Provo has four free museums, a canyon behind it with a waterfall you can see from the road, and a cave you have to earn with a mile and a half of uphill. It also has two things that will wreck an unplanned trip: almost everything closes on Sunday, and the cave tours sell out because they are ticketed and seasonal. Everything below is ranked, and every price and opening hour comes from the operator's own page rather than a roundup. Read the Sunday answer in the questions at the bottom before you fix your dates.
The top 15, ranked
Ranked from official sources: the National Park Service, the Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest, Utah State Parks, Brigham Young University, the City of Provo and the operators themselves, with the published adult price beside every pick.
- Top pick
1Best for the one thing here worth planning the trip around · #1 of 15
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
National monument and caveAmerican Fork Canyonseasonal, typically May or June through September or October, with tours every fifteen to thirty minutes seven days a week during the seasonTicketedThree connected limestone caves reached by a mile and a half of paved switchbacks that climb over a thousand feet, then toured by a ranger. It is the hardest thing on this list to get into and the one people remember, and the twelve dollar standard tour is the cheapest serious experience in the valley.
Local tipEvery visitor who wants to see the caves must have a ticket, and the season depends on snowpack rather than the calendar, typically opening in May or June and closing in September or October. Book before you drive up. The park does not take cash.
- Top pick
2Best for a free evening that is actually open · #2 of 15
BYU Museum of Art
Art museumBYU campusMonday, Tuesday and Saturday ten until six, Wednesday to Friday ten until nine, closed SundayFreeOne of the largest art museums in the Mountain West, free to walk into, with free visitor parking directly in front of the door. It also stays open until nine on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which makes it the only substantial evening option in Provo that costs nothing.
Local tipClosed Sunday, like nearly everything else here. The late nights are midweek, so if you have one evening in Provo make it a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
- Top pick
3Best for the biggest free sight in the valley · #3 of 15
Bridal Veil Falls
WaterfallProvo Canyona roadside feature on the scenic byway with no posted hoursFreeA double cataract falling something over six hundred feet onto the floor of Provo Canyon, visible from the highway and reachable on foot from the parkway. There is no gate and no fee, and it is fifteen minutes from downtown.
Local tipThe Provo River Parkway Trail runs to it, so you can walk or ride in from town rather than parking at the base. In deep winter this stretch of canyon ices and the approach becomes a different proposition.
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4Best for the mountain without the mountain · #4 of 15
Sundance Mountain Resort scenic lift rides
Chairlift and mountain viewsProvo Canyon corridordaily from late May through early October, Outlaw Express ten until five and Red's Lift ten until four$25 to $50Two chairlifts up the flank of Mount Timpanogos, taking you to Mandan and Bearclaw with no hiking and no gear. Thirty dollars for an adult, twenty seven for a child or a senior. This is how you get the Timpanogos view if the eight hour summit hike is not happening.
Local tipThe Outlaw Express runs until five but Red's Lift stops at four, so the higher of the two closes first. There is also a twenty four dollar Outlaw only ticket after half past three if you just want the sunset ride.
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5Best for children, free, and open late · #5 of 15
Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
Natural history museumBYU campusMonday to Friday ten until nine, Saturday ten until five, closed Sunday, with reduced hours on a long list of holidaysFreeBYU's natural history museum, free, with mounted mammals and birds from every continent and live animal shows for children. It runs until nine Monday through Friday, which alongside the art museum gives Provo two free evening options on the same campus.
Local tipIt closes at five on Saturday rather than nine, and is shut on Sunday. The weekday evenings are the good slot here.
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6Best for boardwalks over spring water, without a climb · #6 of 15
Cascade Springs
Natural springAlpine Loopsix in the morning until dusk daily$10 to $25A large artesian spring that steps down the hillside in terraced pools, linked by boardwalks, up on the Alpine Loop above Provo Canyon. Some of the boardwalk is wheelchair accessible, which makes it the easiest genuinely beautiful place in this list to reach.
Local tipThe Forest Service day use pass covering this is ten dollars a vehicle for three days, twenty for seven days or sixty for a season, and the same pass covers the Timpanogos trailheads. Buy the seven day one if you plan more than a single canyon day.
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7Best for linking the canyon to the lake on two wheels · #7 of 15
Provo River Parkway Trail
Paved multi use trailUtah Lake to Provo Canyona public trail with no posted hoursFreeA paved trail that runs the whole way from Utah Lake up into Provo Canyon, about seven and a half miles of it inside the city, connecting three other picks on this list. It is free, it is flat at the town end, and it is the only way to move between them without a car.
Local tipRide it uphill first. Starting at the Geneva Road trailhead and working up the canyon means the tired half is downhill, and it puts Bridal Veil Falls at the top of the ride rather than the bottom.
