Budget Traveler's Winter Paradise: Salt Lake City

Snowboarding at the Snowbird Resort for the first time; I was falling all over the place and loved every minute of it.

Seeing the Christmas lights around downtown Salt Lake, especially the ones at Temple Square.

Attending church at St. Mark, a beautiful red sandstone Episcopal cathedral in downtown Salt Lake City.

Building huge snowmen in Liberty Park.

Seeing spectacular views of Salt Lake and the surrounding Wasatch Mountains from the vantage point of the Utah state capitol.

Finally, being in Salt Lake during the Olympics was amazing. Salt Lake is usually not a very diverse place, but the Olympics brought visitors from around the world. The city was absolutely transformed. There were wonderful murals depicting winter athletes that adorned the buildings in downtown Salt Lake. I remember the time fondly.

Quick Tips:

Check out skiutah.com for extensive information on winter sports in Utah.

Use UTA buses to get to the slopes. They are .75 each way, obviously very cheap.

The best place to enjoy the legacy of the 2002 Winter Olympics is at the Utah Olympic Sports Park near Park City, the site of the bobsled, luge, skeleton, and ski jumping.

Best Way To Get Around:

Allow about 20 minutes to travel between the airport and city center. UTA (Utah Transit Authority) has buses that will take you to and from the airport to downtown Salt Lake. Most hotels have free airport pick-ups!

UTA also has cheap buses that will take skiers and snowboarders to the slopes for .75 each way.

I love this freaking place. I've been here twice and enjoyed it both times. First, the setting of the restaurant is really beautiful. The architecture suggests that the building used to be a church. It has great stained glass and vaulted ceilings. The owner often travels to Japan and decorates the place with his new finds.

The service was great. There was a friendly waitress who was courteous and quick. At the same time, the restaurant was not very busy that night.

The food is delicious. They offer a wide variety of sushi with funky names. They also offer good teriyaki dishes with nice side dishes. They make great vegetable tempura, which goes great with steak or salmon teriyaki.

For dessert, definitely try the chocolate sushi. It’s a mouthwatering mixture of sweet cottage cheese, cheesecake, and raspberry sauce wrapped in a crispy chocolate shell!