Top 5 Things To Do In Salt Lake City In Winter

someone skiing in Salt Lake City

Welcome to the ultimate guide of things to do in Salt Lake City in winter with Red River Adventures! Our city transforms into a magical winter wonderland, and there’s no better way to experience it than by embarking on thrilling outdoor activities. Whether you’re a local or a visitor, this guide will help you make the most of your winter stay in Salt Lake City with the expertise and services of Red River Adventures. Get ready to embrace the season and explore the top Salt Lake City winter activities that will make your visit unforgettable.

1. Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding

Salt Lake City is renowned for its proximity to world-class ski resorts, and winter enthusiasts flock to the area for its incredible powder. But for those seeking a more adventurous and untouched experience, backcountry skiing and snowboarding in the Utah wilderness is a thrilling option. Explore pristine, untracked terrain and relish the tranquility of the backcountry while surrounded by majestic mountain landscapes.

What to Bring: For a day of backcountry skiing or snowboarding, make sure to pack your backcountry gear, including touring skis or a splitboard, avalanche safety equipment (beacon, shovel, and probe), warm clothing, gloves, and a helmet. Always check avalanche forecasts and have the necessary knowledge for safe backcountry travel.

Tips:

    • Before heading into the backcountry, ensure you’re well-prepared and consider taking an avalanche safety course.
    • Familiarize yourself with the local backcountry terrain and conditions, and let someone know your plans for the day to ensure safety.

Introductory Utah Backcountry Touring Ski Package 

Utah’s backcountry skiing in the Wasatch Mountains outside of Salt Lake City is among the best on the planet – we are famous for the “Greatest Snow on Earth.”

Difficulty: Easy | 1,500 to 2,500 vert.

Minimum Ages: 10 years old

1 Person $450 each | 2 People $275 each | 3 People $200 each

Tours will take place either in Little or Big Cottonwood Canyons depending on snow!

2. Ice Skating at Gallivan Center

For a delightful winter experience in downtown Salt Lake City, lace up your ice skates and head to the Gallivan Center. This outdoor ice rink offers a charming setting with twinkling lights and music. It’s the perfect family-friendly activity or a romantic date night under the stars. The rink also hosts themed skate nights, adding a unique touch to your visit.

What to Bring: Dress warmly and bring your own ice skates if you have them. Rentals are available at the rink for those who need them.

Tips:

    • Check the Gallivan Center’s website for skate times and special events.
    • Plan your visit during the evening to enjoy the magical atmosphere created by the lights.

3. Exploring the Utah Olympic Park

If you’re looking for a unique Salt Lake City winter activity, the Utah Olympic Park is a must-visit. You can experience the thrill of bobsledding down the Olympic track or test your skills in the freestyle aerials and Nordic ski jumping facilities. The park also offers interactive exhibits and guided tours, providing insight into the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

What to Bring: Wear warm clothing, and bring your camera to capture the excitement. Special gear is provided if you choose to participate in activities like bobsledding.

Tips:

    • Book your activities at the Utah Olympic Park in advance.
    • Take a guided tour to gain a deeper understanding of the Olympic legacy.

4. Warm Up at Local Breweries

After a day of outdoor activities, warm up at one of Salt Lake City’s cozy breweries. Enjoy craft beers, delicious food, and a welcoming atmosphere. Local favorites like Squatters Pub, Red Rock Brewing, and Epic Brewing Company offer a wide selection of brews to satisfy your taste buds.

What to Bring: Your ID to ensure you can sample the local brews. Dress casually for a relaxed and friendly environment.

Tips:

    • Check the brewery’s website for their current beer offerings and special events.
    • Plan for a designated driver if you plan to sample multiple brews.

5. Ice Climbing with Red River Adventures

Experience the thrill of ice climbing with Red River Adventures in the stunning winter landscapes of Salt Lake City. Whether you’re a seasoned climber or a beginner, our experienced guides will take you to frozen waterfalls and ice-covered cliffs for an unforgettable adventure. Red River Adventures provides all the necessary equipment and instruction to ensure a safe and exhilarating ice-climbing experience.

What to Bring: Dress warmly in layers suitable for the cold temperatures. Red River Adventures will provide all the specialized ice climbing gear, including ice axes, crampons, and helmets. Don’t forget to bring your sense of adventure and a willingness to conquer the ice!

