Things to Do in Herriman

On Friday the 13th of July, Go Tri sponsors its annual series of nighttime races with routes wending paths between local landmarks such as the Eagle Mountain City Center, Nolan Park, and the scenic Ranches neighborhood. Donning glow-in-the-dark outfits to increase visibility, without carrying a night light on a transatlantic extension cord, runners can dart through the half marathon, adopt a casual pace during the 5K, or go stride-in-little-stride with youngsters during a short fun run that ends at Nolan Park’s splash pad. At the finish line of each race, participants can cool down and refuel on complimentary snacks, while prizes honor the fastest and most festively dressed runners.

The 18-hole course at TalonsCove Golf Club hugs the northwest rim of Utah Lake, leading golfers on a shamrock-shaded jaunt backdropped by the craggy skyline formed by the Timpanogos Mountain. Architect Gene Bates designed the course in a links-style format, the ancient design scheme that features numerous deep bunkers, frustratingly high rough, and few trees bent on blocking flight paths and asking for group pictures right before an important shot.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-72 course
• Total length of 7,096 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.5 from the back tees
• Course slope of 127 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

A waterfall cascades over a towering cliff. A few acres away, hundreds of thousands of tulips sway in the desert breeze where hay and barley once grew. Originally a dairy farm, the 55-acre Thanksgiving Point has bloomed into a museum complex and attraction with one-of-a-kind experiences, shopping, dining, and seasonal festivals. In Thanksgiving Point Gardens, trees and shrubs form divisions between 15 themed gardens modeled after a country estate, 13 acres of turf grass, and a 4,000-seat amphitheater beside a manmade waterfall—all of which flourish under the hands of 26 gardeners. Gardeners feed their plots using an intricate water-reclamation system, which harvests millions of gallons of runoff water and lizards' tears annually to transform the desert landscape into an assembly of global ecosystems.

The outdoor park is also home to Farm Country, a working farm where goats, pigs, and draft horses mingle with peacocks and wildlife photographers disguised as ostriches. Visitors delve into farm culture as they pet and feed the animals, ride ponies, and look in on the process of bottling milk. The Museum of Ancient Life explores life long before agriculture, exhibiting 60 complete dinosaur skeletons to a soundtrack of gurgling steams, insect chirps, and one jazz saxophonist. The museum also contains more than 50 interactive exhibits, including a simulated fossil dig.

Rounding the corner, a runner sprints right into a face full of glow paint flung by some opponents. Typical 5K races frown upon glow-paint attacks, but the charitable Run the Rave wholeheartedly endorses such messy displays of camaraderie, posting paint-yourself stations at one-mile intervals along the race route. A stream of lights illumine the trail bordering Great Salt Lake beaches, and runners visually announce their arrival with four glow sticks distributed before the race. Once racers rush headlong across the finish line, an MC kicks off the festivities, doling out cash prizes to the runner with the best costume, winning female runner, and winning male runner with the best concealed hovercraft. Afterward, participants and their guests trot aglow over to the dance floor of The Great Saltair. The event's proceeds sponsor a local father of three as he fights a battle against muscular dystrophy.