Salt Lake City is surrounded by natural beauty, from the rugged hills of Big Cottonwood Canyon to the vibrant colors of Red Butte Garden. These wonders make it the ideal vacation destination for anyone who wants to escape inner-city stresses and reconnect with nature. These eco-conscious local initiatives can ensure your getaway doesn’t cost the planet.
Book with Eco-Friendly Hotels
There are many Salt Lake City hotels that put sustainability first. These establishments go beyond the standard practices of discouraging guests from requesting fresh daily towels and employ creative ideas to preserve the planet.
A $14 million transformation has made the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel one of the area’s most eco-friendly establishments. Special water-conserving toilets and high-efficiency lighting minimizes the hotel’s carbon footprint. Green cleaning products are kind to the planet and visitor airways. Guests are also encouraged to decline housekeeping with daily $5 vouchers for the onsite restaurant.
Little America Hotel has been a part of the Rocky Mountain Power’s Energy Efficiency Program for a decade. Its thermostats switch to energy-saving mode when rooms are vacant, and it uses reusable linens and crockery, rather than disposable napkins, cutlery, and plates, to minimize waste. Sensor faucets and low-flow shower heads help to reduce water use.
Offset Your Flight
Air travel is never a very green option, but it’s a necessary evil for many travelers. However, there are many ways to make Salt Lake City flights much greener. Visit Hipmunk.com, which organizes flights using an agony scale. The ones higher up the list are the quickest, and consequently the greenest. The new Hipmunk Anywhere feature, profiled by Techcrunch, lets you complete your booking on any device. Once you’ve selected your flight, you’re directed to the airline, which may let you offset your flight.
If the airline doesn’t offer this feature, don’t sweat it. TreeUtah has a carbon calculator which tells you how many trees need to be planted to offset your flight. You can then donate the required amount to Salt Lake County’s One Million Trees program to travel guilt-free.
Bike Your Way Around Salt Lake City
Make use of Salt Lake City’s GREENbike initiative while you’re in town. This bike share program allows you take a bike from any of the city’s 20 bike stations during your stay. Passes can be bought from the stations for as little as $5 for 24-hour access, but it’s cheaper to buy online if you’re in town for a while. A four-day pass from the website costs $15, which makes it a really cheap, green way to get around the city.
Eat Green
Eating vegetarian cuts an individual’s carbon emissions in half, and travelers committed to a meat-free diet are spoiled for choice in Salt Lake City. Rawtopia, Café Shambala, and Sage’s Café are amongst the city’s best.
In 2013, Salt Lake City also welcomed Bistro 222, the city’s first restaurant with LEED certification, to its dining scene. While it serves seafood and meat, its sustainable design and operation should please eco-conscious patrons.
Do you consider the environment when making your travel plans? Leave your views on sustainable vacations in the comments below.
Bio:
Lauren Katulka is a happily married Australian freelance writer contributing to a range of websites including Hipmunk.com, SoundsofOz.com, and many more. When she’s not playing around with words she loves roller skating, spending time in the kitchen, watching indie films and cuddling her Devon Rex cat, Gizmo.
