Utah gay clubs
Salt Lake City’s Rainbow Colors Fly Year Round
Don’t miss out on everything that this vibrant capital has to offer.
Written By Matcha
Salt Lake City | Austen Diamond/Visit Salt Lake
Utah's capital is among the top 10 U.S. metro areas with the largest gay populations, according to Gallup. In fact, Salt Lake City has a higher percentage of people self-identifying as gay than Los Angeles. If you're surprised, it might be that you haven’t spent much time lately in this gay-friendly town, which over the past two decades has become a destination for those who enjoy both a hip urban atmosphere and simple access to the great outdoors.
Known for its epic event parade held every June, Salt Lake City is welcoming to the gay community year-round. In 2015, the metropolis elected its first openly gay mayor, and in 2016, 20 city blocks were renamed Harvey Milk Boulevard, in honor of the famous gay rights activist and politician. While it has its share of LGBTQ-owned and operated businesses, Salt Lake City is also known for its bars and restaurants that are welcoming to everyone.
The anchor of the LGBTQ+ group is the Marmalade dist
Salt Lake West Side Stories: Publish Thirty-Two
by Brad Westwood
Although the Queer community had many prior informal political and social gathering spots elsewhere in Salt Lake Metropolis, a number of bars and taverns located in the Pioneer Park neighborhood served as a place to gather for Salt Lake City’s emerging LGBTQ+ communities.
In 1970, just one year after New York City’s Stonewall Riots sparked national gay and queer woman movements, Perky’s, which advertised as a bar for women but discreetly served Salt Lake City’s lesbian population, opened its doors on North Temple Street. Perky’s was eventually torn down to make way for the rebuilding of the I-15 North Temple overpass. The old west Salt Lake City was also the home of other LGBTQ+ gathering places, including the Rose Tavern opened in the early 1970s and whose name was eventually changed to the Rail; the Uptown opened in 1976 at 1500 South and 400 West; Studio 8 opened during the mid-1970s at 800 West and 200 South; and the Comeback Club opened in 1977, located at 551 South and 300 West, which also became a popular gathering place for members of Salt Lake’s LGBTQ+.
Like other established communities, the Pioneer Park LGB
Salt Lake serves as a bastion of progressiveness, teasing, and pride. In evidence, the city's been listed by Advocate magazine as one of the Ten Queerest Cities in America! The city holds one of the biggest and best-attended Pride parades and festivals around, with Self-acceptance Week festivities attracting tens of thousands of participants who light up the downtown scene in occupied rainbow-hued regalia. Of course, it doesn't have to be parade week to celebrate pride and inclusivity as our gay bars do that year round.
So, check out a few of our favorite gay bars and gay-friendly bars— because, in this town, it needn't be a "gay bar" for everyone to fit right in.
Insider tip:If you admire inexpensive drinks and dancing to club remixes of Whitney Houston and Ariana Grande, you'll probably discover yourself becoming a regular. And definitely go often because Sun Trapp typically offers entry with no cover charge, although you might expect to hold on a few minutes for bar service on weekends.
Insider Tip: The bar is normally known for a chill vibe—except during their theme events like Underwear Night or Leather Nighttime, when you can hope for an epic
Drink it In:
Salt Lake’s Gay Bar Scene Is Growing, Thriving, and Never Looking Back
In a express known for its religious zeal, Salt Lake City serves as a bastion of progressiveness, fun, and pride. In fact, the city’s been listed by Advocate magazine as one of the Ten Queerest Cities in America. The urban area holds one of the biggest and best-attended Pride parades and festivals around, with Pride Week festivities attracting tens of thousands of participants who clear up the downtown scene in packed rainbow-hued regalia. (There’s even a Utah Gay Ski Week—real thing, utahgayskiweek.com, glimpse you there.)
Of course, it doesn’t hold to be a parade to rejoice pride and inclusivity. It’s pretty simple for everyone of every orientation to jump in on the incredible entertaining that is Salt Lake on a hot city evening and the regular rotation of queenly shows keep the city sizzling all through the winter.
Check out a not many of our favorite “officially” gay bars and gay-friendly bars—keeping in mind that, in this town, it needn’t be a “gay bar” for everyone to fit right in.
Club Try-Angles
Try-Angles is kn