Flying High Tour

Plan two – three days for the entire tour. It is easy to break the itinerary into half-day trips.

F-16’s flying over the mountain tops to Great Salt Lake are inspiring and common sights in Davis County, UT. The community is proud to be the home to Hill Air Force Base since 1940. The base is Utah’s largest employer with 16,000 active-duty military and civilian employees.

Hill Air Force

Hill AFB provides engineering and logistics management for F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt, Minuteman III and Peacekeeper. Support for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is a major function as well as serving mature and proven aircraft.

A visit to Hill should begin with Hill Aerospace Museum. The 50-acre museum features over 70 displays of military aircraft, missiles and aerospace vehicles. The collection also includes ordnance, uniforms and military vehicles. The original Hill Field Chapel built in 1942 also sits on the grounds. It houses a replica of a stained glass window donated by the 384th Bomb Group to the Parish Church of St. James the Apostle near Kettering, England.

For groups, the Davis Area CVB can provide the coordination to plan a personalized tour of the base and lunch at Club Hill. Military reunions will definitely want to schedule a Memorial Service at HAFB chapel. Honor guards and speakers can be arranged given enough lead time.

Union Station

Nearby Union Station, built in 1924, is home to 4 museums, art galleries and a restaurant. Plan to dine in the Grand Lobby and imagine how it was when thousands of soldiers filled the station each day during WWII. Military buffs will start with the Browning Arms Collection. Four generations of Browning’s created their famous inventions here then sold them to manufacturers like Remington. Displays include the Browning Automatic, a military mainstay for 80 years, as well as machine guns. Wander into the railroad museum, antique car, natural history museum and art galleries or pick just one to explore in-depth.

Golden Spike National Historic Site

Visit the site that united the nation in 1869 when the golden spike was driven to celebrate the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The visitors center has a movie, displays, and working replicas of the 1869 steam locomotives “Jupiter” and “119”. On the way back, launch into the future with a photo stop at Thiokol’s Rocket Garden. Thiokol is a leader in solid rocket motors that drive our explorations into space. A great lunch spot is Maddox Steak House, a family owned restaurant that grows their beef on the adjoining ranch.

Fort Douglas Military Museum

The museum is in the 140 year old home of the Colonel Conner that brought the 3rd California infantry to Salt Lake to build the fort. The fort originally protected the mail routes, then housed prisoners of war in WWI and WWII. It’s last venture was having the athlete’s village surround it during the 2002 Winter Olympics. The museum and walking tour are free.

Evening Suggestions

Plan a wild, west show and a dutch oven dinner either at Buffalo Point or the Fielding Garr Ranch. The horseback riding outfitter on the island has trained horses that frequently appear in movies and put on a great show.

Lagoon can cater a meal in one of the pavilions at the park so that your group can enjoy their live shows and tour the historic Pioneer Village.

All summer long Kenley Amphitheater has live concerts and plays, many of which have free admission.