City Creek Center

City Creek Center covers two city blocks in downtown Salt Lake City, with access from Main Street, South Temple, 100 South, State Street and West Temple. It is a shopping center, but the reason to walk it is the design. A 1,200 foot recreation of the south fork of City Creek runs down the middle of the property, tracing the waterway Brigham Young named on August 22, 1847 because it flowed through the heart of the city. Overhead sits a fully retractable glass roof, which the center opens in warmer months and reports takes about four minutes to open or close.

The center publishes a free self guided architectural tour with numbered stops. They include a trout pond holding Bonneville cutthroat trout, the only trout native to Utah, and two 18 foot waterfalls that spill over Utah sandstone boulders, one on each block. Three fountains designed by WET Design sit along the creek. The largest, Transcend, is choreographed to music and sends water as high as 40 feet, and a second, Engage, is built for children to play in. Animal tracks are set into the walkways, and the restored ZCMI cast iron facade, first built in 1868 and 140 feet long, anchors the Main Street frontage.

Walking the center costs nothing. As of August 2026, hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and the center is closed on Sunday, so a weekend visit has to be Saturday. The Food Court runs 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Store hours vary, and the center posts the current week on its site.

From most of downtown this is a walk, and UTA bus and TRAX routes serve the surrounding blocks. About 5,000 parking spaces sit underground beneath the east and west blocks, reached from West Temple, South Temple, 100 South and State Street. As of August 2026, the first two hours are free, a third free hour comes with a validation from one of four sit down restaurants, each additional hour is $3.00, the daily maximum is $24.00, and valet service is suspended. Leashed dogs are welcome in the outdoor common areas but not in the Food Court, restaurants, landscaping, water features or on escalators. Cyclists get 50 rack spaces in the garage and 40 street racks, and bikes must be walked on the property.