Utah Underground: Guide to Real Fun [Paperback]

Bill Kerig (Author), Ross C. Anderson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2001

From coffeehouses to cave diving, Buddhist temples to independent bookstores, mountain biking to snowboarding, Utah offers both locals and visitors a variety of cultural and scenic experiences. Exuding a verve and passion often missing in travel guides, Utah Underground is a backstage pass to the alternative music, film, and outdoor scenes. This guide takes readers to the nude beach on the Great Salt Lake and the spelunking center of the Wasatch Mountains. From the depths of Salt Lake's Dead Goat Saloon to the heights of Snowbird's Aerie Restaurant, from wild blowouts at the Zephyr to silent soakings at a secret hot spring, Utah Underground searches out the best -- and best-hidden -- spots and sights. Whether the reader's aim is to luge the 2002 Olympic bobsled course, fly off Winter Sports Park Nordic jumps, or blaze into the backcountry on a snowmobile, this book is the ultimate how-to. Everyone has heard of the Sundance Film Festival, but how many books can show the best way to infiltrate its inner sanctum? The author, an independent filmmaker himself, also gives the lowdown on the other film festivals -- including Slamdance, Slumdance, and No Dance -- that run concurrently with Robert Redford's famous fest.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A resident of Salt Lake City, Kerig (The Snowboarder's Total Guide to Life) valiantly attempts to dispel the perception that Utah is dull and staid, overrun by prudish Mormons and with little to offer other than mountains and skiing. This alternative guide to Utah opens with a broad overview of the state's history and culture, then proceeds to focus on different areas of the state, with the bulk of the space devoted to Salt Lake City, host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kerig provides ample descriptions of entertaining restaurants, hotels, and shops and discusses traditional as well as unusual ways to have fun and unwind. Readers will appreciate his useful rating system and the abundance of maps and black-and-white photos. There are also several down-to-earth interviews with officials. The drawbacks are the index, which is not comprehensive, and the failure to mention national parks and noteworthy monuments. For large travel collections. George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Bill Kerig is the author of The Snowboarder's Total Guide to Life, published by RAndom House. An expert skier and snowboarder, he has been a contributing editor for both SKIING and Snowboard Life magazines for many years. He lives in Salt lake City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Sports Press (November 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967674743
• ISBN-13: 978-0967674742
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are new to Utah, this is the book for you!, November 2, 2002

By 

Robert L. Murphy (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Utah Underground: Guide to Real Fun (Paperback)

We moved to Utah this Summer and have found this book to be by far the most useful guide to Utah available. It is much more interesting than your standard guidebook. We never leave the house for more than a half hour without Kerig's book, and it has yet to steer us wrong. The restaurant guide sections and the sections on skiing and outdoor recreation are especially helpfull. Buy this book if you want to get the most out of your trip to Utah - especially Salt Lake City.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide, lots of information and a few interviews, August 2, 2009

By 

Sally, reviewer (Bergen County, N.J., U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Utah Underground: Guide to Real Fun (Paperback)

I hadn't been to Utan in about 15 years when I was planning my trip this summer (business/pleaure). From the previous review here, I decided to buy a copy despite it being an older guidebook, and I am very happy I did so. It's divided by area of the state and neighborhood of SLC, which was useful, had good descriptions and lots of information about the state. I did find a couple of places that had closed, but I had expected that, and the information on the many, many more places that still thrive is accurate. The interview with the then-governor and then-SLC mayor Rocky Anderson are enjoyable conversations to read, especially as I have become a supporter of Mr. Anderson and his new program, High Road for Human Rights. If you want more than just the standard suggestions, this book's for you-and I encourage Bill Kerig to do updating supplements as time goes by. (A few more hotels or inns in SLC would have been helpful, but the book focuses more on things to see and do, restaurants and nightlife, than on accommodations.)
I even was able to give a fellow TRAX rider (teenager) the address of The Pie Pizzeria!