If you’re flying into Salt Lake City for a few days and somehow have no plans, don’t want to explore the actual city, and are willing to put sleep on the back burner — allow this post to be your itinerary.

DAY 1

Hertz — you’re gonna need a car! We picked ours up at the airport, our hotel had a free shuttle we could use to/from the airport. We opted not to pick it up the day we flew in because we weren’t going to use it that evening (we landed in SLC around 5pm).

Bonneville Salt Flats — about an hour and a half from Salt Lake City and it’s as cool as people say it is. Depending on the time of year that you go it’ll either be white hot and dry (like my photos) or wet and dreamy with reflections of the mountains (don’t drive on them during this time). We spent hours here just driving around and taking pictures, it’s so much fun! It’s also free to explore.

Spiral Jetty — if you wanna see the pink part of The Great Salt Lake, type Spiral Jetty into your GPS and follow it there. This is about a 2 hour drive from Salt Lake City and the five of us agreed that it was worth it! The water was so cool and now I can say I’ve been in The Great Salt Lake so check and check.

Now for some views that have nothing to do with either of these places but when you drive that much in a day, you’re bound to see some nice views.

DAY 2

Fifth Water Hot Springs, Spanish Fork — a little over an hour drive from Salt Lake City and just a little over a 2 mile hike once you actually park but I’m telling you right now it’s so worth it (even with all of my rattlesnake anxiety). Get there early for 2 reasons: it’s hot and you’ll avoid the crowds. We arrived around 8am and had the best hike and time in the springs with minimal interactions with other people.

Arches National Park — yes we made the drive out here. It’s almost a 4 hour drive from Salt Lake City but it’s so worth it. Although I will say that if you’re gonna do it the way we did it, you’re only gonna get a little sample of Arches and decide if you wanna go back on your next trip (which I definitely do). We didn’t have time to hike to the famous Delicate Arch but you better believe I’m gonna do it one day. Make sure you pack a TON of water (especially if you’re gonna visit in the summer), more water than you’ve ever packed in your life, you won’t think you’ll need it but trust me you do.