Things to Do in Heber Valley & Midway, Utah

Looking for things to do in Heber Valley and Midway, Utah? Twenty minutes past Deer Creek Reservoir and up a canyon road most GPS apps second-guess sits one of the Wasatch Back’s best hidden-gem day trips: a 24-building antique car, motorcycle, and pioneer museum that most Utahns have never heard of. Pair it with the crater, the trails, and the Swiss-village charm the area’s known for, and you’ve got a weekend that doesn’t need a ski pass or a wedding invitation to justify the drive.

Part of our Wasatch Back day trip guide, with local guides for Park City, Kamas and Oakley.

Pioneer village church at the Antique & Classic Power Museum near Heber City

Tour the Richard W. Erickson Foundation Museum (Wallsburg)

The pioneer village is included in every guided tour of the museum — there’s no version of this visit that skips it. Tours run 2.5–3 hours, cover all 24 buildings on the property, and cost $25 per person, with kids 12 and under free. Guided tours run April through October (the 2026 season has wrapped, and tours pick back up in April 2027), and school groups, senior groups, and history or antique clubs can arrange group rates. The terrain is hilly and unpaved in spots, so skip the flip-flops, bring sunscreen, and don’t count on cell service — out here, that’s a feature, not a bug.

Book a Guided Tour

Soak or Snorkel at Homestead Crater (Midway)

A 55-foot-tall limestone dome hiding a warm mineral spring pool at the bottom — you can swim, snorkel, scuba dive, or paddleboard year-round, indoors, regardless of what the weather’s doing outside. It’s one of Midway’s most-searched attractions for a reason.

Ski, Bike, or Zip at Soldier Hollow (Wasatch Mountain State Park)

Utah’s 2002 Olympic cross-country skiing and biathlon venue is still fully active — Nordic skiing and tubing in winter, mountain biking, disc golf, and a zip line the rest of the year. It’s a genuinely different kind of activity from anything else on this list, which is what makes it worth the stop.

Fall color on the mountains above Midway, Utah
Reservoir below snow-capped mountains near Heber City, Utah

Catch Midway’s Swiss Days (Labor Day Weekend)

Midway leans hard into its Swiss-settler roots, and Swiss Days is where that shows up most: a longtime Labor Day weekend festival with a parade, craft booths, and enough Swiss-inspired food to make you forget you’re in Utah County. If your trip lines up with it, build the rest of your weekend around it.

Cast a Line or Launch a Boat at Deer Creek & Jordanelle

Two reservoirs, ten minutes apart, cover most of what a weekend on the water needs — Deer Creek for sailing, fishing, and windsurfing with Mount Timpanogos as the backdrop, Jordanelle for a bigger marina, wakeboarding, and swim beaches. Both are a short drive from Heber City and easy to pair with a museum morning and a lake afternoon.

Ride the Heber Valley Railroad

A historic steam and diesel excursion train running scenic routes along Deer Creek Reservoir and up Provo Canyon — a slower, kid-friendly way to see the same mountains you’ll be looking at from the museum’s front gate.

Plan a Weekend Around It

Heber City and Midway make an easy home base — 20 to 30 minutes from Wallsburg, with the crater, the reservoirs, and Soldier Hollow all within the same short drive. If the Erickson Foundation museum is the anchor for your trip, book a private guided tour before you lock in lodging; tours run April through October, and confirming ahead means you’re not the group standing at a locked gate on a Tuesday.

Book a Guided Tour of the Museum
Vintage steam train with white smoke rolling through the countryside

FAQ

Homestead Crater and Soldier Hollow operate through fall and winter, and the Heber Valley Railroad runs fall color trains and the North Pole Express. The Richard W. Erickson Foundation museum in Wallsburg runs guided tours April through October, so it is a great pick for spring and early fall.

The closest major museum is the Richard W. Erickson Foundation’s Antique & Classic Power Museum in Wallsburg, about 20 minutes from Heber City — 24 buildings covering antique cars, motorcycles, and a rebuilt pioneer village.

 About 20–30 minutes by car from either town.

Yes — Heber Valley, Midway, and Wallsburg are spread across a rural valley with no public transit connecting them, so a car is the only practical way to see more than one in a day.

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Richard W Erickson Foundation
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