Our parents' guide to visiting Provo covers where to stay and where to eat. This page is the schedule. It is written for the student who is planning the visit, and it assumes three things that shape every parents weekend here: your student has class on Friday, Saturday is the only full day, and Sunday works differently in Utah Valley than almost anywhere your parents live.
Drive times are OpenStreetMap routing estimates (OSRM) without traffic. Hours and prices are as listed by each place in October 2026.
Before they book
Which airport. Salt Lake City International has the flights. By OSRM estimate it is about 50 miles and an hour from BYU and about 45 miles and 58 minutes from UVU. Provo's own airport, PVU, is about 6 miles and 14 minutes from BYU, but has a short list of routes; see flying from Provo airport. Parents without a car can ride FrontRunner between Salt Lake and Utah County, but FrontRunner does not run on Sunday, which matters for a Sunday flight home. UTA lists it as Monday through Saturday, every 30 minutes at weekday peaks and hourly otherwise.
Which weekend. Check the home football schedule first, because a game changes the whole Saturday; graduation weekend is its own event (see graduation weekend at BYU and UVU). A non-game weekend in October or late spring is the easy version.
Friday: parents on their own, then dinner together
While the student is in class, parents have a free day within 20 minutes of either campus.
- Springville Museum of Art, 126 East 400 South, Springville: free, Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. About 18 minutes from BYU and 19 from UVU. Free parking east of the building.
- Roots of Knowledge, Bingham Gallery, first floor of UVU's Fulton Library in Orem: a 154-foot stained-glass wall of 80 windows and more than 40,000 pieces of glass. Admission is free; docents are there weekdays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and free public tours run Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 p.m. UVU's visitor parking is paid during the day.
- Bridal Veil Falls, Provo Canyon: about 15 minutes from BYU. The trail starts at the main parking lot, and Utah State Parks, which lists the falls as a state monument run day to day by Utah County, shows no fee.
- The official campus tour, if the parents want the full picture. BYU runs 75-minute tours Monday through Friday that must be scheduled online beforehand; ask the Hinckley Center receptionist for a parking pass, and use the one-hour Hinckley visitor lot or the Museum of Art lot. UVU runs tours weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Wednesday at 6 p.m., for up to 90 minutes, mostly indoors; register online. Both are designed for prospective students.
Friday evening: dinner where the student eats when the parents are not paying, then dessert somewhere the parents would never find. The parents' guide has the sit-down list.
Saturday: the student's campus, then the season
Morning: the student's version of campus. Not the admissions route, but the real one: the building with the good study corner, the bus stop, the apartment. For BYU, the museums and the Creamery are in the BYU campus visitor guide. For UVU, start at Roots of Knowledge if the parents missed it Friday.
Afternoon: pick by season.
| Season | Saturday afternoon |
|---|---|
| September and October | The Alpine Loop, which the Forest Service calls famous for fall color drives and says typically closes November 1; see the Alpine Loop guide |
| November to March | Sundance, Provo Canyon, or an indoor afternoon at Thanksgiving Point |
| April and May | Bridal Veil Falls, or the Provo River Parkway |
| June to August | Deer Creek State Park ($20 per vehicle in summer) or Sundance in summer |
Evening: a game or a show. On a home football Saturday, the plan is the game; see BYU football game day or UVU game day. Otherwise, a show: live theater in Utah Valley lists every stage, and things to do in Utah Valley at night covers what stays open late.
Sunday: how it works here
Parents from outside Utah are often surprised by Sunday. BYU's museums, bookstore, Creamery and dining close; many restaurants and attractions in the county close; FrontRunner does not run. Plan for it instead of against it.
- Church with your student. Visitors are welcome at sacrament meeting in any ward; what to expect is in visiting a church in Provo. If your student attends a singles or student ward, ask whether parents usually come.
- A walk. Temple grounds, the Provo River Parkway, or a canyon drive. Which temple grounds are open is in the temple grounds guide; the Provo Utah Temple near Rock Canyon closed on February 24, 2024 for reconstruction, so the downtown Provo City Center Temple is the one to visit in Provo.
- A meal. Some brunch and breakfast places do open on Sunday; Sunday brunch in Utah Valley lists them by city.
- The drive to the airport. Leave an hour for the drive to SLC by OSRM estimate, more on a Sunday afternoon after church lets out.
If the student is at UVU instead of BYU
Most of the plan holds, with two differences. UVU's campus is in Orem, about 12 minutes from BYU by OSRM estimate, and visitor parking there is paid during the day, with no permit needed in employee and student stalls after 5 p.m. on weekdays. If your parents are deciding between the two schools for a younger sibling, our BYU vs UVU comparison is the page to send them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should visiting parents fly into Salt Lake City or Provo?
What can parents do on Friday while their student is in class?
Can parents take the official campus tour?
What is open in Utah Valley on Sunday?
Can I take FrontRunner from Salt Lake City to Provo?
Where is parking at BYU and UVU for visitors?
What should a parents weekend look like in winter?
How is this different from the parents' guide to visiting Provo?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Bridal Veil Falls State Monument, Utah State Parks. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Utah Transit Authority: FrontRunner, Utah Transit Authority. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Alpine Scenic Loop Backway, USDA Forest Service. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Seasonal Roads, Utah Department of Transportation. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Deer Creek State Park: Park Fees, Utah State Parks. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Brigham Young University Enrollment Services: Campus Tours, Brigham Young University Enrollment Services. Checked October 20, 2026.
- UVU Campus Tours, Utah Valley University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Roots of Knowledge: Visit the Gallery, Utah Valley University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- About Roots of Knowledge, Utah Valley University. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Springville Museum of Art: Plan Your Visit, Springville Museum of Art. Checked October 20, 2026.
- The Provo Temple Will Reopen as the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom. Checked October 20, 2026.
- OSRM driving route estimates from downtown Provo, Project OSRM / OpenStreetMap. Checked October 20, 2026.
