Free & Cheap Things to Do in Provo

Parks & Nature

A paved, mostly flat multi-use trail that follows the Provo River for miles through the city, connecting parks, neighborhoods, and scenic river corridors. The trail extends up into beautiful Provo Canyon where it parallels the river beneath towering canyon walls. Free, accessible, and walkable directly from downtown.

Address: Canyon Rd, Provo, UT 84604

Tip: The canyon section (accessible from the 800 N trailhead) is the most scenic stretch. Bikes and strollers welcome on the paved surface. The trail is particularly beautiful in fall when the canyon maples turn brilliant red and orange.

Arts & Culture

One of the largest and finest art museums in the Intermountain West, the BYU Museum of Art is completely free and consistently exhibits world-class collections on its spacious campus. The permanent collection spans 17,000 works from ancient to contemporary art, and major travelling exhibitions from national institutions arrive regularly.

Address: N Campus Dr, Provo, UT 84602

Tip: Free parking is available in BYU campus lots near the museum on evenings and weekends. Check the events calendar for free gallery talks, concerts, and film screenings. The museum gift shop has affordable prints and locally crafted items.

Parks & Nature

A stunning 607-foot double cataract waterfall tucked inside Provo Canyon, just 10 minutes from downtown. The falls cascade down a sheer cliff face into a churning pool — one of the most impressive and accessible waterfalls in Utah. A short, easy walk from the free parking area puts you right at the base of the falls.

Address: Provo Canyon, UT 84604

Tip: The main parking lot is small and fills fast on summer weekends — arrive before 9am or visit on a weekday. The falls are most dramatic during snowmelt in April and May. Combine with a drive up Provo Canyon to Sundance for a full scenic day.

Parks & Nature

A 2.25-mile round-trip dirt-and-gravel trail up to BYU's signature white concrete "Y" — a giant block letter installed on the Wasatch foothills above campus in 1906. Over 1,000 feet of elevation gain on a steep series of switchbacks, with sweeping views of Provo, Utah Lake, and the entire valley waiting at the top. One of the most popular hikes in the Wasatch.

Address: Slide Canyon Trail 062, Provo, UT 84604

Tip: Trailhead parking lot is open 4am–10pm; the trail itself is open 24 hours and dogs are welcome on leash. Free parking. The climb is no joke — bring water and proper shoes. Best at sunrise or after 6pm in summer to avoid heat. Sunset from the top of the Y is the marquee experience.

Parks & Nature

A free urban-forest canyon on Provo's east edge with one of the densest concentrations of bolted climbing routes in the country — hundreds of sport and trad lines on red-and-tan limestone walls visible from the trailhead. The 5.8-mile out-and-back Rock Canyon Trail leads deep into the Wasatch and connects to the Squaw Peak network. Big-horn sheep are regular sightings.

Address: 1450 E 2320 N, Provo, UT 84604

Tip: Open 24/7, free trailhead parking (137 spaces after a recent expansion) with year-round restrooms. The first mile is family-easy paved/gravel; beyond it gets rocky and steep. Climbers should check Mountain Project for current route conditions. Avoid in heat — the canyon walls amplify summer sun.

Family Fun

A free natural history museum on the Brigham Young University campus, housing the largest mounted natural-history collection at any North American university — over 2 million specimens, with public galleries displaying African big game, dinosaur and mammoth skeletons, hundreds of mounted birds, insects, fish, and reptiles. The vertebrate-zoology gallery alone is worth the visit.

Address: 645 E 1430 N, Provo, UT 84602

Tip: Open Monday–Friday 10am–9pm and Saturday 10am–5pm; closed Sundays. Free parking in BYU campus lots on evenings and weekends. The free Live Animal Show on Saturday afternoons is a hit with kids — check the website for times. Allow 90 minutes; longer with children. Combine with the adjacent BYU Museum of Art.

History & Culture

The Provo City Center Temple stands on the meticulously preserved foundation of the 1880s Provo Tabernacle, which was gutted by fire in 2010 and rebuilt as an LDS temple dedicated in 2016. The public grounds are open 24 hours a day with a charming pavilion, expansive landscaped flower gardens, mature trees, and benches in the heart of downtown Provo's University Avenue corridor.

Address: 100 S University Ave, Provo, UT 84601

Tip: Grounds are open 24/7 year-round — no temple recommend required for the outdoor gardens and pavilion. Best visited in spring through fall when the flower gardens peak. Free on-street parking around University Avenue. Spectacular at twilight when the temple is illuminated. The temple interior is not open to the public.

Arts & Culture

Utah's oldest art museum, founded in 1903 and housed in a 1937 Spanish Colonial Revival building in nearby Springville (10 minutes south of Provo). The 2,500-piece permanent collection focuses on Utah and Western American art and includes major works by Mahonri Young, Maynard Dixon, Cyrus Dallin, and the Spring Salon — the longest-running juried art exhibition in the West.

Address: 126 E 400 S, Springville, UT 84663

Tip: Open Monday 6–8pm, Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm (Wednesdays until 8pm); closed Sundays and major holidays. Always free. Free on-site parking. The Annual Spring Salon (April–June) and Quilt Show (May) are the marquee events. About 10 minutes south of Provo on I-15.

Parks & Nature

A ranger leads you through three connected caves high on the wall of American Fork Canyon, 25 minutes from Provo — chambers crowded with helictites, stalactites, and the famous Great Heart of Timpanogos formation. Getting there is half the workout: a paved but seriously steep 1.5-mile trail climbs about 1,000 feet from the visitor center.

Address: 2038 W Alpine Loop Rd, American Fork, UT 84003

Tip: Open roughly mid-May through September. The 55-minute standard tour runs $2–$12 by age and sells out — book at recreation.gov up to 30 days ahead. The monument itself is free (picnic areas, canyon trail) and cashless. Plan 3–4 hours for hike, tour, and descent.

History & Culture

One of the largest dinosaur collections in the world hides in a free one-room museum beside LaVell Edwards Stadium — towering Jurassic skeletons, fossil prep visible through lab windows, and several clearly marked fossils kids are encouraged to touch. It's the most underrated free stop in Utah County.

Address: 1683 N Canyon Rd, Provo, UT 84602

Tip: Open Monday–Friday 9am–5pm only; closed weekends and university holidays. Parking out front is free and shared with the stadium. A visit runs 30–60 minutes — chain it with the BYU Museum of Art and Bean Life Science Museum for a full free campus museum day.

History & Culture

Two free pioneer-history stops side by side at North Park: the Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum, packed with pre-1900 furniture, tools, toys, and quilts, and the Sons of Utah Pioneers village of original 1800s structures with a working blacksmith, mercantile, wagons, pioneer games, and a scavenger hunt for kids.

Address: 560 N 500 W, Provo, UT 84601

Tip: Seasonal and evening-leaning hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 5–8pm plus Saturday 11am–3pm, roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day (the museum opens April–October). The 'Sound Box' audio tour runs in English and Spanish. Park on 500 West between the two.

History & Culture

The castle-like 1892 Brigham Young Academy building — nearly demolished in the 1990s, then restored into Provo's city library — is downtown's architectural showpiece and completely free to wander. The Attic gallery upstairs rotates art, science, and history exhibits every six to ten weeks.

Address: 550 N University Ave, Provo, UT 84601

Tip: Open Monday–Friday 9am–9pm and Saturday 9am–6pm, with free parking. Free hour-long tours of the historic Academy building are available — worth arranging for the full story of its rescue. The grounds are one of Provo's favorite photo backdrops.