Tips:

    • Book your ice climbing adventure with Red River Adventures in advance to secure your spot.
    • Trust our experienced guides and instructors, as they’ll ensure your safety while you scale the frozen walls.

1 Day Guided Ice Climbing Trip

The Cottonwood Canyons and Provo Canyon have some of the coolest ice-climbing routes in the West and Red River Adventures can guide you there!

Difficulty: Easy to Hard | WI2-WI5

Minimum Age: 8 years

1 Person $350 | 2 People $275 | 3 People $225

Level of difficulty and style of climbs are tailored to your ability level!

There are plenty of things to do in Salt Lake City in the winter with the expertise of Red River Adventures, you can push your limits, create lasting memories, and make the most of the winter season. Whether you’re seeking an adventure, a romantic evening, or a relaxing day on the ice, Salt Lake City offers something for everyone during the winter months. Enjoy your visit and embrace the beauty of a Salt Lake City winter!

The River People
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We strive to ensure that time spent with us is time that you will always look back on fondly. We want to leave you with a memories that bring a smile to your face no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, and no matter how much time has passed. In addition to a deep reservoir of personal experience, our rafting guides are licensed by the state of Utah, have Wilderness First Responder and/or First Aid/CPR certifications, and are insured. Many guides also have swiftwater rescue training. Our climbing and canyoneering guides are AMGA-certified for the terrain in which they operate. Our skiing guides are certified for the terrain, and some are world-renowned for their experience. All of our guides are intimately acquainted with not only the river, rock and snow, but also with the incredible surroundings of the areas we guide.

River Rafting Reviews and Red River Adventure Testimonials!

Jaxon Bak
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Jaxon Bak
February 21, 2025

Best group out there. Extremely knowledgeable people and super fun to be around. 100% would recommend for guided tours!

McKensee Harris
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McKensee Harris
February 18, 2025

Victoria was an incredible leader for the Womens Avy 1 clinic. She was so knowledgable, accomadating, and created a supportive environment for our course. I learned so much and feel so happy to have had this opportunity to participate in her class.

Kelley Julian
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Kelley Julian
February 18, 2025

I took the AIARE 1 Course and was lucky to get Sam and Brian as instructors, plus Robbie who is almost certified. Not only did we learn a ton about planning a safe route in the backcountry, we had lots of hands on practice with rescue, general safety while in the field, and gear management. 12/10 recommend

Emma N
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Emma N
February 17, 2025

Victoria was fabulous — I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor for my Aiare 1 course.

Jay Adams
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Jay Adams
February 12, 2025

Nate was a fantastic guide. Ice climbing is something I wanted to try for quite awhile. Red River Adventures gave me the chance to experience this. Really fantastic adventure!

S A
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S A
February 11, 2025

We just returned from a fabulous JAPOW trip that ranks as Best in Class! Carl and his team clearly put in an incredible amount of thought and preparation to make this a fantastic experience from every aspect. Besides their professionalism, their safety focus, and their almost unreal ability to find untracked powder, they are just fun companions with whom to spend the week. Highly recommend.

P Ro
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P Ro
February 11, 2025

My friend and I (indoor rock climbers/minimal to no ice climbing experience) went on a trip to Midway, UT for XC skiing and the crater, and decided to add on ice climbing. We got rescheduled because of a relative heat wave that melted most of the ice. The owners were extremely accommodating in moving us and offered a refund. We opted to wait a couple of days and ultimately we went out in Provo Canyon two days later (our first choice location due to its proximity to Midway) and had a great, full-day experience adjusted to our level! Shoutouts to Tanya (owner/owner’s wife) for staying in regular communication with us, and Brian, our guide, for a wonderful day!

Elisa Hecht
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Elisa Hecht
February 8, 2025

We had an incredible trip with Red Rivers Adventures in Hokkaido, Japan! Carl, John and Ayu were amazing guides. We highly recommend this lifetime experience.

Ethan Como
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Ethan Como
February 7, 2025

Brian and Sam rule!!! They were very friendly and helpful. Judgement free zone! 10/10 would recommend

Jessica Griffiths
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Jessica Griffiths
February 7, 2025

Knowledgeable and patient avalanche guides. Couldn’t ask for more

wutben
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wutben
February 5, 2025

Very fun and helpful course for AIARE 1. Learned a lot and had a great time with my instructors and other class mates

Stephen McSweeney
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Stephen McSweeney
February 3, 2025

Fantastic course led by awesome, professional folks. Would highly recommend to anyone. Thank you guys, I learned a ton.

