Pioneer Memorial Museum

Outside of the Pioneer Memorial Museum

The Pioneer Memorial Museum is sort of like the headquarters for all Daughters of the Utah Pioneer museums. This museum is most famous for housing the wagon that carried Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley. There is also a really cool horse-pulled fire engine that has been beautifully restored. (These were obviously my boys favorite things to see).

I was fascinated by all of the artifacts in this museum. There are so many different pioneer relics that have been saved by families and donated to the Pioneer Memorial Museum. I was also surprised at how large it was. There are four floors, as well as the carriage house which has two floors.  You could visit this museum every week for 10 years and never see everything inside. We were here for about an hour and a half, and we walked through pretty quickly.

You are not allowed to take videos or photos, so we apologize for not being able to show some of the amazing artifacts. There is an old theater seat and curtain from the Salt Lake Theater. We enjoyed viewing many old pianos including one that was buried by a family crossing the plains. (They later retrieved it after getting settled in Salt Lake). We also saw the original eagle gate and a replica of the golden spike that connected the transcontinental railroad. Those are the big items to look for, but there are thousands of small items such as newspapers, books, clothes, shoes, tools, toys, and much more.

The best part--it's FREE. They will accept donations (which we gladly gave) and with your donation you can take home a small book which includes some amazing pioneer stories and pictures from the museum.

One caveat: This is not a state-of-the-art interactive museum with tons of hands-on displays. It is simply walking and looking. Our kids are pretty "museum savvy" and handled this just fine. If your small children have not been to a lot of "look" museums, they may find this "boring."

The Pioneer Memorial Museum is located at 300 N Main Street in Salt Lake City, just a few blocks north of Temple Square and to the west of the Capitol Building. We walked up the hill from Temple Square (and it is straight up the whole way), but our 6 and 4 year old boys made it with a few stops on the way. There is parking along the street next to the museum. The museum is open year-round, usually from 9 am - 5 pm, but check their website for specific times.

More Favorite Hikes

We love hiking Spring, Summer, or Fall!

This picture was taken on the Temple Quarry Hike.

Did you know that more than 1000 people read our Favorite Hikes post in the first week? We featured hikes across the Wasatch Front like Hidden Falls, Ghost Falls, Grotto Trail, Silver Lake, Battlecreek Falls, Rocky Mouth Falls, Buffalo Peak, and Stairs Gulch. It seems like a lot of readers are ready to get a jump start on the hiking season (and who wouldn't with temperatures pushing toward 90 degrees!). For this reason, we felt that it was time for a new post. We do have one request, though. If you know of an appropriate hike for our kids (under 5 miles as they're pretty small), please leave us a comment so we can check it out and add it to our Hiking tab. Thanks! So here they are: Seven new hikes for your summer enjoyment from Utah Valley Family Adventures. Just click on the link to read our complete review including directions and pictures: Donut Falls: This 1.5 mile (round trip) hike is located up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's an easy hike to a waterfall that is admittedly less impressive than it was before the rocks shifted. Still, this is a very popular hike close to Salt Lake City that is easy for kids of any age. Cecret Lake: This hike is for a little more adventurous hikers. Located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, the Cecret Lake hike winds through beautiful mountain meadows and ends at a gorgeous lake. The hike is rocky and steeper than many of our simpler hikes, but we saw a lot of wildlife, and enjoyed the hike along the way as much as the destination.  Cascade Springs: Cascade Springs is a short boardwalk (mostly) over an aquatic spring in which you can see fish and other animals. Even the youngest hiker can enjoy this walk, though keep them close as there is no railing. This hike is located at the top of American Fork Canyon. Bridal Veil Falls: In Provo Canyon, a short walk takes you to Bridal Veil Falls. Completely stroller or wheelchair accessible, you can feed the fish for a quarter or play in the pool at the bottom of the falls. This waterfall is considered one of the most spectacular in the western United States! Temple Quarry Walk: The short walk around the Temple Quarry has interpretive signs that help you understand information about how the Pioneers built the Salt Lake Temple. More of an outdoor museum than a hike, this walk is at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Lisa Falls: We like this hike because it is very short and leads to a unique waterfall with the water flowing sideways down the rock. Make a double adventure out of this one by pairing it with the Temple Quarry. Red Fleet State Park: You have to be in the Uintah Basin to do this one, but it must be included as one of our favorites! The destination is a large (100' x 100'?) slab of sandstone with over 200 dinosaur tracks. The hike winds through a beautiful desert area. This hike is located just north of Vernal.

Front Runner

Here comes the train!

We've had it on our list to ride the Front Runner for a while. Our boys love trains, and I (dad) didn't actually ride on a train until my first trip to Japan when I was 21! So, we planned an adventure in downtown Salt Lake and pulled out the Front Runner and Trax schedules.

