Photo: Poodledoodledude · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Provo is home to Brigham Young University, and the campus shapes the city: museums, concerts, a creamery, football Saturdays and a young, family-heavy population. Downtown’s Center Street has filled with restaurants and shops, and the Provo City Center Temple, rebuilt inside the shell of a tabernacle gutted by fire in 2010, anchors its south end.
East of town the mountains rise more than a mile above the valley floor. Provo Canyon runs past Bridal Veil Falls to Sundance Mountain Resort, the small mountain resort Robert Redford founded, and on to Deer Creek and Heber. West of town, Utah Lake State Park has a marina and beaches.
See and do
- Provo Canyon and Bridal Veil FallsA two-tier waterfall right off US-189, with a paved trail along the river.
- Sundance Mountain ResortThe year-round resort in the North Fork of Provo Canyon: skiing and Nordic trails in winter, lift-served hikes and a zipline in summer, and an art studio.
- BYU museumsThe Museum of Art, the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum and others on campus.
- Y Mountain trailA steep switchback hike to the giant concrete Y above campus.
- Utah Lake State ParkMarina, beaches and paddling on Utah’s largest freshwater lake.
- Center StreetDowntown’s main street, with restaurants, the City Center Temple and the summer farmers market.
Eat and drink
- BYU Creamery on NinthThe university creamery, rebuilt and reopened in 2026, serving its own ice cream and milk.
- Cubby’sChicago beef sandwiches and burgers from a local chain that started in Provo in 2012.
- Dirty sodaProvo and Orem are the epicenter of Utah’s drive-through soda shops; try a coconut-and-lime Dr Pepper.
Through the year
- America’s Freedom FestivalLate June to July 4: parades, balloon festival and Stadium of Fire at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
- Provo Farmers MarketSummer and fall Saturdays downtown.
- BYU footballFall Saturdays at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Day trips from Provo
- American Fork CanyonAbout 30 minutes north: Timpanogos Cave and the Alpine Loop.
- Heber ValleyAbout 30 minutes up Provo Canyon.
- LehiAbout 25 minutes north: Thanksgiving Point.
Good to know
- Many Provo businesses close Sundays, and FrontRunner does not run.
- BYU campus is alcohol-free and coffee is not sold on campus.
- Provo Canyon traffic backs up on summer weekends and around Sundance.
Parks in Utah County
More towns nearby
American Fork
Canyon town at the foot of Timpanogos, with a cave, two alpine lakes and a July party that dates to 1945
Lehi
A farm town turned Silicon Slopes hub, with dinosaurs, tulips, a rodeo and the Footloose mill