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8Best for the best free art in the valley, just outside it · #8 of 15
Springville Museum of Art
Art museumSpringvilleTuesday to Saturday ten until five, Monday six until eight, Wednesday ten until eight, closed Sunday and holidaysFreeFifteen minutes south of Provo, free, and holding one of the best collections of Utah and American art anywhere. It also has the most explicit accessibility provision on this list: a ramp, an elevator to every level, main floor restrooms and wheelchairs available on request.
Local tipIt opens on Monday evening from six until eight, which is unusual and useful, because almost everything else in the valley is closed by then.
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9Best for a real canyon walk from the edge of town · #9 of 15
Rock Canyon Trail
Hiking trailNorth Provono posted trail hoursVariesThe canyon that opens directly behind the north end of Provo, three and a bit miles of trail climbing between limestone walls with a stream and rock climbing routes on either side. You can be on it ten minutes after leaving downtown.
Local tipThe Forest Service page for this trail does not state a fee, unlike the Alpine Loop trailheads which clearly do. Bring the day use pass if you have one and expect the parking area at 2300 North to fill on a Saturday morning.
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#10Best for getting on the water, and flat ground · #10 of 15Utah Lake State Park
State parkWest Provosix in the morning until ten at night from April to October, six until eight from November through MarchVariesUtah's largest freshwater lake sits on Provo's western edge, and the state park is the way onto it, with boat ramps, camping and a long flat shoreline. It is the counterweight to a valley that is otherwise all vertical.
Local tipThe entry fee halves in winter, from twenty dollars a vehicle between April and October to ten between November and March, and a Utah resident aged sixty five or over pays ten in summer. Walking in is five dollars a person in summer and four in winter.
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11Best for a free hour, with the best access provision here · #11 of 15
Museum of Peoples and Cultures
Anthropology museumBYU campusMonday to Friday nine until five, closed at weekendsFreeBYU's anthropology museum, free, with archaeological and ethnographic collections from the Americas and beyond, and complimentary parking on the east side of the building. It is the smallest of the free campus four and the easiest hour.
Local tipThis is the one museum on the list that publishes real accessibility detail: wheelchair accessible exhibits and sensory bags with tactile items available on request. Ask at the desk.
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12Best for dinosaurs, free, in under an hour · #12 of 15
BYU Museum of Paleontology
Paleontology museumBYU campusnine until five Monday to Friday, with no weekend hours publishedFreeThe fourth of BYU's free museums, holding dinosaur and other fossil material collected largely by the university's own field crews. It is free to all guests, small enough for an hour, and the parking is shared with the football stadium so there is plenty of it.
Local tipWeekday hours only, nine until five Monday to Friday, with no weekend hours stated. Slot it around a campus visit rather than a Saturday.
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13Best for one expensive thing, if that is the trip · #13 of 15
Sundance ZipTour
ZiplineProvo Canyon corridorsummer season, standard tours from ten with the last departing at four, and Full Moon tours from eight on select evenings$50 plusOver two thousand one hundred feet of vertical drop, which the resort claims is the most of any zip line tour in the United States. Ninety nine dollars, and it is the most expensive thing on this page by a distance, so it belongs here only if that is what you came for.
Local tipThe rules are strict and worth reading before you book: minimum age ten, ten to fifteen year olds must be with a parent or guardian, weight between fifty and two hundred and sixty pounds and height between forty eight and eighty two inches. The seventy nine dollar Full Moon tour on select summer evenings is the cheaper way in.
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14Best for dinner at the mouth of the canyon · #14 of 15
The Shops at Riverwoods
Dining and shopping districtNorth Provoshops Monday to Saturday ten until nine, with restaurant hours varying and not published centrallyFree with paid optionsAn open air district at the mouth of the canyon and the most reliable answer to where to eat in Provo in the evening, with the Provo River Parkway running past it. Free to walk into, and the shops keep going until nine Monday to Saturday.
Local tipThe operator publishes shop hours but tells you to contact restaurants directly for theirs, which is a polite way of saying they vary. On a Sunday assume closed and check first.
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15Best for the one downtown evening that is not a restaurant · #15 of 15
Covey Center for the Arts
Performing arts venueDowntown Provono general opening hours, everything runs to the performance scheduleVariesThe city's own performing arts center on Center Street, running theater, symphony and dance, and the main reason to be downtown after dark. The city states its ticket prices run well below comparable Utah venues.
Local tipThere are no general opening hours, only show times, and the venue warns that it is not affiliated with third party ticket resellers. Buy from the city's own site. Parking uses the Provo City Center lot.
Where things cluster
Four of the fifteen are free museums on one campus. Most of the rest are strung along one road, US Highway 189, which runs from the city up Provo Canyon to Sundance and the Alpine Loop.
- North Canyon RoadFour free museums within a few minutes of each other, with free or complimentary visitor parking at three of them.
- US Highway 189Bridal Veil Falls, the parkway trail and the road up to Sundance and the Alpine Loop.
- State Route 92Cascade Springs, the Timpanogos trailheads and the road round to American Fork Canyon.