Wes Angel
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Wes Angel
January 28, 2025

Great 1st ice climbing experience! Brian was a great guide.

Sage Nightingale
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Sage Nightingale
January 27, 2025

Learned so much from John during our AIARE II course this weekend! Even got to ski a bunch of powder :)

Jacob Lambert
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Jacob Lambert
January 26, 2025

John took me and my fiancé out for our first splitboarding experience and it was a fantastic time. He was an incredible guide and tailored the experience to our skill levels. He was friendly and non-judgmental while going out of his way to help us have a successful trip. He is widely known as a legend in this field. I would highly recommend this company and will plan to use their services in the future.

Liam Doherty
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Liam Doherty
January 26, 2025

Brian was a great instructor! I appreciate his help and guidance.

Robert Williams
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Robert Williams
January 26, 2025

Ben was an excellent instructor for the Avalanche Rescue course!

Jakob Allen
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Jakob Allen
January 26, 2025

Had an awesome day!

Shane McConnell
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Shane McConnell
January 24, 2025

This is an excellent 2 day avi course (plus a bit extra pre course prep). A ton of great information which makes a solid introduction to planning and executing safe backcountry ski and split boarding trips. John and Jeremy were excellent teachers and guides. Highly recommend it.

Carly Anderson
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Carly Anderson
January 20, 2025

I took the all women’s class with Vic and it was incredible. I felt very supported through the entire class with a bunch of other incredible women! Would highly recommend doing a course with Vic if you’re feeling nervous at all. She is incredibly patient and knowledgeable about all things backcountry!

Matthias Ruckle
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Matthias Ruckle
January 20, 2025

Awesome experience. Garth and Ben were great guides and we learned so much!

David Staggs
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David Staggs
January 19, 2025

I had such a great day ice climbing with Red River, couldn’t recommend this company enough. Booking and scheduling were simple and easy, and there were plenty of locations to climb near where we were staying. The price for two people + gear was completely reasonable. Our guide, Nate, was absolutely fantastic and totally made the whole experience for us. He let us choose how much and how difficult climbing we wanted to do, while being kind, interesting, and easy to talk to. He gave us great advice for how to climb more effectively and celebrated with us when we did something well. Nate even surprised me with a cupcake (it was my birthday). I had such a fantastic experience and wouldn’t hesitate whatsoever to book with this company again.

Ryan Russo
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Ryan Russo
January 18, 2025

Excellent guiding, climbing, and ice. Overall a great experience!

samuel creenaune
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samuel creenaune
January 18, 2025

We went touring with John and it was awesome. Great experience, tips and tricks and great knowledge of the area which was much appreciated. Thank you

Robert “Rob” Kowalsky
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Robert “Rob” Kowalsky
January 14, 2025

I had an excellent experience taking a low ratio AIARE level 1 with Red River. Our guides Garth and Ben were experienced, knowledgeable, and provoked good discussion among my group. Plus they were also pretty nice folks! I wish that the classroom portion was a bit more organized and built upon content we learned in the pre-course instead of rehashing it, but the field portion more than made up for it. I would recommend this outfit to anyone trying to learn about the essentials of safely navigating avalanche terrain.

wilson Kriegel
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wilson Kriegel
January 14, 2025

Great experience. Easy process. Good gear. Great communication. Super safe!

Kyla Marie
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Kyla Marie
January 12, 2025

Great information and hands on experience learning how to use life saving tools and skills. Thank you red river!

TED BOTS
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TED BOTS
January 10, 2025

Great day backcountry with Carl!

Evan Landau
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Evan Landau
January 10, 2025

Always such a dope time with these guys. I’ve toured the past two years with Landon. Super knowledgeable both in safety and where the good spots are while teaching you a bit about the sport. Gonna do some mountain biking with him and his summer!! So stoked 11/10 guide book asap

Rodney Malcolm
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Rodney Malcolm
January 8, 2025

Awesome day and Carl was fantastic as a guide. Super helpful tips when needed and fun to chat and ski with.

Sam Flessner
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Sam Flessner
January 6, 2025

Avy 1 course was very well run. Instructors were professional and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend.

