New Year's Eve Events in and Near West Jordan, Utah
West Jordan itself has one New Year's Eve party on this list: the Adult Night Out gala at the Viridian Event Center on 1825 West, an 18 and up ballroom night with a live band, karaoke and a balloon drop at midnight, put on by the Salt Lake County Library. Everything else is a drive, most often up I-15 to Salt Lake City, where five of the ten events sit and where Last Hurrah at The Gateway throws the valley's big free street party with midnight fireworks.
The clock sorts these more than the ticket does. Two events count down at noon, three wrap up in the early evening, and five hold out for midnight. Families with small children get real choices in the first two groups, with listed prices from $0 to $20, while the midnight group is where the late nights live: the gala, the BALLDROP hall near the airport and the Y2K dance night at The Depot.
Our picks
- Staying inside West Jordan: Adult Night Out: New Year's Gala at the Viridian Event Center. The only event on the list within the city, at 8030 S 1825 W, for 18 and up. Room is limited and registration is required, which in past years opened in early December and filled quickly.
- Closest countdown for young kids: Noon Year's Eve at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. About fifteen minutes down Bangerter to Draper, with confetti countdowns at noon and again at 3 p.m., folded into regular admission and free for members.
At a glance
| Option | Admission | Address | Area | Who it is for | Kind of celebration | Countdown time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8030 S 1825 W, West Jordan, UT 84088source | West Jordansource | 18 and upsource | Ballroom partysource | Midnightsource | ||
| Freesource | Salt Lake City, UTsource | Salt Lake Citysource | All agessource | Outdoor fireworkssource | Midnightsource | |
| Freesource | 110 S 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101source | Salt Lake Citysource | Families with kidssource | Daytime family countdownsource | Noonsource | |
| 1055 West North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84116source | Salt Lake Citysource | All agessource | Ball drop partysource | Midnightsource | ||
| Freesource | 12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd, Solitude, UT 84121source | Big Cottonwood Canyonsource | Ski resort torchlight paradesource | Early eveningsource | ||
| 12033 South Lone Peak Parkway, Draper, UT 84020source | Drapersource | Families with kidssource | Daytime family countdownsource | Noonsource | ||
| $5source | 1354 E. Chambers Ave., Millcreek, UT 84106source | Millcreeksource | Outdoor fireworkssource | Midnightsource | ||
| 13 North 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101source | Salt Lake Citysource | Nightclub or DJ partysource | Midnightsource | |||
| $20source | 3900 N. Garden Drive, Lehi, UT 84048source | Lehisource | Outdoor fireworkssource | Early eveningsource | ||
| $10.85source | 110 S 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101source | Salt Lake Citysource | All agessource | Planetarium showsource | Early eveningsource |
Noon, early evening, or midnight countdowns
Bedtime is the first filter. The Noon Year's Eve at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium runs its confetti countdowns at noon and 3 p.m., and Clark Planetarium's After Noon Year's Eve fills noon to 4 p.m. with a DJ, a ball-drop engineering challenge and LED fireworks for $0. Both are the ones listed for families with kids.
The early-evening group is over well before midnight. Solitude's torchlight parade and fireworks finish by 7:30 p.m. and cost nothing. Luminaria at Ashton Gardens sets off its fireworks at 7:30 p.m. after a walk under about eight million lights, from $20. The Laser Maestro show at Clark Planetarium runs on the hour from 6 to 10 p.m. for $10.85.
Big Boom Bash at Millcreek Common straddles both camps. Its $5 early session runs 4 to 8 p.m. with fireworks at 8, and a separate $25 late session runs 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., so the table's $5 is the family price, not the adult one.
Free and outdoors, or ticketed and indoors
Last Hurrah is free, all ages, and outside from 8 p.m. to midnight, which also makes it the coldest and most crowded night here, with security screening at every entrance. BALLDROP at the 801 Convention Center is the indoor answer: a 70,000 square foot hall with four DJs, a laser show, a midnight confetti and balloon drop, a walled-off 21 and up area, and free parking on a night when rideshare surges. Its general admission price had not been posted, so that cell is empty.
The Gateway block lets a group stack its night. Clark Planetarium's free afternoon party and its evening laser show share 110 S 400 W, and The Depot's 2000s night (9 p.m. to midnight) lets you walk straight out into the Last Hurrah fireworks without moving the car.
Canyon roads, timed tickets and age rules
Solitude is the prettiest option and the hardest drive: Big Cottonwood Canyon in winter calls for snow tires or chains, and closures are common. Millcreek Common is the longest drive of the valley options, over on the east side, and Luminaria in Lehi is the furthest south, a straight run down I-15. Luminaria is timed entry from 4 p.m., so buy ahead, and The Depot publishes no house age policy, so read the specific show listing before buying for anyone under 21.
The options in detail
Adult Night Out: New Year's Gala at the Viridian Event Center
The only New Year's Eve party actually inside West Jordan on this list, run by the Salt Lake County Library at its Viridian Event Center on 1825 West. It is a late, grown-up evening: a live band, dancing, karaoke and photo stations from 10 p.m., ending with a balloon drop and a toast. It is put on with the City of West Jordan and Excellence in the Community as part of the library's quarterly Adult Night Out series. The catch is capacity: the room is limited and you have to register in advance, which in past years opened in early December and filled quickly.
