Flying High Tour

Plan to use your Davis County hotel as a launching point for discovery - and you'll soon become an expert on the area. Plan two to three days for the following suggested itinerary. It is easy to break the itinerary into half-day trips.

The first stop might be the Hill Aerospace Museum - one of the largest of its kind in the world - on the western edge of Hill AFB. It's just off Interstate-15 at exit 338. Our community is proud to be the home to Hill Air Force Base since 1940. The base is Utah’s largest employer with 16,000 active-duty military and civilian employees.

Hill Air Force

Hill AFB provides engineering and logistics management for F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt, Minuteman III and Peacekeeper. Support for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is a major function as well as serving mature and proven aircraft.

A visit to Hill should begin with Hill Aerospace Museum. The 50-acre museum features over 70 displays of military aircraft, missiles and aerospace vehicles. The collection also includes ordnance, uniforms and military vehicles. The original Hill Field Chapel built in 1942 also sits on the grounds. It houses a replica of a stained glass window donated by the 384th Bomb Group to the Parish Church of St. James the Apostle near Kettering, England.

For groups, the Davis Area CVB can provide the coordination to plan a personalized tour of the base and lunch at Club Hill. Military reunions will definitely want to schedule a Memorial Service at HAFB chapel. Honor guards and speakers can be arranged given enough lead time.

Union Station

Nearby you will find Union Station, built in 1924, and home to 4 museums, art galleries and a restaurant. Plan to dine in the Grand Lobby and imagine how it was when thousands of soldiers filled the station each day during WWII. Gun buffs will enjoy the museum housing the Browning Arms Collection. Four generations of Browning’s created their famous inventions in the area, then sold them to manufacturers like Remington. Displays include the Browning Automatic, a military mainstay for 80 years, as well as dozen of hand guns, rifles and even machine guns. Wander into the railroad museum, antique car, natural history museum and art galleries or pick just one to explore in-depth.

Golden Spike National Historic Site

Try to imagine crossing our continent by car. It would take several days through miles and miles of varying topography. But imagine doing it in the 1800s, as tens of thousands of pioneers did on their way to Oregon, or the gold fields of California. It literally took them months, and many hardships to cross the plains by ox-drawn wagon, as well as mountain ranges such as the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, or the Cascades.

That all changed in 1869, when an enterprise that was panned and debated by many in our nation, finally connected the two coasts with the Iron Horse. What took months to traverse the country, now took only days. The railroad not only connected the country but united it and made it grow exponentially as emigratioin to the interior became easier and more affordable. The story of the railroad is amazing, and it is well conveyed at Golden Spike National Historic Site north of the Great Salt Lake.

You can visit the site where the final and golden spike was driven to celebrate the completion of the transcontinental railroad. It was built by both the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroads, working from two different directions. The visitors center has a movie, displays, and working replicas of the 1869 steam locomotives “Jupiter” and “119”. On the way back, a great lunch spot is Maddox Steak House, a family owned restaurant that grows their beef on the adjoining ranch.

Fort Douglas Military Museum

On the University of Utah campus on the bench overlooking Salt Lake City, is the now-retired Fort Douglas. The museum is in the 140 year old home of Colonel Conner, the man who brought the 3rd California infantry to Salt Lake to build the fort. The fort and the soldiers who manned it were ostensibly charged with protecting the overland mail routes - but many think that the soldiers were there to keep an eye on Brigham Young and his followers. The fort has served the US for every war since the Civil War through the first Desert Storm. During WWI and WWII, it housed prisoners of the wars. It is now used by the University of Utah - and no longer an active base. One of its last roles was serving as the center of the Athlete’s Village during the 2002 Winter Olympics. The museum and walking tour are free.

Evening Suggestions

Plan a wild, west show and a dutch oven dinner at Fielding Garr Ranch. The horseback-riding outfitter has stables at the ranch, and he has gentle and trained horses that may be movie stars - as they are often sought-after for movies made in the area.

Lagoon can cater a meal in one of the pavilions at the park so that your group can enjoy their live shows and tour the historic Pioneer Village.

All summer long Kenley Amphitheater has live concerts and plays, many of which have free admission.