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Salt Lake City sits on the southeastern edge of the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. It's one of a string of towns forming an urban chain at the western foot of the Wasatch Mountains.
Salt Lake City is laid out in a spacious grid with a common-sense approach to street names that run north-south and east-west in a mixture of numerical, geographical and alphabetical obviousness. The heart of downtown is Temple Square, bounded by Main St and North, West and South Temple Sts. The State Capitol is a couple of blocks to the north. The Jordan River runs just west of downtown and the University of Utah lies just east.
Salt Lake City International Airport is 10km (6mi) west of downtown. Amtrak services arrive and depart from the Rio Grande Depot on the western edge of downtown, while the Greyhound terminal is just one block west of Temple Square at 160 W South Temple St. Two major interstate highways intersect at Salt Lake City: I-15 heads north-south and I-80 east-west. I-215 is a loop that skirts the eastern, southern and western fringes of the city.
Getting There
The city is well served by all major modes of transportation. Amtrak's California Zephyr stops daily each way on its journey between San Francisco and Chicago. Buses connect the city to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Portland and Seattle. For those taking to the skies, the Salt Lake City International Airport is well-served by America's major airlines; Skywest/Delta flies to other locations in Utah. Salt Lake City International Airport is approximately 10km (6mi) west of downtown. To get into the city, choose between buses, shuttles, taxis and car rental agencies.
Getting Around
UTA buses provide comprehensive services throughout Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, although services to the airport, Ogden and Provo only operate on Sunday. An aboveground light rail, UTA Trax has two lines: one goes from the Delta Centre along South Temple to Main Street, from where it runs straight south to Sandy. The other line runs from Main St to the university. Short bus and trax trips within downtown are free. During the ski season, a bus operates between Salt Lake City and nearby ski areas. All major car-rental agencies have offices in Salt Lake City and at the airport; reserve your wheels in advance for the best rates. Mountain bikes can also be rented downtown by the day or week.
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