Salt Lake City is one of the easiest cities in the country to run an event in, and planners who have worked here know it. The airport is fifteen minutes from downtown, the convention center is walkable from almost every hotel worth booking, and there are mountains at the end of the street. Here is what to know about badges for a Salt Lake event, and where to point your attendees when the last session wraps.
Planning an event in Salt Lake City
The Salt Palace Convention Center anchors downtown with roughly half a million square feet of exhibit space, and it sits close enough to the hotel blocks that your attendees will not need a shuttle. That walkability is the thing repeat planners rave about. Across the valley, the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy handles consumer shows and regional trade events, the Delta Center covers anything arena-sized, and a lot of incentive and executive programs head up the canyons to Park City or Deer Valley for something the group will actually remember.
The calendar here is unusual because it runs in two directions. Summer brings the outdoor industry, tech, and association business into downtown. Winter sends a different kind of program up to the resorts, and January gets genuinely competitive for space thanks to Sundance in Park City. If your dates land in that window, book everything earlier than feels necessary.
A quick word on Salt Lake City: This is a city at 4,300 feet with a mountain range hanging over downtown like a backdrop somebody painted in. Your attendees will feel the altitude on day one, mostly as dry air and a faster heartbeat on the walk to the venue. Put water stations everywhere and tell people to drink more than they think they need to. Then send them outside, because a canyon trailhead is twenty minutes from the convention center and almost nobody expects that.
Choosing badges that work in Salt Lake
Dry air is the opposite problem from a Gulf Coast city, and it comes with its own quirks. Static builds up fast here, so badges cling to clothing and flip backward at exactly the wrong moment, which is a small thing until you watch a room full of people trying to read each other's chests. Intense high-altitude sun also fades unprotected print faster over a multi-day outdoor program. None of it is a crisis, but the fixes are easy if you decide up front.
- Multi-day conventions: 30 mil plastic stays flat, resists curling in dry air, and survives four days of lanyard wear.
- Pre-registered conferences: 18 pt paper delivers full-color branding at the lowest cost per badge once your list is locked.
- Outdoor and resort programs: Plastic, or paper in a holder. Mountain sun is harder on print than most planners expect.
- Staff and crew: The 2.125 x 3.375 mini reads at a glance without getting in the way on a working floor.
- Fighting the flip: Double-clip lanyards or a badge with weight to it keep names facing forward instead of spinning around.
Ordering timeline
Custom badges print within 5 business days of proof approval, then ship. Custom lanyards run 10 to 12 business days after proof approval plus shipping, so lanyard artwork is the piece to finalize first. Work backward from your in-hands date rather than your show date, and give yourself room for the venue's receiving window.
If any part of your program happens up a canyon, build in extra buffer between November and April. Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood canyons close for avalanche control with very little notice, and a delivery that takes forty minutes in September can take considerably longer after a storm.
Things to do in Salt Lake City
The mountains are the headline and they are genuinely close. Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons are both about half an hour from downtown, which means Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, and Solitude are all realistic for a free afternoon in winter or a hike in summer. Park City is forty minutes out and worth a full evening for Main Street alone.
Downtown holds its own. Temple Square is the obvious stop and is a short walk from the Salt Palace, and the Natural History Museum of Utah up on the foothills has a building as good as its collection, with a view over the whole valley. Liberty Park and the 9th and 9th neighborhood are where locals actually spend a Saturday. For something genuinely strange and worth the drive, the Great Salt Lake at Antelope Island is forty-five minutes north and looks like nowhere else on earth.
On food and drink, Salt Lake surprises people who have not been in a decade. Red Iguana is the institution and the mole is the reason, so expect a wait. The Central Ninth and Granary District neighborhoods have most of the newer restaurants and breweries, and the local coffee scene is excellent. Utah's liquor laws are less restrictive than their reputation, though your bar package still needs a conversation with your venue rather than an assumption.
Give your Salt Lake attendees a badge that stays facing the right way and still looks sharp on day four, and let the mountains handle the rest.
Get a free sample pack Contact us
FAQs: Event Badges & Things to Do in Salt Lake City, UT
Where can I get custom event badges in Salt Lake City, UT?
Billy's Badges prints and ships custom paper and plastic event badges to Salt Lake City and across the Wasatch Front. Orders print within 5 business days of proof approval and ship to your venue, hotel, or resort property.
How far in advance should I order badges for a Salt Lake City conference?
Give yourself at least two weeks before your in-hands date for badges alone. If custom lanyards are part of the order, make it three to four weeks, since lanyards take 10 to 12 business days after proof approval plus shipping. Add extra room for winter programs in the canyons, where road closures can delay delivery on short notice.
What badge material works best for a Salt Lake City event?
30 mil plastic is the safest choice. The dry air at altitude encourages paper to curl and builds static that flips badges backward, and mountain sun is hard on unprotected print during outdoor programs. Paper works well for shorter indoor conferences, especially paired with a rigid badge holder.
Are eco-friendly event badges available?
Yes. Badges are digitally printed with biodegradable ink, with no printing plates and no chemical developing. Material options include FSC-certified cardstock, heavyweight 100% recyclable paper, rPET lanyards, and recyclable badge holders, all shipped in sustainable packaging. Read more about our sustainability practices.
What is there to do near the Salt Palace Convention Center?
Temple Square is a short walk away, and most of downtown's restaurants and hotels are within a few blocks, which makes the Salt Palace unusually walkable for a convention center. The Natural History Museum of Utah sits up on the foothills with a valley view, and both Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons are roughly thirty minutes from downtown for a hike or a few runs.
Where should attendees eat in Salt Lake City?
Red Iguana is the local institution and the mole is the reason to go, so plan for a wait. The Central Ninth and Granary District neighborhoods hold most of the newer restaurants and breweries, and the coffee scene is genuinely good. If your group heads up to Park City for an evening, Main Street has the highest concentration of options.