Golden Spike
Visitor Center
Head to the Visitor Center where you can wander the tracks and see numerous relics they have on display. Look at the schedule for reenactments of the two life-size, fully operational, replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 steam locomotives on the tracks.
Auto Tour
The Golden Spike has two short auto tour routes. The West Grade Auto Tour starts seven miles west and is the stretch of line where CPR set the world record for most track laid in a single day, 10 miles and 56 feet. The East Grade Auto Tour begins four miles east of the visitor center. This path takes you on the Union Pacific Grade. Building the line through the Promontory Mountains was difficult. In only eight miles UPR blasted five cuts, and built four trestles and four fills. The route will take you by the Final Cut and the Chinese Arch, a natural limestone arch named as a nod to the numerous Chinese laborers of the CPR.
The East Auto Tour ends at the Big Fill Loop Trail. Park the car and walk out to a large ravine filled in to support the line. The Central Pacific used earth, the Union Pacific built a large trestle and you can still see the abutments.
Transcontinental Railroad Backcountry Byway
This remote 90-mile backcountry byway on the Central Pacific Railroad Grade is on the National Register of Historic Places (Read: A View From the Past). Start west of Golden Spike National Historic Park or access from the north on S.R. 30 to start at Kelton. The byway follows the original path of the railroad through the remnants of old towns, trestles and 20 interpretive sites along the grade. Carry plenty of water, spare tires and be prepared for gravel roads in a remote setting. Curious? See the BLM georeferenced map.
Explore more things to do at Golden Spike, and get the most current information.
01
Golden Spike Empire
Participate in railroad history, bird migration and iconic earth art in the quiet stretches of Northern Utah's rural Box Elder County.
Highlights
- Historic Union Station
- Golden Spike National Historic Site
- Spiral Jetty
- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
02
West Desert Ramble & The Pony Express
This itinerary is a three-day adventure along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in Utah's West Desert. Visit Simpson Springs, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Gold Hill and more.
Highlights
- Camp Floyd State Park Museum
- Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge
- Pony Express National Historic Trail
- Historic Wendover Airfield
What's Nearby
-
Antelope Island State Park
Antelope Island State Park is 25 miles north of Salt Lake City. Accessed by a causeway, the island sits in Great Salt Lake and features free-roaming bison and antelope herds.
-
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
This is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, an eye-opening stop along Utah's populous Wasatch Front for any traveler and a top destination for any serious birder with gaps on their life lists.
-
Brigham City
Brigham City's Main Street archway proclaims "Gateway to the World's Greatest Wild Bird Refuge." Brigham City boasts a small-town feel with big-city amenities like comfortable and affordable hotel rooms, deluxe suites, and beautiful golf courses.
-
Ogden
Ogden is an outdoor recreation mecca. It has also worked to restore its historic art deco architecture and buildings and blend in new development toward a charming and vibrant downtown.
-
Utah’s Fruit Way: Harvest Time Along Old Highway 89
Headed to Bear Lake, Golden Spike National Historical Park or the Bear Lake Migratory Bird Refuge? Stock up with fresh road-trip snacks and dinner provisions direct from family-run farm stands, all within a stone’s throw of the region’s many historic farms and orchards.
Read the Stories
-
A View From the Past
Follow a historian on a tour of the Transcontinental Railroad Backcountry Byway as he reconstructs forgotten history.
-
Arrive by Train
Follow author Tim Sullivan and his eight-year-old daughter as they travel by train, bus and bike on a "pilgrimage" to Golden Spike National Historic Site.
-
Discovering Box Elder & Bear River Valley
A father shares his bikepacking journey with his daughter through Northern Utah’s Bear River Valley
-
The Spiral Jetty, Utah’s Most Iconic Land Art Sculpture, Keeps Drawing a Crowd
In April 1970, it took six days, 625 man-hours, 292 truck-hours, $9,000, and 6,500 tons of basalt, limestone and mud for Robert Smithson to construct the Spiral Jetty. His work still stands today. Visit and be inspired by this iconic piece of Utah's land art.
-
Touring Utah with the State’s Most Well Known Women Writers
The diversity and beauty found in Utah has often been captured by women. Here are the places that seven of Utah’s most well known women writers knew and loved most.
-
Utah’s Fruit Way: Harvest Time Along Old Highway 89
Headed to Bear Lake, Golden Spike National Historical Park or the Bear Lake Migratory Bird Refuge? Stock up with fresh road-trip snacks and dinner provisions direct from family-run farm stands, all within a stone’s throw of the region’s many historic farms and orchards.
