This weekend it will be 100 degrees again and the last thing you want is to expose yourself to the heat of the day and the heat of the barbecue under the judgmental eyes of your fathers. Instead, skip the grilling for Father’s Day and beat the heat with one (or more) of the ideas below. “Hey wait a minute!” some of you might say “My dad is a cool dad!” First of all, thanks for rubbing it on. Second, why did you click the headline if it really is? What ever. I think you can do all of these things to your dad, too, if you really want to.
Swimming holes
Seeing my dad shirtless in swimming trunks is not something I particularly enjoy doing on Father’s Day. But a cool, refreshing bath could be just that to ease our summer suffering. If you’re on the north end of the Wasatch Front, the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center has outdoor, indoor, and paddling pools. Down at the south end of Wasatch is Provo Beach’s Flowrider, an indoor wave machine that pumps water under your feet to simulate surfing (or the closest thing you’ll get in a landlocked state). If you get some kind of sick satisfaction when you see your father being wiped out and his face smashed in 30,000 gallons of rushing water, bring him with you.
Water points
Many all-American dads wouldn’t get caught dead drinking high-end cocktails, especially when it comes in pink. Your loss. A frosé is a cocktail that challenges toxic masculinity and is usually made from frozen rosé wine and strawberries. Lake Effect in Salt Lake City has a version on their cocktail menu that includes Beehive Jack Rabbit Gin. For a more “macho” frozen cocktail, there’s always the frozen margarita (check out the list of some of Salt Lake’s best margaritas), but be careful, Pops may insist on joining.
On the water
Try dad-free river rafting on the Green River on Father’s Day (photo courtesy of the Utah Office of Tourism)
We’re back to avoiding a shirtless dad in swimming trunks, but with the added embarrassment that he drives as badly on the water as he does on the road. When it comes to boating and water sports, you really can’t go wrong with a number of Utah’s state parks. The Jordanelle and Deer Creek Reservoirs are very popular with the locals, so you may have more freedom of movement in Summit County’s Echo State Park. It wasn’t founded until 2018 but has always been a solid place for camping, boating, and fishing. If you head east, keep going until you reach the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, where you can also raft sections of the Green River.
Winter in summer
Soar down an Olympic hill with a hose solo on this Father’s Day at Utah Olympic Park. (Courtesy photo of the Utah Office of Tourism)
While it was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Utah Olympic Park is hell time even in the summer. There is the alpine slide, the high ropes course and the possibility of jumping over an Olympic hill with a tube. Don’t bring Papa with you. Another image we never want to have burned into our retinas is that of Daddy’s combo blowing in the wind as he defies the zipline. Park City Mountain Resort offers similar outdoor activities throughout the summer season, including the chance to cool off on the Mountain Coaster.
Cool cool caves
Caves are cool. They’re cool too (there’s a papa joke for you). While the way to Timpanogos Cave in the American Fork Canyon can reach up to 100 degrees, the average temperature in the cave is around 45 degrees. Southern Utah is also a great underground exploration destination with the Mammoth Lava Tubes in the Dixie National Forest near Duck Creek Village. Formed by the cooling of lava and water over the past thousand years, the caves created more than 2,200 feet of passages and tunnels that vary in height from free-standing to belly-creeping. Again, if you feel glee watching your father heave himself through a tunnel in his stomach, you might as well bring him with you. But I think we all know he (and we) would be a lot happier on this Father’s Day if he was left alone to do what he loves: mumbling to himself while tinkering around in the garage and backyard .
For more activities to do without your dad this summer, check out Utah’s Must-Shop Summer Markets and our outdoor adventures section. The latest issue of Salt Lake Magazine also features a curated selection of Cabin Fever Cures.
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