Salt Lake City, bordered on the west by the million-acre Great Salt Lake and on the east by the sharply rising Wasatch Mountains, is one of North America's most beautiful cities. Midway between Denver and San Francisco, it is the gateway to the Intermountain West. With a population in excess of one million, greater Salt Lake blends the virtues of a small town with the advantages of a large city. The Utah Symphony Orchestra, Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre, Utah Opera Company, Tabernacle Choir, and a growing number of theater groups and art galleries are assets unusual in a city of its size. Salt Lake City, host of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, is home to the Utah Jazz (NBA basketball), the Utah Grizzlies (IHL hockey), and a triple-A baseball team.

Salt Lake City is in a valley surrounded by mountains that offer diverse sports such as skiing, backpacking, camping, bicycling, fly fishing, river running, kayaking, mountianeering, and wilderness survival. The skiing is the most consistent in North America. At the elevation of some 4,300 feet, Salt Lake City enjoys a mild climate with four distinct seasons. Rainfall is limited in the valley but an ample snowfall of 250-500 inches in the neighboring mountains provides some of the finest skiing in the world. More than two thirds of the state is public land, and there are 14 national parks within a day's drive. To the south, Bryce, Zion, Arches Canyonlands, and Capital Reef National Parks provide some of the most spectacular and valued parkland in the United States. In less than a day's drive, one can reach Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.