Alexa Budzynski
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Alexa Budzynski
January 3, 2025

We wanted to try Splitboarding in the backcountry on our last trip to Park City, UT. We found Red River through a simple Google search and we couldn’t have been happier with the entire experience. Our guide, John, was kind, patient, congenial and super safety focused - which we really appreciated. We went from knowing zero to having a challenging and fulfilling couple of days in an absolutely gorgeous part of the country (Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons). We also super appreciated that all the gear was provided in the Intro lesson price. These people know their stuff. If you’re thinking you want to try backcountry riding, the time is now and these are your peeps.

Karson Eilers
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Karson Eilers
January 2, 2025

I took an AIRE 2 course with Red River Adventures. Instructors were professional, safe, and fun.

Daniel Grobman
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Daniel Grobman
January 1, 2025

Awesome experience!! My tour guide Landon was amazing and hand vast avalanche knowledge! Can’t wait to book with red river again!!!

Heber Valley Music Together
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Heber Valley Music Together
December 30, 2024

It was a great class. Ben had a good knowledge base and made everyone feel comfortable. I loved the amount of repetition given to take out and put back the equipment- this got me so much more comfortable with all my equipment.

Diego Canavati
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Diego Canavati
December 28, 2024

Super profesional and expirienced guides!

Kalen Griffin
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Kalen Griffin
December 22, 2024

Vic put on an awesome course! Extremely informative and fun and we learned a lot about avalanche rescues. 10/10 would recommend! Thank you 😊

Roni Peled
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Roni Peled
December 22, 2024

Great learnings with great people

Kyle Almeida
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Kyle Almeida
December 19, 2024

Had a fantastic two days in the Wasatch for AIARE 1! John and Vic are awesome guides and very knowledgeable about avalanche education and their tour routes. Highly recommend.

Matthew McHugh
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Matthew McHugh
December 19, 2024

The guides/instructors at Red River are best in class. John and Victoria went above and beyond to answer our questions, share in between the lines knowledge, and encourage lifelong learning.

Emma Braun
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Emma Braun
December 18, 2024

Took an all-women AIARE 1 course and it was fantastic!! Highly recommend. Victoria was an awesome instructor and had a lot of great experience and advice to share for women who are interested in getting more involved in this male-dominated sport. Thank you Vic and Red River for advocating for women in the backcountry!!

David Smith
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David Smith
December 16, 2024

I highly recommend using Red River Adventures for all your AIARE course. Extremely professional instructors that take the time to focus on everyone.

Ashley Jenson
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Ashley Jenson
December 7, 2024

I’ve taken my Aiare 1 and a rescue course with red river adventures and both classes were amazing. The instructors do a fantastic job. I felt heard and every question I had was answered. I highly recommend taking a course with these guys, you’ll really walk away with a lot.

Gracee Dalton
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Gracee Dalton
December 6, 2024

Amazing guides who are very well educated and informative. Great learning experience.

Mike Schirf
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Mike Schirf
November 26, 2024

My wife and I had the pleasure of joining Carl and his amazing team of guides last year in Japan. On top of being extremely knowledgeable of the area and where to find the best snow they are all amazing humans which made the trip that much more special. It was a dream trip and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Megan Caravello
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Megan Caravello
November 11, 2024

We did rock climbing just outside salt lake City, at big cottonwood canyon. Carl was a super guide. We had never rock climbed, and Carl have us great intro instructions then we climbed up two rocks, that were challenging and fun. Would highly recommend

Cynthia Svendsen
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Cynthia Svendsen
October 20, 2024

We had an amazing trip to Greece for rock climbing with these folks. Carl, Tonya, Mary, and Sam did a wonderful job being well organized, providing thoughtfully executed guiding, and good vibes all around. Couldn't have asked for a better week with this crew.

Timour Kamran
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Timour Kamran
October 14, 2024

Fantastic day out with Jon!

Andy Ballard
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Andy Ballard
October 3, 2024

John was a consummate professional. He got my boys up their first multi-pitch climb in Big Cottonwood Canyon on an ultra classic line. I really appreciated his ability to make this memorable experience happen. Super friendly and I would not hesitate to use him again and recommend to my friends.

Clinton Woods
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Clinton Woods
September 7, 2024

Did the full day fisher towers trip. It was very well ran and enjoyable. Took some younger kids and overall was a great experience thanks to red river.