As the time grew nearer, I found myself getting excited to ride the train. It gives you sort of a unique perspective on the city that is a little different than the freeway you've driven a thousand times. It also gives you a chance to take your eyes off the road and actually see what is going on around you.

We didn't tell the boys we were taking the train until we got to the station. Then the excitement spread. As we stood on the platform, Dax had his 4 year-old hands clasped in front of him in anticipation. He kept bouncing up and down and reporting every time the minutes dropped off the board.

"It should be here in 3 minutes, Dad!" . . . "It should be here in 2 minutes, Dad!"

To big people, it's just a train. To little people, IT'S A TRAIN!

Mark was just as excited, and Seth grinned because everyone else was so excited. To an everyday commuter, we must've seemed quite ridiculous.

Our ride from the American Fork Station to downtown Salt Lake where we picked up Trax was only about 40 minutes. During that time we sat on the bottom, middle and top levels. We were actually surprised at how full the Front Runner was for a Saturday afternoon. We actually had to wait for an upstairs seat and then jump on it when someone moved.

Waiting at the station.

The train moves pretty fast-- at roughly the flow of traffic-- between 60-80 from what we could tell by watching the freeway out our window.

This adventure, paired with others, was a big hit for our family! It was fairly cheap, too. We got a group pass for just $15 that allowed four riders to go as far as they like all day on both Front Runner and Trax. Where else can you get so much adventure for the family for a mere $15?

Give Front Runner a try!

The seats are quite comfy and we loved looking out the window.

Seth had a ton of fun! You can take bikes and strollers on Front Runner.

Our Favorite Hikes

Playing in Ghost Falls!

As the weather gets warmer, we have had many people ask us about our favorite hikes. We have chosen our top 7 (one for each day of the week!) Oh yeah, if you're one of those hardcore metal-water-bottle hikers, these hikes may be way too easy for you. Here's the top seven in no particular order (Click the link for more info and specific directions):

Hidden Falls: (Big Cottonwood Canyon) Okay, honestly this one isn't even a hike. You can almost hit it with a rock from the road. But if you pair it with Stairs Gulch, you get two hikes for the work of one. And Hidden Falls is the better waterfall of the two.

Ghost Falls: (Draper) This hike is accessible from two directions. It's a tough drive to the top, followed by an easy hike; or an easy drive to the bottom and a little tougher hike up. There's a great payoff, though-- a waterfall the kids can play in.

Grotto Trail: (Payson) This is one of our all-time favorites! We like to do it in the Fall because the Nebo Loop is the most gorgeous leaf-drive outside of Vermont. This one is extra fun with steps, bridges, and a great destination.

Silver Lake: (Big Cottonwood Canyon) A stroller friendly boardwalk makes this the perfect hike for even the smallest adventurer. Wild animals, including moose, are easy to spot, too.

Battlecreek Falls: (Pleasant Grove) This is our old standby. We return to this simple hike more than any other. The waterfall at the end is one of the best you'll see around here.

Rocky Mouth Falls: (Mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon) One thing we really like about this hike is that it seems like such a secret. We've never seen anyone along the trail, and it cuts right through a neighborhood. The waterfall is great, and it's short, but this one can be a little rocky.

Buffalo Peak: (Mouth of Provo Canyon) This is a great hike for that first trek to a summit. The reward is a beautiful view of Utah Valley. For a summit hike, it's pretty easy, though the last eighth of a mile is a bit steep.

We love hiking. This is on the way to Buffalo Peak.

The Leonardo Museum

The art lab

We went to the Leonardo this past weekend. Right now they are featuring the mummy exhibit, but that seemed a little expensive (and mature) for our little boys. We went through the rest of the museum, though. It seemed it was a little too mature for us, too. We don't "pan" too many adventures, but this one wasn't really suitable for little kids (ours are 6, 3, and 1).

On the first floor, there is an art lab. There is drawing, clay, and a few other projects. The problem was, there is no one there to help the little guys. I know I'm the parent, I get that, but having an expert come and talk to the little ones and give ideas sure helps. (This did get better later on.)

We went upstairs to Level 2 and found that most of the stuff up there was geared toward the 10-15 year-old crowd. We had fun with the motion capture for a few minutes, and there was a cool animation display, but both were more "watch your parents perform" than hands on for little kids.

They loved making that skeleton dance with the motion capture.

The highlight for the kids was the project center upstairs. This one had a helper, and the project for the day was paper airplanes. The young lady that helped us was great and the kids loved making the planes and bringing them home-- Unfortunately at the $32 it cost for our family, those airplanes were sixteen bucks apiece!

I wouldn't really recommend the Leonardo for young families. Maybe if we had kids in the middle grades, we'd have had more fun.

We'll try this one again in about ten years . . .

There was a section where you learn about pixels and colors, like on TV and phone screens.

Making a movie.

Making paper airplanes