Utah Januaries and Februaries can be downright dreary. Lack of sunshine and the post-holiday blues can have us dreaming of being anywhere but here. Fortunately, Utah Valley has some spots where you can leave your winter blues at the doorstep and step inside to a summery wonderland.
1. Heat things up with Bikram Yoga
It might be freezing outside, but it feels like a hot summer’s day inside Brick Canvas’s Bikram Yoga studio at Thanksgiving Point. It fells like a 105-degree summer day with 40 percent humidity, to be exact. But if you’re worried about feeling a little claustrophobic while you hold a sweaty tree pose — don’t worry. The studio is 3,000 square feet and the heat is constantly circulating fresh air.
2. Dive into the Homestead Crater
Take hot-tubbing to a new level with a dip inside the Homestead Crater in Midway. This 10,000-year-old limestone crater is 55 feet deep and naturally filled with 90 to 96-degree mineral water. If you want more than a simple soak, you can always snorkel, scuba dive or even join a paddle board yoga class at The Crater.
3. Ride the Flowrider
Get in touch with your inner surfer and catch some waves on Provo Beach Resort’s indoor Flowrider. You’ll try your feet (or watch others try theirs) at balancing on 30,000 gallons of constantly flowing water. Gnarly!
4. Take a hike (indoors)
You don’t have to wait until the snow melts to scale a boulder. Momentum climbing gym in Lehi, for example, is a gigantic open bouldering gym suited to both first-timers and advanced climbers, with walls up to 16 feet high and a variety of climbing structures.
5. Catch a star show at BYU
Have an out-of-this-world experience at BYU’s Planetarium. Shows are every Friday night at 7-8 pm and 8-9 pm and cost $2. While you’re gazing up at the summer’s night sky, do us a favor and wish on a star that the groundhog won’t see his shadow this year.
6. Hit the theater
Let a quality theater performance transport you to another time and place. Tickets are on sale now for “Les Miserables” at the Hale Theater in Orem, “Pinkalicious: The Musical” at the SCERA and more.
7. Get lost in a good book
If going to the actual beach isn’t in the cards this winter, check out your local library’s list of beach reads. Or, get an even more personalized list with a reading recommendation. (Click here for Provo library’s reading recommendation form.)
8. Enjoy a massage
Treat yourself to a relaxing massage and dream of warmer days while a massage therapist works out the stress and tension in your muscles. At Premier Day Spa in Orem, for example, you can relax in the sauna before hitting the table for an hour-long professional massage. If you want to escape the inversion Utah County is infamous for during the winter months, Solase massage and oxygen bar offers a literal breath of fresh air to add to your massage — it’s oxygen bar has been shown to boost your immune system and relieve headaches.
9. Go miniature golfing
Beat the winter blues by hitting the greens at a local mini golf course. Seven Peaks Fun Center, for example, has locations with mini golf in Lehi and Orem.
10. Get wet at The Museum of Natural Curiosity’s Waterworks
Splash around (and cure your kids of cabin fever) at Waterworks, one of the interactive exhibits at Thanksgiving Point’s new Museum of Natural Curiosity. After building a water bridge together, your family might start a miniature earthquake or step into the wind chamber to feel what it’s like to be in the middle of a tornado. And who knows? After getting hands-on with those natural disasters, being stuck in a Utah winter might not seem so bad after all.