grass or flowers, or pebbles.
Related Post:
SUMMER
 |
| Kayaking at Payson Lakes |
1. Ogden's George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.
2. Bountiful Chalk Art Festival on Main Street and usually held on the first or second weekend in June.
3. Sunflower Festival at Cross E Ranch in late summer.
4. Sunflower Festival at Thanksgiving Point Spanish Fork in September.
5. Sandy Balloon Festival. It's usually held in August, see the balloon launch at 6:30 am and/or the balloon glow in the evening.
6. Watch people paragliding at the Point of the Mountain. Take a picnic dinner with you.
7. Hammocking in your backyard or at a park. Try Liberty Park, Murray Park, or Copperton Park.
8. Ice blocking. There is a steep hill in Daybreak that is perfect for ice blocking.
9. Splash Summit Waterpark in Provo.
10. Cherry Hill Waterpark in Bountiful.
11. Backyard finger paint - try painting with your feet! It's a unique sensory experience.
12. Red Butte Garden - They offer a few free days throughout the year. We like to go when flowers are in bloom and before the hot season.
13. Strawberry Days Rodeo - or any rodeo, really. We are partial to Strawberry Days.
14. Ogden Twilight Concert Series.
15. Salt Lake City Twilight Concert Series.
16. Go to a Bees game. Am I the only one who misses the old ballpark in SLC?
17. Go to a Real game.
18. Raspberry picking at Francis Family Farms in Midway.
19. Pick apricots, peaches, and apples at Day Farms in Layton.
20. Visit a farmers' market.
21. Make homemade ice cream and eat it outside.
22. Jump on a trampoline with the sprinklers going.
 |
| A salamander we found at Grotto Falls in Nebo Loop |
23. Have a water fight.
24. Host a big paint fight.
25. Water the plants by hand. We got our kids have their own watering cans.
26. Draw ice cream cone hopscotch. First draw a cone for "1" and add ice cream scoops for numbers 2 through 10.
27. Get shave ice at a Hokulia truck in West Jordan, South Jordan, West Valley, and more.
28. Have dinner from food trucks at a park.
29. Watermelon eating contest
30. Utah State Fair in September
31. Camping at Bear Lake, Payson Lakes, Uintahs, etc.
32. Try kayaking/paddleboarding at Pineview Resevoir, Tibblefork, or Willard Bay.
33. Picnic/campfire in Millcreek Canyon or Big Cottonwood Canyon
34. Search for and catch insects, lizards, and salamanders.
35. Attempt to float in the Great Salt Lake.
36. Go to a splash pad (see our favorites below).
37. Solitude scenic chairlift ride (ages 5 and up)
38. Firework show for 4th of July. There are so many but I hear the one in Clearfield is especially good.
39. Lagoon - also late spring and early fall. We can easily spend 8+ hours here
Related Post:
 |
| Dog Lake Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon |
OUR FAVORITE SPLASH PADS
1. Syracuse Island Splash Pad (1800 S 2000 W, Syracuse, UT 84075)
2. Magna Regional Park (4042 S 7200 W, Magna, UT 84044)
3. Wardle Fields Regional Park (14148 S 2700 W, Bluffdale, UT 84065)
4. Family Park (1999 N 600 E St Lehi, Utah)
KIDDIE POOL ACTIVITIES
1. Float Or Sink Experiment with things from around the garden and the house
2. Bowls and cooking utensils so they can cool off while pretending to cook and play house
3. Add toy coins and gems for them to find pirate treasure
4. Make it a pretend pond with toy ducks and fish to play with.
Related Post:
FALL
 |
| Paper crowns decorated with colorful leaves we collected while hiking. |
1. Fall Festival at Cross E Ranch
2. Fall Festival at Rowley's Apple Orchard
3. Wilkerson Farm Fall Fair (only $10 - $15! And open all day Saturday through Sunday)
4. Pumpkin Days at Wheeler Farm
5. Make leaf crowns: we like to collect colorful leaves on a hike and then staple them to a strip of paper.
6. Make leaf rubbings then fold the paper into planes and see which one flies the best
7. Play in a leaf pile
8. Put up lights in your yard in preparation for winter
9. Pumpkin smash
10. Pumpkin pie eating contest - we get big pie from Costco.
11. Backyard bonfire and make tinfoil apple crisp
12. Have a treasure hunt
 |
| We like to make lanterns with pressed flowers, fall leaves, or tiny paper snowflakes. Then we go on a "lantern walk." |
13. Leaf or pumpkin chalk hopscotch
14. Make a flower arrangement in a pumpkin
15. Carve Pumpkins outside
16. Costume parade/walk
17. "Spooky" walk: explore your neighborhood to find Halloween decorations. It's fun and can help quell kids' fears before trick-or-treating.
