8 Unique Salt Lake City Museums Worth Visiting
Whether you are a local resident or you’re visiting Salt Lake City for the first time, you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding a museum to capture your interest. In fact, the museum selection in Salt Lake is quite varied. When exploring Salt Lake City museums you can learn about natural history, state history, automobiles, astronomy, military history, and see a wide range of art styles. And that’s to name just a few of the museum options you can chose from.
I always visit the most popular museums in every city I visit around the world. But I recently realized that I’ve only visited a few museums in my own hometown. So I made it a point this summer to go on a local museum-hopping quest. Let me then show you eight Salt Lake City museums I think are worth visiting.
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Utah Museum of Contemporary Art
Address: 20 S West Temple
Hours: Tues-Sat, 11am-6pm (open until 9pm on Friday)
Admission: $10 Donation is suggested though not required
Parking: Street meter or City Creek parking garage (first 2 hours free) Website: utahmoca.org
This museum is located in downtown Salt Lake City on the east side of the Salt Palace Convention Center. Salt Lake Magazine recently named it the best museum in Utah. And after my own visit, I can understand why. It was probably my favorite of all the Salt Lake City museums I visited on this quest. I plan on returning regularly.
The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art does not have a permanent collection. Instead, it features an ever-changing calendar of temporary exhibits which showcase local, national, and international contemporary artists. The museum is fairly small with only a few small exhibit rooms on the top floor, and a larger exhibition space on the bottom floor.
I thought this smaller size was perfect. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the amount of art on display, and I was able to really spend some time with each piece of art. I also thought there was nice variety to the exhibits – both in terms of subject matter and style. Plus each piece of art features an explanation on the wall adjacent. For me at least, this is most helpful when I’m trying to fully understand and appreciate contemporary art.
Land Cruiser Heritage Museum
Address: 476 W 600 N
Hours: Mon-Sat, 8am-5pm
Admission: $20 Adults, $14 Seniors, $12 Kids, Children <5 Free
Parking: Free parking area across the street
Website: LandCruiserHM.com
This museum is the passion project of Greg Miller – former CEO of the Utah Jazz and the Larry H. Miller Group. It is the world’s only museum dedicated to the Toyota Land Cruiser. I had no idea it existed prior to this quest to visit popular Salt Lake City museums – though I’d driven past its location many times. It turns out that it’s hidden beneath the 600 North overpass.
I’m not at all a “car guy”, but this museum has a 5.0 Google rating so I thought I should definitely check it out. And I’m glad I did. It’s very cool! Plus I did own a Land Cruiser once – a really long time ago.
This museum is located in a restored steel foundry and is home to 100 different Land Cruisers. According to its website, the museum’s mission is to “preserve and celebrate the history of the Toyota Land Cruiser, and to inspire adventure”.
The museum’s Executive Director Jules Cho was on site at the time of my visit. She told me that the museum also serves as a worldwide resource for Land Cruiser enthusiasts – many of whom come to Salt Lake City primarily to visit the unique collection. She also pointed out that the museum doesn’t just simply collect Land Cruisers, but it collects stories. Each vehicle in the museum has its own special story, and these stories are told by signage in front of each. As an example, check out the green 1957 Land Cruiser in the photo below. It’s the actual very first Land Cruiser sold in the United States.
Or the Land Cruiser in the next photo below from the Expeditions 7 Global Adventure . This was a multi-year 58000 mile adventure with the goal of traveling all 7 continents in a Land Cruiser. This vehicle on display completed the adventure in its entirety.
I think that because of stories like these, the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum would appeal to both car-enthusiasts and the average visitor like me. It’s definitely one of the more unique Salt Lake City museums I visited on this quest.
(If you like the idea of an auto museum telling unique stories, then you might want to read about the museums we visited in Malaga Spain. These included a museum highlighting the history of the automobile and its intersection with fashion.)
Clark Planetarium
Address: 110 S 400 W
Hours: Open Everyday, 9:30am-8pm (until 11pm on Fri & Sat)
Admission: Exhibits are Free. Shows are $10.85 Adults/$8.68 Kids
Parking: Underground parking. $1 for 3 hours with validation.