- Utah LakeThe state park and the flat end of the Provo River Parkway, out toward the lake.
- Center Street and SpringvilleThe Covey Center downtown, and the Springville art museum fifteen minutes south.
Make it a day
Cave in the morning, canyon after
If the cave season is open, book a morning tour and be at the trailhead early, because the climb is a mile and a half and over a thousand feet and the Park Service warns the trail can pass a hundred degrees in summer while the cave holds at forty five. Carry a liter of water each and a jacket. Come down the Alpine Loop in the afternoon and stop at Cascade Springs, which is on the same day use pass. Finish at Bridal Veil Falls on the way back into town, which costs nothing, and eat at the Riverwoods at the mouth of the canyon.
Campus Friday, mountain Saturday
Arrive Friday and use the free museums, because they are open late that day and shut on Sunday: the BYU Museum of Art until nine, the Bean Life Science Museum until nine, and the Museum of Peoples and Cultures until five. Give Saturday to the mountain, either the cave and Cascade Springs, or the Sundance lifts if you would rather ride than climb. Sunday is the problem day in Provo. Plan it around things that do not have opening hours: Bridal Veil Falls, the Provo River Parkway Trail and Utah Lake State Park, all of which are open regardless.
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The season here is set by the mountain rather than the town. Timpanogos Cave tours typically run from May or June through September or October depending on snowpack, the Sundance scenic lifts run late May to early October, and Utah Lake State Park keeps its long summer hours from April to October. Outside that window the top half of this list is closed.
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Provo things to do FAQ
The Sunday problem, how the cave tickets work, what is free, and why Salt Lake City and Park City are not on this list.
Is everything really closed on Sunday in Provo?
Not everything, but enough to reshape a trip, and it is the single most useful thing to know before booking. All four free BYU museums are closed Sunday. The Springville Museum of Art is closed Sunday. The Museum of Peoples and Cultures is closed at weekends entirely. The operators state this on their own pages rather than it being a rumour about the town. What stays open is anything without a door: Bridal Veil Falls, the Provo River Parkway Trail, Rock Canyon, Cascade Springs and Utah Lake State Park all run to daylight or posted park hours rather than a business week. If your trip includes a Sunday, that is your outdoor day whether you intended it or not.
How do Timpanogos Cave tickets work?
Every visitor who wants to see the caves must have a ticket, which the National Park Service states plainly, so this is not a turn up and queue site. The standard cave tour is twelve dollars, the lantern tour is seventeen for ages seven and over, and the introduction to caving tour is twenty two for ages fourteen and over. Senior and Access Pass holders get fifty percent off, for the pass holder only. The park does not accept cash. The season is set by snow and staffing rather than fixed dates, typically opening in May or June and closing in September or October, and during the season tours run every fifteen to thirty minutes, seven days a week.
What is free to do in Provo?
Seven of the fifteen picks cost nothing. Four of those are museums, all on or near the BYU campus: the Museum of Art, the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, the Museum of Peoples and Cultures and the Museum of Paleontology, and three of the four also provide free visitor parking. The Springville Museum of Art fifteen minutes south is free as well, and is the one with a full accessibility provision including an elevator and loaner wheelchairs. Outside, Bridal Veil Falls and the Provo River Parkway Trail are both free. That is an unusually strong free list for a city this size, and it is the reason Provo works on a small budget.
How hard is the Timpanogos Cave trail?
Harder than most people expect from a cave visit. It is about a mile and a half of paved switchbacks climbing over a thousand feet, and the Park Service is direct about the conditions: trail temperatures can exceed a hundred degrees in summer while the cave itself holds at forty five, so you need a liter of water per person and a jacket in the same daypack. Strollers and wheeled vehicles are not permitted, and external frame packs and baby carriers are not allowed inside the cave. If anyone in the group cannot make the climb, ask at the visitor center about the alternative programs rather than buying a ticket and hoping.
Do you need a car in Provo?
For the town, no. The Utah Transit Authority runs the UVX bus rapid transit line between Provo and Orem with a base fare of two dollars fifty, free for BYU and UVU students and staff with valid identification, and there is no cash or card payment on board so buy before you board. FrontRunner commuter rail stops at Provo Station on the Provo to Ogden route. For the canyon, which is where most of this list lives, a car is the practical answer: nothing on this list above Bridal Veil Falls is on a transit route.
Why are Salt Lake City and Park City not on this list?
Because they are separate destinations with separate seasons and separate answers. Salt Lake City is forty five miles north and Park City is a resort town with a different price level and a different calendar. Provo has a national monument cave, four free museums, a six hundred foot waterfall you can see from the road and Utah's largest lake inside about twenty five miles, which fills two days without borrowing from either. Keeping the boundary tight is also why this list includes Springville, fifteen minutes south, but stops there.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend a Utah trip, or to find somewhere to park a rig.
Image credits. Hero: An Errant Knight / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. 10 Utah Lake State Park: An Errant Knight / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.