Things to Do in Farmington

The couple clasps hands as they begin to fall 150 feet, the far off mountains a silent witness to their impending plummet. Luckily, their descent is controlled—the duo is safely strapped into an electromagnetic zipline that speeds them from a platform along its wiry track back down to terra firma. Below their feet, Miller Motorsports Park’s upwards of 500 acres unfolds from the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Auto Museum to the 23 curves of the racetrack awash in the controlled chaos of zooming sports cars. Dedicated to celebrating fast-moving motor vehicles while schooling nascent Earnhardts in the art of speeding, Miller Motorsports Park upholds its vision via a variety of state-of-the-art facilities and thrilling classes.

Since its opening in 2006, Miller Motorsports Park’s 4.5-mile track has fielded the wheeled circuits of countless high-energy events, from the NASCAR Utah Grand Prix to the FIM Superbike World Championship. Expert instructors helm classes at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School and Yamaha Champions Riding School, teaching pupils the essentials of racing, including safety precautions and how to paint tunnels on rock faces to outsmart cartoon coyotes. Drivers of all ages can choose to zip around the go-kart track, burning rubber down its 900-foot straightaway.

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.

More than a bowling alley, Jupiter Bowl is a multimedia entertainment complex, supplementing its 16 lanes with an arcade, three pool tables, and a 70-foot video wall that plays sports and music programming. Its X has earned it a rating of first for all-ages après in the November 2011 issue of Ski Magazine. The Jupiter Bowl experience is punctuated with high-tech touches such as overhead flat-screen monitors and Qubica AMF pinsetters. Club Jupiter—comprising four private lanes—gives parties an enclosed space with a variable window tint, as well as their own jumbo video screen, ideal for airing home videos of the birthday boy’s first crabwalk.

To facilitate lane availability, the staff oversees online lane reservations. Servers at the facility’s two dining venues, The Lift Grill & Lounge and Black Diamond Bar, invite guests to linger to enjoy classic American fare and drinks that include craft beers from Epic Brewing.

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.

The whirring carnival attractions inside Jungle Jim's Playland never pack up and leave town. Instead, the year-round kiddie complex keeps its stable of rides completely indoors at its climate-controlled facility. Proud parents look on or join the action for free as kids 11 and younger enjoy jungle patrol cars, a ground-level roller coaster, and a traditional carousel. In all, seven rides and a multilevel jungle gym provide all the fun of an outdoor carnival without having to endure sticky, summer heat and long carnie lectures about 17th-century Italian operas. Kids split up their bumper car sessions with Skee-Ball and other arcade games or sit at picnic tables and nosh on a house-made pizza from The Jungle Cafe concession stand.

The instructors at Bikram Yoga Ogden help students achieve a soothing state of calmness through the Bikram method of hot yoga. They guide guests through 26 poses in a studio heated to improve muscle elasticity, which reduces the threat of injury. The heat also encourages detoxification and elevates heart rates. Instructors stay positive and supportive throughout their classes, which help build strength and flexibility and elongate ligaments, joints, and facial hair. The staff also uses these poses to teach students the valuable skill of controlling their breath.