Salt Lake City during the fall is absolutely magical and super underrated for fall foilage. We couldn’t believe we hadn’t been before, especially with its close proximity to Denver. Salt Lake City is the perfect home-base for exploring the incredible fall foliage of Northern Utah. Most of these places are within one hour of downtown so you can fit a ton of adventure and city relaxation into your 3 day Salt Lake City itinerary!
Where to stay in Salt Lake City?
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Salt Lake City which was the perfect basecamp for our adventures. We took full advantage of the 24 hour market and coffee bar, rooftop pool, and multiple on-site restaurants. Our large suite with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city was the perfect place to relax. There are valet and self-parking options available for an additional cost.
3 Day Salt Lake City Itinerary
Day 1: Scenic Drives and Breweries
Three Pines Coffee
We started our Salt Lake City itinerary as soon as we hopped off our early flight! Downtown Salt Lake City is only 10 minutes from downtown so it was easy to grab coffee and breakfast burritos at Three Pines Coffee downtown. The cute atmosphere, tasty coffee, and avocado toast won us over!
Go for a scenic drive
After fueling up we set out on some scenic drives. We started with the colorful Emigration Canyon, stopping for photos at scenic overlooks and then drove through Park City to Guardsman Pass. We were tired from our early flight so we stuck to short walks, but there’s tons of beautiful hikes along Guardsman Pass! A popular hike option is Bloods Lake.
Keep in mind stopping on the road is prohibited unless its a designated pull out. Guardsman Pass had some of the most beautiful fall colors and views we saw the whole weekend! From Guardsman Pass, we continued on to Big Cottonwood Canyon before we were hungry for lunch!
Lunch at Eight Settlers Restaurant
Nestled between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon is the delicious and cozy Eight Settlers Restaurant and Distillery. The large menu has lots of unique offering and craft cocktails with their own spirits. We had incredible cocktails, Baked Brie crostini, a shrimp salad, and a lentil burger. The views from the restaurant are beautiful!
Pool and relax at Hyatt Regency SLC
We were pretty tired from our early flight so the next thing on our Salt Lake City itinerary was a bit of relaxation at our gorgeous hotel! We enjoyed relaxing in our room with floor to ceiling windows. Hyatt Regency SLC has a heated rooftop pool with mountain views which we really enjoyed.
Dinner and drinks at Emigration Brewery
It was time for dinner, so we headed back to the beginning of the Emigration Canyon drive to visit Emigration Brewery. This spot blew us away! We sat outside by the fire and drank beers while listening to the calming river next to us. The food was great too, but the cozy atmosphere is what we’ll remember the most. We highly recommend sitting outside!
Day 2: Lake Blanche hike and exploring Salt Lake City
Hike Lake Blanche Trail
Day two of our Salt Lake City itinerary started with waking up before sunrise for an epic hike. Luckily, the trailhead was less than 30 minutes from our hotel so we set out for the trailhead before dark and arrived around sunrise! We’d highly recommend arriving early as this is one of the most popular hikes in the area.
The Lake Blanche trail is strenuous, gaining almost 3,000 feet of elevation in 7 miles, so definitely be prepared with plenty of snacks and water. Hiking poles would be helpful due to the steepness. Please be sure to leave no trace!
Open Streets SLC
After a quick shower, next up on the Salt Lake City itinerary was a stroll through downtown! On Fridays and Saturdays during the fall, Main Street in the heart of downtown is closed off to vehicles. This means you can walk on the street and check out all of the bars, restaurants, and shops! It was a lot of fun.
Dinner at Mar Muntanya
Back to our hotel for rooftop drinks at Mar Muntanya. I had one of the best gin and tonics I’ve ever had! It was honey and lemon complete with little flowers in it. Myles had a couple of his favorite beer, German style Kolsh. Mar Muntanya offers snacks and light bites before opening up for dinner at 5 PM.
Ice Cream
We ended the night with vegan ice cream at Monkeywrench SLC. We couldn’t believe how many vegan flavors they had! It was some of the best vegan ice cream we’ve tried. This is a must stop if you’re vegan.
Day 3: Hot Springs and Oktoberfest
Sunrise at Fifth Water Hot Springs
Fifth Water Hot Springs is just outside of Salt Lake City. There are a few things to consider before adding it to your 3 day Salt Lake City itinerary.
While it’s absolutely stunning, it’s also extremely popular and unfortunately, we saw a lot of trash. If you visit, please pack out all of your trash. We wouldn’t say this was a relaxing experience for us. If you’re looking for a relaxing experience, we would probably recommend a different hot spring especially since the water was not very hot in the non-crowded areas. However, if you’re a photographer, we would absolutely recommend this place!
It’s visually stunning and the surrounding trees turn variations of yellow, red, and orange during the fall which is a beautiful contrast to the bright blue water. We had a lot of fun creating here! The hike to the hot spring also had absolutely stunning colors during peak fall foliage. Just align your expectations and you will have a great experience! If you do go, we would recommend going as early as possible.
Oktoberfest at Snowbird
We had the best time at Oktoberfest at Snowbird! We purchased our cute souvenir glasses and had fun trying so many different types of beer. We even managed to find a vegan bratwurst along with traditional German food like giant pretzels and currywurst.
Oktoberfest has traditional shows, a flea market, and ample seating to relax. Not to mention, stunning views! You can also take a scenic tram ride, but you definitely want to purchase these tickets in advance as this is a very popular activity. It was the perfect way to end our time in Salt Lake City!
Dinner
Oktoberfest runs until 6 pm, so you’ll likely want to grab dinner afterwards! We were exhausted from our adventures so for our last dinner, we got take out from Zest Kitchen & Bar, a fantastic vegan restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City, and ate it in our huge hotel room. If you have more energy, it would be fun to celebrate your trip on one of the many rooftops downtown.
Please remember to leave no trace while exploring by packing out your trash and staying on trail!
Have you explored Salt Lake during the fall? If you’re looking for more Utah adventures, consider driving down to Zion National Park and check out our guide for what to see in Zion if you only have one day.
