Ten free things to do in Santa Clara.

The Tempi'po'op Trail climbs the mesa southwest of town and runs about three and a half miles round trip past panel after panel of Ancestral Puebloan rock art and the low walls of a farmstead roughly a thousand years old. It is open to anyone on foot, no gate and no ticket.

The route is exposed, with no shade, no water, and no facilities, so treat it as a cool season, early morning walk. And never touch, chalk, or wet a panel; that one rule is the price of admission. The full route is on the petroglyph guide.

The mesa and river bottom country behind town is BLM land, which means the trail system that brings riders here from other states is free to use. Barrel Roll is the classic loop, and the side trails behind it can stretch a ride into a full morning.

Hikers and horses share the trails with bikes, so it works on foot too. There is no shade or water out there, and the trails close to wheels when the ground is wet. The trail by trail version is on the riding guide.

Swiss Days is the town's own three day celebration every late September, and the parade down the historic drive costs nothing but a chair. It is the best single introduction to Santa Clara, because the whole town lines the street it was built on.

The dates move within the month and are set fresh each year, so confirm the schedule before you plan around it. The shape of the weekend, and the 1861 history behind it, is on the Swiss Days guide.

The 1907 Relief Society House, the old tithing granary, and the town history museum sit together on one small block off the historic drive. Twenty minutes, no admission.

Hours are limited and worth confirming. Pair it with the Hamblin Home and you have the whole pioneer story in about an hour.

Gubler Park carries the town's organized recreation: ball fields, sand volleyball, and six pickleball courts. For a town this size, that is a real commitment of public space to the game, and it is all free to use.

In a climate where courts stay usable twelve months a year, that adds up to the town's most used free amenity. What is where is on the parks and pickleball guide.

The town's other park adds tennis and more courts, and it is where a neighborhood street gives way to a trailhead into the BLM country behind town. That makes it the easiest way onto the reserve without driving to a dirt lot.

It is the quieter of the two parks, which is the whole appeal on a spring evening. The walks that start from it are on the best hikes guide.

The street itself is the exhibit. Santa Clara Drive was the Arrowhead Trail and then US-91, the old main route between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and once you know that, the pioneer buildings and the width of the road stop being background and become the story.

Twenty minutes on foot shows you more than an hour behind the wheel. Why the street survived, and where the old road goes once it leaves town, is on the Old Highway 91 guide.

Follow Santa Clara Drive out of town and it becomes Old Highway 91, climbing past the Shivwits lands toward Gunlock Reservoir about fifteen miles up. It is one of the best drives in the county, and it costs nothing but fuel.

Gunlock is a state park, and day use fees apply if you park at the water. For the version that stays free, drive the road and enjoy the country instead. The waterfalls below the reservoir depend on spring runoff and do not run every year.

The cheapest good thing here is the light. The river runs along the bottom of town, and on a clear evening the low sun catches the rock above it in a way that never quite gets old.

That river is also the reason the town exists at all, a story the river guide tells properly. Courts first, then this; it is how a good evening here ends.