Things to Do in Cottonwood Heights

The experienced instructors at The Front Climbing Club's summer camp guide restless, rock-bound children ages 6–14 through a work-week-long clinic in cave climbing, wall scaling, and skill building. Strength- and agility-improving activities on the indoor facility's climbing walls and caves transform scrambling amateur lizards into scaling connoisseurs, developing skill sets and learning to respect gravity like a bully with the power to de-pants the solar system. Group work, games, and competitions elevate the fun and encourage team building, and an emphasis on safety and equipment use ensures educated climbing. Campers learn to elevate their problem solving skills as they work together to plan their way around obstacles, simultaneously honing their motor skills, balance, and ability to turn adrenaline into sugar cookies. The camp runs weekly, Monday through Friday, and campers can attend four-hour classes in the morning or the afternoon.

Divers as young as 8 can try on their flippers at Dive Utah to breathe underwater for the first time during Discover Scuba classes. Alternatively, more experienced students can hone their skills through open-water dives and more extensive training that can put them on their way to becoming instructors themselves. They can also strive to become PADI Master Scuba Divers, a certification that comes after 50 logged dives, at which point masters might feel it necessary to start wearing black belts to the pool.

Morning Star Balloons ushers cloud hunters toward their quarry, navigating the skies as transfixed guests float high above Utah's pristine mountainscape. The seasoned, FAA-certified pilots employ experience flying military jets, winning numerous hot air balloon competitions, and establishing dominance over out-of-control umbrellas as they confidently steer the colorful vessels to heights of between 500–1,500 feet. Groups of up to 12 soar above Park City’s lush landscape and during early-morning flights, with a complimentary champagne or nonalcoholic toast welcoming passengers back to solid ground. Despite its burgeoning fame through the TV shows The Amazing Race and Nitro Circus, Morning Star Balloons keeps a level head as it donates its services to local schools and charities.

Designed by U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller, Stonebridge's Scottish-links-style course features 27 holes designed to test your swing and backstroke. The course's namesake red-rock bridges arch over and beside three tough nines, each almost 3,600 yards long, making this one of the longest courses in the state. With 20 of the holes adjacent to water, it's also one of the most pond-besotten. Three smaller teeing areas complement the harder drives, and small streams coil beside some the course's 93 sand bunkers.

At any given time, Momentum Indoor Climbing probably has more visitors clung to its walls than standing on its floor. With 20,000 square feet of climbable terrain, the indoor climbing gym challenges sportspeople of all ability levels. During lead climbs, routes up to 50 feet high guide climbers over verticals, slabs, overhangs, and arêtes. Visitors can also develop skills in a safe environment at top-roping stations, as well as a bouldering area outfitted with foam and vinyl padding for soft landings. Crack climbing challenges the most seasoned of mountaineers, recreating the fissures found in desert sandstone and the crows' feet on the faces of Mount Rushmore’s presidents.

Momentum's team members also lead skill-building classes and youth programs, and help clients stay in shape with fitness training that incorporates yoga and Pilates, cardio conditioning, and strength training. Additional amenities range from locker rooms to daycare to companion pet rocks.

Within Clark Planetarium's space-exploration-themed facility, the interactive displays and immersive IMAX and planetarium shows enlighten visitors with interesting scientific facts. Spread out across 10,000 square feet, more than 15 hands-on exhibits entrance guests with artifacts such as photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and a moon rock brought back from the Apollo 15 mission.

Audio in the ATK IMAX Theatre emanates from a 14,000-watt digital surround-sound system as the 70-foot wide, five-story-high screen accommodates Hollywood hits and insightful documentaries in 3-D. More entertainment abounds in the Hansen Dome Theatre, where six high-definition projectors fill the 55-foot domed screen with seamless images during scientific films and cosmic light shows.