Website: saltlakecounty.gov/clark-planetarium/
The Clark Planetarium is one of the very most popular Salt Lake City museums. It’s located at The Gateway shopping and entertainment center. I visited on a summer weekday morning and it was packed with families and day camp kids.
The Planetarium offers three different floors of free exhibits and two different theaters. One is an IMAX theater showing nature and science documentaries. The other is a Dome theater showing various star and laser shows.
The exhibits themselves are informative and interactive. And as you would expect from a Planetarium, they teach about space and planets. This was my first visit to the Clark Planetarium (I’m old enough to remember going to the Hansen Planetarium when I was a kid). I was a little surprised at how small the exhibits generally were. But if you love learning about Space, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Plus this museum has Meteorites!
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Address: 410 Campus Center Drive at The University of Utah
Hours: Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm (open until 8pm on Wed)
Admission: $15 Adults, $12 Seniors & Youths, Children <6 Free
Parking: Free parking slots (marked) in the lot east of the museum
Website: umfa.utah.edu
UMFA offers the largest collection of art that you’ll find in any of these eight Salt Lake City museums. Plus this is the place to see ancient artifacts as well. The museum boasts a collection of over 22,000 works of art, though only a fraction are on display at any one time. And as you may have noticed in the photo above, the Museum does have a version of the famed LOVE sculpture sitting outside the building. It was installed just this year (after a $4.5 million purchase) and is the actual oft-photographed sculpture that sat in midtown Manhattan for 20+ years.
I had last visited this museum way back in the day – back when I was a student at the University. It’s not as large on the inside as I expected, given the overall size of the collection. But we do visit some very large museums on our travels, so I realize that I am very much spoiled. Yet even though UMFA isn’t a huge museum, it still offers a wide range of art and ancient objects for you to peruse.
Examples include both a Contemporary Art gallery and the North American Art gallery pictured below.
You’ll find a gallery displaying ancient artifacts from Egypt and Greece (I’m personally always excited when I come across any ancient Egyptian coffin).
And you’ll discover several small galleries displaying art and artifacts from many different corners of the world including Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, Africa, the South Pacific, Mexico, and Central America.
The photo below shows a display of Mayan artifacts, which especially caught my attention since we saw several while visiting Mexico City’s amazing National Anthropological Museum earlier this year.
UMFA really is the best of the Salt Lake City museums for seeing many examples of the world’s great art – without needing to travel the world to see them.
Natural History Museum of Utah
Address: 301 Wakara Way at The University of Utah
Hours: Open Everyday, 10am-5pm (until 9pm on Wed)
Admission: $25 Adults, $23 Seniors/Youths, Children $21 (<2yo free)
Parking: Ample free parking in front of the museum
Website: nhmu.utah.edu
The Natural History Museum is another of the very most popular Salt Lake City museums. In fact, it consistently ranks as one of the top 3 overall attractions in Salt Lake City according to TripAdvisor. Like the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, it’s also located on the campus of the University of Utah. And the building itself is the most visually stunning of all the Salt Lake City museums featured in this post.
This is a very family-friendly museum, and throughout its several floors of exhibits, you’ll learn about many facets of Utah’s impressive natural history. As examples, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about bugs, animals, and minerals. You’ll also see an exhibit focused on the early native inhabitants of Utah. Plus many of the exhibits are interactive.
But I honestly don’t think any of these exhibits can beat the museum’s huge collection of dinosaurs and ice age animals. I think this is certainly the museum’s biggest draw. Utah is one of the very top places in the world for paleontologists to find the remnants of these ancient beasts. And this Salt Lake City museum has the best collection I’ve personally encountered.
Plus if you want to have an even more in-depth and personal dinosaur experience at this museum, then you can take a small group Dinosaur Tour – which is only offered on Saturdays. I took this tour last year and can definitely recommend it. The tour’s highlight is private access to the paleontology lab and the chance to touch actual dinosaur bones. You can read more about this unique opportunity in my post on 7 Amazing Things To Do In Salt Lake City.
