Other things I would suggest are the aforementioned Kennecott Copper Mine, Hogle Zoo, Red Butte Gardens, Thanksgiving Point [shops and gardens], Timpanogos Cave National Monument, and Bridal Veil Falls. The Alpine Loop connects American Fork and Provo canyon and has gorgeous views along the way.

i like this list. and agree with you. salt lake city should be visited for its geography first, amazing scenery, where else do the mountains rise so abruptly (especially if you view the wasatch mountains from kennecott open-pit copper mine, the world’s deepest hole)? and there are dense pine forests with waterfalls right next to vast white salt deserts. and for visiting the great salt lake i advise using the great salt lake marina viewpoint AVOID salt air like the plague.

i would say the second biggest reason for visiting is the unique hippie indie emo culture predominant in salt lake proper and places like park city. really unique independent shops (sugar house free speech zone, black chandelier), amazing coffee shops and cafes (coffee garden and coffee break), not too mention a great dining scene (sage’s cafe, trio, tiburon, red iguana, martine, settobello), and pretty awesome microbreweries (squatters, red rock, iggy’s).

bottom line is agree with you too. if you are a tourist take one of these destinations and search for it on flickr to view it and see if you are interested. and even if you don’t ski, hike, bike, mountain climb, its great for scenic drives….