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When the weather keeps everyone inside, the Salt Lake Valley still has plenty of ways to wear the kids out. These are the indoor spots locals lean on for a rainy or snowy day, from Salt Lake City down to Draper.
This is the big one and the easy default when the weather turns. Kids walk under a long shark tunnel with stingrays and sea turtles gliding overhead, touch tide-pool creatures, watch the penguins, and wander whole ecosystems from the Amazon rainforest to the Antarctic. A newer multi-story indoor cloud forest gives you even more to explore on a cold day.
Sixty thousand square feet built for little hands, with a pretend grocery store, a kid-sized news studio, a real bus to climb into, and hands-on science everywhere you turn. Locals rate it as the spot where younger kids can touch everything without being told no. It is the place toddlers ask to go back to.
The hands-on exhibit floor is free, so kids can explore space, weather, and gravity displays and even drive a Mars rover without paying a dime. The dome theater and big-screen shows cost extra and are worth it for older kids who can sit through them. It is one of the best free indoor stops in the valley.
Built into the foothills with huge windows over the whole valley, this museum lets kids stand under towering dinosaur skeletons and dig at hands-on activity stations. With dozens of skeletal reconstructions and touchable specimens, it keeps curious grade-schoolers busy for hours. The building itself is worth the trip.
Mostly outdoor, but the indoor bird areas and warm exhibit spaces make it a solid winter pick, and the birds tend to be more lively in the cold. Kids get close to everything from toucans to bald eagles, and the keeper talks turn a quick visit into a real outing. It is a calmer change of pace from the trampoline parks.
More than 50,000 square feet of wall-to-wall trampolines, foam pits, dodgeball courts, an obstacle course, and a separate soft-play zone for the little ones. This is where you send big kids to burn off a whole winter's worth of energy. It is a longtime local favorite for after-school and weekend visits.
A 24,000-square-foot indoor playground and trampoline park with racing slides, a ninja course, climbing walls, a spider tower, and a two-story zone for kids under five. One admission covers everything inside, so siblings of different ages can all find their thing. It is climate controlled and works no matter the weather.
An indoor entertainment center with a four-story soft playground, a spiral web climb, a bungee wall, laser tag, and a big arcade with everything from classics to VR. Kids can climb and play while older siblings hit the games, and there is food on site so you do not have to leave. A handy rainy-day pick on the south end of the valley.
A large indoor fun center at Jordan Landing with bowling, laser tag, an arcade, mini golf, foam-pit play, and bumper cars all under one roof. It is the easy answer when you are out west and do not want to drive downtown. Plenty of room for kids to run and play when the parks are packed.
The light-filled five-story Main Library has a dedicated children's space with craft and story rooms, plus weekly story times for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. It costs nothing and gives kids a quiet, warm place to settle on a rough-weather day. The building itself, with its glassy atrium and rooftop, feels like an outing on its own.
A great indoor spot in the Salt Lake Valley does one of two things well: it burns energy or it holds attention. On a snowy day with antsy kids, a trampoline or play park like Airborne in Draper or Uptown Jungle in Sandy gets the wiggles out fast. When you want something calmer, the aquarium, the planetarium, and the museums keep kids curious for hours without anyone melting down.
Match the spot to your crew. Toddlers do best at Discovery Gateway and the soft-play zones built just for little ones. Older kids get more out of the Natural History Museum, the dome shows at Clark Planetarium, or the bigger trampoline courts. Weekday mornings are calmer and less crowded almost everywhere, so aim for the open if you can. Pick something close to home too. The valley is spread out, and a 30-minute drive with cranky kids can undo the whole outing before you walk in the door.
Keep exploring Salt Lake Valley: The Best Splash Pads in the Salt Lake Valley · The Best Things to Do With Kids in the Salt Lake Valley. Need a local pro? Browse Valley Approved businesses. Planning the weekend? See the Events Hub.
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