Last Hurrah at The Gateway
The big free one, and the default answer for most of the Salt Lake Valley. The Gateway and the Downtown Alliance close the outdoor blocks off for a street party from 8 p.m. to midnight with DJ sets on an outdoor stage, buskers, pop-up bars and a game room with kid activities, then the only midnight fireworks show downtown. Because it is free and outdoors it is also the coldest and the most crowded option here, and there is a strict bag policy with security screening at every entrance. About 25 minutes up I-15 from West Jordan.
After Noon Year's Eve at Clark Planetarium
The answer for families who want a countdown that does not run past bedtime. Clark Planetarium, right at The Gateway, throws a free afternoon party from noon to 4 p.m. with a DJ, a ball-drop engineering challenge, disco ball crafts and LED fireworks, and the exhibit floors stay free all day. It pairs naturally with Last Hurrah next door if the adults want to come back later. Theatre and dome shows are ticketed separately, so the free part is the activities rather than the films.
BALLDROP at the 801 Convention Center
The indoor alternative to standing outside at The Gateway, and the biggest ticketed midnight party in the valley. It runs in a 70,000 square foot hall near the airport with four DJs, a festival stage, a laser show and a confetti and balloon drop at midnight, plus a walled-off 21 and up area so it works for mixed groups. Organizers say 2025 was its eighth consecutive year. Free parking on site, which matters on a night when rideshare surges.
New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade & Fireworks Show at Solitude Mountain Resort
The prettiest option and the only one on this list whose page is already dated for December 31, 2026. Solitude staff ski down the mountain in a synchronized torch-lit line and the run finishes with fireworks over the lower slopes, all free and all done by 7:30 p.m., so you can be home before midnight. The resort builds a whole afternoon around it with an alphorn concert, a magic show, an avalanche dog demonstration and a lasagna dinner at Last Chance Lodge. The real cost is the drive: Big Cottonwood Canyon in winter means snow tires or chains, and canyon traffic and road closures are common.
Noon Year's Eve at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
The closest family option to West Jordan, about fifteen minutes down Bangerter to Draper. The aquarium runs confetti countdowns at noon and again at 3 p.m., so small kids get the countdown moment twice without staying up. It is folded into normal aquarium admission rather than being a separate ticket, and it is free for members, which makes it the cheapest way to give young children a New Year's Eve. Parking on site is free. Expect it to be busy: it is one of the best known kid events in the valley that day.
Big Boom Bash at Millcreek Common
Millcreek's city plaza splits New Year's Eve into two events on the same night, which is the useful thing about it: a cheap early session from 4 to 8 p.m. with fireworks at 8, and a separate, pricier late session from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Families can get a real fireworks show and be home by nine, and the same venue turns over for adults who want to stay out. The plaza is an outdoor skating and gathering space, so dress for standing on ice in December. It is the longest drive of the valley options from West Jordan, across to the east side.
Club 90's Presents: New Year's Eve 2000's Night at The Depot
A themed indoor dance night at The Depot, the Live Nation room attached to The Gateway, running 9 p.m. to midnight. The draw is the Y2K format: Kesha, Pitbull, Usher, Rihanna and Lady Gaga era pop rather than a DJ set of current music. Its best feature is the location, since you can walk out the door into the free Last Hurrah street party and the midnight fireworks without moving your car. The Depot does not publish a single house age policy, so check the specific show listing before buying for anyone under 21.
Luminaria at Ashton Gardens, Thanksgiving Point
Not a countdown party at all, but it is on the December 31 lists every year and it is the softest landing on this table: a walk through fifty acres of Ashton Gardens under about eight million lights, with a fireworks show at 7:30 p.m. that you can catch and still get the kids home. Entry starts at 4 p.m. and it is timed-entry ticketed, so buy ahead. It is the furthest south option here, in Lehi rather than Salt Lake County, which from West Jordan is a straight run down I-15.
Laser Maestro's Cosmic Countdown at Clark Planetarium
The evening half of Clark Planetarium's New Year's Eve, and a good middle option if a street party is too much and noon is too early. A laser show runs on the hour from 6 to 10 p.m. in the dome, the building stays open until 11, and tickets are cheap enough that a family can do it without much planning. It is the same address as the free afternoon party, so some people do both. Being indoors and seated, it suits people who want an occasion without cold, crowds or a midnight bedtime.
How we researched this
Treat this as a guide to the annual New Year's Eve traditions around West Jordan rather than a confirmed 2026 lineup. As of September 2026, Solitude was the only venue with a page dated December 31, 2026; every other row comes from that venue's most recent edition, December 31, 2025, and times and prices get reposted closer to the holiday. Inside West Jordan proper there was one event to list, so the table widens to the Salt Lake Valley plus Lehi and Big Cottonwood Canyon, which is why the title says "and near". Last Hurrah's pin sits at downtown center, since The Gateway gives cross streets rather than a street address.
Some real traditions are missing for want of a page to cite. The Noon Year's Eve Pajama Party at Bingham Creek Library in West Jordan had no reachable event page, Wiseguys Comedy at Jordan Landing had no New Year's Eve show on its calendar in September, Snowbird's torchlight parade page was gone and Alta's still showed 2018 details, and SLC NYE at The Complex listed no street address. Restaurant prix-fixe dinners were left out as reservations rather than events. An empty Admission cell is a price we could not confirm as general admission (BALLDROP's only figure was a $40 last-chance tier for the 2025 night, and the aquarium folds its countdowns into regular admission), and an empty age cell is an organizer that does not say. Prices and times for Big Boom Bash, Luminaria and Laser Maestro come from a Deseret News roundup; the rest come from each venue or organizer.