Museum of Utah
Address: 450 N State Street, 1st Floor North Capitol Building
Hours: Open Everyday (11-8pm Mon, 9-8pm Tu-Th, 9-6pm Fri-Sun)
Admission: Free Admission
Parking: Ample free parking next to the building
Website: museumofutah.com
The Museum of Utah is one of the newest Salt Lake City museums. It opened in June 2026, and I visited on its third day. It occupies the entire first floor of the new North Capitol Building, directly behind the State Capitol itself. This museum is Utah’s first state history museum, and displays around 900 objects from the Utah Historical Society’s large collection.
The museum is divided into four different sections, each centered around a theme exploring 4 different facets of Utah’s history. As an example, the Connecting Utah section (pictured below) celebrates many of the different cultures and communities that contribute to Utah as we know it today.
My personal favorite was the Becoming Utah section, which maps out Utah’s historical development from early Native American settlement through official statehood. And it’s not solely focused on the typical Pioneer history that we Utahns hear about all the time. I especially appreciated the displays teaching about the various Native American tribes that first settled the area and continue to live in Utah today. Plus I also learned from the displays on slavery in Utah, and the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during WW2 at the Topaz Internment Camp in Delta.
As you move from section to section in this museum, you’ll come across lots of educational panels, multi-media displays, and even some hands-on experiences. Plus you’ll see plenty of interesting and very unique historical objects – such as the Mormon Meteor. This is the famous 1939 racing car that set multiple long-standing records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
I really think that the Museum of Utah is one of the Salt Lake City museums that all Utahns should visit at some point. And it’s a great choice for visitors looking to better understand the State as well.
Fort Douglas Military Museum
Address: 32 Potter St at The University of Utah
Hours: Wed-Sat, 10am-4pm
Admission: Free Admission
Parking: Free parking spaces (marked) on street in front of building
Website: guard.utah.gov/fort-douglas
This small military museum is located at historic Fort Douglas which is located on the University of Utah campus. The Fort itself is a National Historic Landmark and the museum is located inside one of the Fort’s original barracks (built in 1875).
Inside this museum, you’ll learn the history of the Fort’s origins, and its important role in the military history of the western US. It was actually established during the Civil War in 1862, and has served as a base for many types of US military operations over the years. Its initial intent was to protect overland stagecoach and communication routes (against both antagonistic Mormon settlers and Native Americans). But it later became an important training facility and even a POW camp during both World Wars.
But I think what makes this one of the best Salt Lake City museums is the collection of military machinery that surrounds the outside of the building. It’s the first time I’ve ever stood next to tanks and been able to examine them up close. Plus there is a large and varied selection of huge field guns to check out as well.
And you’ll also see 3 different military helicopters on site. I thought it was very interesting to look inside all of these – including the cockpit of a helicopter used in the Vietnam War…
(If you would like to read about the best military museum I’ve ever visited, then check out my experience at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk Poland)
Salt Lake Art Museum
Address: 249 South 400 East
Hours: Wed-Sat, 10am-4pm
Admission: TBA
Parking: Free parking onsite
Website: saltlakeartmuseum.org
The Salt Lake Art Museum is the newest museum in town. In fact, it doesn’t officially open until July 24th. It is a museum dedicated to celebrating Utah artists and showcasing their art. From everything I’ve read about it so far, I’m confident that it belongs in this post about top Salt Lake City museums. I will visit shortly after its grand opening and report on what I find.
But I do already know that the building housing this museum is very unique, and will certainly add to the museum’s appeal. The building is the B’nai Israel Temple. This historic building was the first Jewish synagogue in Utah and was completed in 1891. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was considered one of Salt Lake City’s most beautiful buildings at the end of that century.
More on this museum to come soon.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed my time visiting these great Salt Lake City museums. As you can see, there really is something for everyone – no matter your museum preference. If you are a local resident like me, then I encourage you to find time to visit each of these eventually. And if you’re visiting Salt Lake, then hopefully you have time in your itinerary to check out one or three.
If you are looking for other things to do in Salt Lake City, then you might want to check out these posts:
7 Amazing Things To Do In Salt Lake City: A Local’s Guide
The Kennecott Copper Mine Tour : Is It Worth It?