Five Alternative Date Nights (in Salt Lake City, UT)
Flying High in Salt Lake City, UT
On rare occasions, my husband and I get the chance to partake on date nights. With only a few hours available to us, after dropping the kids off at Grandma’s, our usual date consists of dinner and a movie. While there are a lot of movies we have yet to watch, sometimes we like to keep the dates and our relationship fresh by doing something out of the ordinary. Here are five alternative date night suggestions, other than the usual “dinner and a movie”!
Experiencing Salt Lake from Above
Once your plane tour is booked and confirmed, the coolest pilot ever aka Neil will reach out to you to coordinate the actual date and time of your flight, based on weather conditions. You and your date will meet Neil at South Valley Regional Airport, where his 1953 Cessna is located. He’ll give you a moment to take pictures before the flight and mention interesting tidbits about his plane. Words cannot describe how beautiful and cute this little Bush-plane is!
With all the pictures finally out of your system (wait, you mean you don’t take as many pictures as I do?), Neil will help you into his plane, teach you how to safety buckle and unbuckle yourself, and hand you a headset for the flight. When everyone is properly set up, Neil will start the engine and your flying adventure begins!
Our tour lead us to the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island, before heading back to South Valley Regional Airport. We started off at a higher altitude to breach the ridge of Antelope Island and spotted a golden eagle, but ended up at a lower altitude to watch all the bison and calves by the beach. While the tour is a bit pricey, starting at $148 per person, it is well worth the experience! I highly recommend you reach out and book a flight with Neil immediately! (P.S. Ask Neil about his skydiving and flight adventures.)
Bush Plane Flying Tour https://abnb.me/5zWVTdzNGW?s=51
Competitive or cooperative play
There are a lot of options in this category!
Some of the cheaper options would be Nickelmania with a $2.50 admission fee (or $1.50 with a coupon!) and gameplay cost of $0.05+ per game, Quarters with free admission (21+) and gameplay cost of $0.25+ per game, or The Atomic Arcade with free admission (21+ in the bar upstairs) and gameplay cost of $0.25+ per game. While the game selections may not be the best at these locations, you’ll find a gem of a game or two and be able to take a trip down nostalgia lane. I introduced my husband to Gauntlet Legends, and we easily spent 30 minutes playing the game!
Some other options would be Boondocks with the admission fee ranging from $19.95 to $29.95 depending on the package you choose ($14 Tuesdays!) along with a purchase of Boondock’s Fun Card or Dave and Busters with free admission and a purchase of $10+ for a Dave and Buster’s Power Card. Aside from the arcade, Boondocks also offers other activities like laser tag ($7/game), go-karts ($7/race), batting cages ($2/24 pitches, $15/30 minutes, or $25/1 hr), or miniature golf ($8/game). Games at these locations can range from $0.50 to $2 and tend to be more modern than classic (think Time Crisis 5/Tekken 7 instead of Galaga/Pac-man/Area 51).
Punch Bowl Social just opened up a new location at The Gateway and offers private karaoke (1-4 people at $35/hr or 5-10 people at $45/hr), mini bowling lanes ($7/hr), table games like Foosball ($6/hr), Giant Scrabble ($10/hr), or Ping Pong/Bonzini ($12/hr), as well as regular arcade games.
Speaking of other activities, there’s also Top Golf, Mulligans Golf & Games, or K1 Speed if you’re interested in just golfing, miniature golf, or go-karting!
Nickelmania http://nickelmaniagames.com/
6051 State St, Murray, UT 84107
3245 W 7800 S Suite A, West Jordan, UT 84088Quarters https://www.quartersslc.com/
5 East 400 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111The Atomic Arcade https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-atomic-arcade-holladay
3939 Highland Dr, Holladay, UT 84124Boondocks https://www.boondocks.com/
525 South Deseret Dr, Kaysville, UT 84037
75 Southfork Dr, Draper, UT 84020Dave and Busters https://www.daveandbusters.com/
140 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101Punch Bowl Social https://www.punchbowlsocial.com/location/salt-lake-city
6 N Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101Top Golf https://topgolf.com/us/salt-lake-city/
920 Jordan River Blvd, Midvale, UT 84047Mulligans Golf & Games http://www.sjc.utah.gov/parks-recreation/mulligans-golf-and-games/
692 W S Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan, UT 84095K1 Speed https://www.k1speed.com/
725 E 10600 S, Sandy, UT 84094Brewvies
Brewvies is a local downtown cinema pub (free admission, 21+), which means you can order food and drinks to go along with the movie you are watching. The food portions are enormous and ranges from burgers, pizza, and salads to finger foods like sweet potato fries and onion rings. I normally order their Pizza Bread, which has improved over the years, and my husband loves adding jalapeños to their Loaded Nachos. Brewvies also specializes in serving local brews in bottles, cans or on tap and has a small selection of wine and liquor.
If none of the movies showing ($9/ticket and $5 Tuesdays) interest you, Brewvies also hosts events like Film Buff Nights showing classic movies every Monday at 10 pm (free admission), Kung-Fu Theater Nights showing classic martial arts movies on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 8 pm (free admission), and Brunch & Movies on Sunday at 11 am (free admission).
Please beware, Brewvies is not your typical movie theater. There will be loud comments and banter throughout these events, which means you are enjoying the full Brewvies experience!
Brewvies http://www.brewvies.com/
677 S 200 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
2293 Grant Ave, Ogden, UT 84401Sports Games
With the Salt Lake Bees, Real Salt Lake, Real Monarchs, and Utah Royals FC seasons ended, it means the Utah Grizzlies and Utah Jazz seasons are about to begin. It's the perfect time to hop the TRAX to watch a game, grab some snacks, and enjoy the night out!
For next year's season, Salt Lake Bees’ tickets start at $10+ for general admission and Real Lake Lake, Real Monarchs, and Utah Royals FC tickets range from $17+ for general admission.
Utah Grizzlies http://www.utahgrizzlies.com/
Utah Jazz https://www.nba.com/jazz
Salt Lake Bees https://www.milb.com/salt-lake/
Real Lake Lake, Real Salt Monarchs, and Utah Royals FC https://www.rsl.com/
Prohibition
Prohibition is not for the faint of heart and is great entertainment! Shows and events officially start at 8 pm (free admission, 21+), but crowds show up early for better seating. There are Monday’s Geeks Night, Tuesday’s Bluesday, Wednesday’s Burlesque University, Thursday’s Burly-Oke, and weekend performances. If it is your first time visiting, please let the hosts at the entrance know. You’ll be in for some fun!
Not only are the performances captivating, but the food is amazing! My husband and I have tried most of their menu out (now open for brunch at 10 am on Saturdays and Sundays!) and we absolutely love anything from their Bit of This, Bit of That section. I always grab dessert from their Sweet Treats section before the night is over as well.
Prohibition https://www.prohibitionutah.com/
151 6100 S, Murray, UT 84107
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these alternative date night suggestions! These ideas may not appeal to everyone, so feel free to comment below if you have any other activities in mind. If anything, there’s nothing wrong with a regular date night of dinner and a movie.