Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is the aquarium for the Salt Lake City area, and it sits in Draper, about twenty miles south of downtown rather than in the city itself. The most direct route from Salt Lake City is a straight run south on I-15 to the Draper exits, and the aquarium is also reachable without a car through UTA bus service connecting from the FrontRunner stations in Draper and South Jordan. Inside, exhibits are organized into a series of themed galleries spread across two floors, each built around a different ecosystem, so a visit moves through distinct worlds room by room rather than following one long tank.

The signature stop is Ocean Explorer, where a forty foot underwater tunnel puts visitors face to face with sharks, including blacktip reef, grey reef, nurse, and epaulette sharks, alongside sea turtles, a Giant Pacific octopus, and a touch pool for stingrays and sea stars. Expedition Asia, part of the aquarium’s newest building, is a multi story indoor rainforest spanning 10,890 square feet, taking visitors from mangrove riverbanks up through a misty rainforest canopy. Other galleries cover Discover Utah, Journey to South America, the Deep Sea Lab, and the Penguin Research Station, and general admission also includes the EECO Voyager, a ride through reef and rainforest scenes. Outdoors, the Rio Tinto Kennecott Plaza adds more room to explore, and Tuki’s Island houses a play and party space alongside the aquarium’s cafe.

The aquarium suits families with young children especially well. Tuki’s Island hosts birthday parties and play time, Penguin and Stingray Encounters let kids get closer to animals on the days they run, and most of the visit is indoors, which makes it a dependable plan for a rainy afternoon or the hottest days of a Utah summer. It also works for a solo visitor or a couple looking for an easy hour or two, and because the galleries are self contained, a first time visitor to the Salt Lake City area can treat it as one manageable stop rather than something that demands a whole day.

Parking is straightforward: free lots sit adjacent to the building and along the Rio Tinto Kennecott Plaza, with accessible stalls closest to the entrance and a small number of electric vehicle spaces near the Welcome Center, where every guest enters. For visitors coming without a car, the UTA F514 bus connects from the Draper and South Jordan FrontRunner stations and stops just west of the building on Lone Peak Parkway. Inside, every habitat viewing area is wheelchair accessible, with ramped pathways through the multi story exhibits and an elevator to the second floor, and both wheelchairs and strollers are available to rent at the Welcome Center for visitors who need them.

Timing shifts across the year: field trip season from March through May tends to bring the biggest crowds, weekday afternoons are generally the quietest option, and hours run later on Mondays than the rest of the week. Ticket pricing and hours are subject to change, so it is worth checking the aquarium’s own site before a visit rather than relying on a fixed figure. With multiple indoor galleries, an outdoor plaza, and a ride built into general admission, plan for more than a quick stop, and pace the visit so there is time to linger at the shark tunnel and the rainforest canopy without rushing the rest.