18. Bob for apples.
19. Have a picnic in the mountains.
20. Sleepy Hollow Wagon ride in Midway.
21. Thanksgiving walk (make cards for friends and neighbors, then deliver them on foot).
22. Frightmares at Lagoon
23. Crazy Corn Maze
24. Make a leaf lantern with brightly colored leaves, modpodge, a jar, twine, and a tea light.
Related Post:
WINTER
 |
| Layton Commons Park is our favorite place to see lights for free. |
1. Luminaria in Ashton Gardens
2. Christkindlmarkt
3. Free winter lights at Layton Commons Park, Merriman City Park, Draper City Park, etc.
4. Hogle Zoo Lights
5. Snow tubing at Soldier Hollow (3 years old and up)
6. Midway Ice Castles - January through early March
7. Valentine Winter Lights Zipline near Provo
8. Decorate snow with koolaid. We like to eat some too.
9. Build a snowman
10. Make ice ornaments or ice lanterns - place a piece of twine in the water but leave the ends out and free so you can easily tie the ornament to any branch once it is frozen.
11. $5 Hogle Zoo admission (if purchased online) on certain weekdays in January and February.
12. Paint sheets of ice. You can make finding some part of outdoor play or make your own with baking sheets.
13. Visit Crystal Hot Springs or relax in an outdoor hot tub
14. Go on a lantern walk or hike
 |
| Our little kids loved the Midway Ice Castles especially the kid size tunnel and the ice slides. |
15. Decorate a tree outside. Use a needle to string popcorn and cranberries for a garland. Tie twine through orange slices to hang as ornaments. Search for pinecones then dip them in unflavored gelatin and roll them in bird seed to hang as ornaments as well.
16. Sprinkle jello powder on snow to make pictures: a rainbow, flowers, spell your name. Eat some if you like.
17. Sledding at a park: Mountain View Park: Cottonwood Heights, Murray Park, Donut Falls: Big Cottonwood Canyon, Sugar House Park
18. Take advantage of the early sunsets and release a floating paper lantern and maybe light sparklers. This is fun to do on NYE and Lunar New Year.
19. Hot chocolate walk around the neighborhood. Staying warm with a hot drink encourages kids to stay out in the cold longer.
20. Visit the Tracy Aviary: it won't be busy and you just might get the place to yourselves.
21. Celebrate the Winter Solstice - with a bonfire, hot beverages and treats. Roast chestnuts. Burn pine branches. Making wishing cones: write wishes on slips of paper, roll them up, and tuck them into a pinecone then burn it on your yule bonfire.
22. Candy Cane hunt or tree ornament hunt: think Winter egg hunt, preferably on a forest trail where you can hang the candy canes all around.
23. Outdoor ice skating - Gallivan Center, Millcreek Common, or Ice Ribbon at Crane Plaza
24. Outdoor winter swim at Crystal Hot Springs
Related Post:
OUR FAVORITE PARKS
 |
| We like the big trees, playground, pond, gazebo, and aviary at Liberty Park. |
1. Lodestone Park (6252 W 6200 S, Kearns) - big playground with a zipline and cement slide, and lots of swings. There's a huge pavilion but no shade trees.
2. Wild West in West Jordan (8000 S Redwood Rd, West Jordan) - Huge, all abilities playground. Perfect for spring and fall.
3. Memory Grove (300 N Canyon Rd, Salt Lake City) - beautiful in the fall and spring. There is a stream that runs through and hiking trails with lilacs. There is no playground but it's a beautiful place for a picnic.
4. Copperton (8701 W Hillcrest St, Copperton) - a lovely old park with lots of shade trees, picnic pavilions and a unique playground in a cute neighborhood.
5. Big Cottonwood Regional Park (4300 S 1300 E, Millcreek) - a quieter park with an older playground and a wild feel. There is a pond where you can see baby ducks in the spring, lots of walking trails, and a stunning view of the Wasatch Mountains. There are great climbing trees here too.
6. Draper City Park (12500 S 1300 E, Draper) - We love the tall slides at the playground. There is so much to do here, and I have heard they do great Christmas lights in December.
