Hotels in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City sits in a valley between the Wasatch and Oquirrh ranges, and its selling point is proximity: four world-class ski resorts, including Alta and Snowbird, are within 40 minutes of downtown, closer to a major airport than anywhere else in North America. The snow in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons is famously dry and abundant.

The city was founded by Mormon pioneers in 1847 and Temple Square remains its centre, though Salt Lake today is considerably more secular and diverse than its reputation suggests, with a lively bar and restaurant scene downtown and in Sugar House. Utah's once-notorious alcohol laws have relaxed substantially.

In summer the same canyons become hiking and mountain-biking country, and Salt Lake works as the gateway to Utah's Mighty Five national parks, with Arches and Canyonlands around four hours south. The Great Salt Lake itself has shrunk dramatically in recent years and is less of a visitor draw than the name implies.