7. Wardle Fields Regional Park (14148 S 2700 W, Bluffdale) - huge ziplines and an awesome splash pad. Great for summer but no shade trees.
8. Sugar House Park (1330 2100 S, SLC) - there is a creek near the playground, lots of shade, and a large pond and a big hill that's great for sledding.
9. Murray Park (296 E Murray Park Ave, Murray) - toddler playground, a creek running through, several bridges, big trees and some that you can climb, a cute gazebo.
10. Liberty Park (600 Harvey Milk Blvd, SLC) - Lots of shade! Great for all seasons. Nice playground, a bridge, a gazebo, and a large pond where you can see baby geese in the spring, tons of open space for walking, bike riding, hammocking, playing frisbee. There is one hill that could be nice for sledding. This park hosts a Thursday evening farmers' market in the summer.
11. Magna Regional Park (4042 S 7200 W, Magna) - great playgrounds with a sand pit a and splash pad. Great for spring and summer days!
12. Bingham Creek Regional Park (10004 S 4800 W, South Jordan) - amazing playground. There is not much shade here so come in spring, fall, or winter.
13. Evergreen Park (2266 E Evergreen Ave, Millcreek) - Affectionately called the Pumpkin Park, there is a cute Cinderella carriage on the playground!
14. Family Park (1999 N 600 E St, Lehi) - a huge amazing playground and splash pad
Related Post:
OUR FAVORITE HIKES
 |
| Gloria Falls Trail is one of our favorite kid friendly hikes. |
1. Lower Adam's Canyon Waterfall
2. Stewart Falls
3. Silver Lake Trail: flat and easy for toddlers and little kids.
4. Willow Heights - great in the fall when the aspens are gold
5. Donut Falls - take a treat with you from my favorite donut shop!
6. Brighton Lakes
7. Gloria Falls
8. Bloods Lake
9. Dark Trail: This one is mostly flat and almost completely shaded in the summer.
10. Dog Lake Trail: (the one across from Donut Falls trailhead) Our young kids have never made it to the lake. We simply hike until they want to turn around.
11. Stairs Gulch: this trail follows the stream where you see one waterfall after another
Related Post:
THEMED PICNICS AND WALKS
 |
| 'Tella Toast picnic. The title is more fun than simply saying, "Let's eat Nutella toast outside." |
Kids like themes, right? And I like no fuss activities. Somewhere along the way I had the idea to make ordinary activities special by simply calling it a picnic or having themed walks.
The kids want to read a books? Why not take some books outside with a blanket and have a book picnic?
Too cold for a walk? Stay warm with a hot chocolate walk.
Picnics don't always have to involve food either. It just sounds more special than saying, "Let's play with stuffies outside."
1. Book picnic
2. Stuffy picnic
3. Board game picnic
4. Play dough picnic. Playing with play dough in the yard means I don't have to clean up the kitchen after.
5. Puzzle picnic
6. Tea party - we love to do this in the spring
7. Fruit picnic
8. Popcorn picnic.
9. Lemonade picnic. Make homemade lemonade outside and drink it in the shade.
10. Popsicle picnic.
11. Winter picnic - my kids are more willing to play in the cold if food is involved.
12. Pie picnic - post Thanksgiving outdoor treat
 |
| Rowley's Fall Festival which we like much better than Corn Belly's |
1. Costume walk - get all the use you can out of this year's Halloween costume. Wearing my costume just once as a kid was never enough for me.
2. Spooky walk - explore your neighborhood to see Halloween decorations.
3. Fall Leaf walk - admire autumn colors in your neighborhood.
4. Flower walk - learn the names of flowers while walking and see how many different colors you cN spot. Or make a flower crown in your own garden and wear it on a walk.
5. Lantern walk - mod podge pressed flowers or fall leaves onto a glass jar, make a handle out of twine, add a battery powered tea light and take it on an evening walk.
6. Kite walk: make a paper kite to take with you.
7. Thanksgiving walk: make cards for friends and neighbors, then deliver them on foot.
8. Christmas lights walk - when in your neighborhood, it's free and less work than driving somewhere to see lights
9. Hot chocolate walk
I hope you enjoyed these ideas and found them helpful!
What are some of your favorite outdoor things to do with kids in Utah?
Hi, I'm Kaitlyn and I'm so glad you're here. Get to know me and more about my blog.
Comments
Post a Comment