Watershed canyon
Emigration Canyon
The canyon that brought the Donner-Reed Party in 1846 and the first Latter-day Saint pioneers in 1847 into the Salt Lake Valley, now a lived-in community along Emigration Canyon Road.
Emigration Canyon was the last leg of the California, Mormon Pioneer and Pony Express trails into the Salt Lake Valley. The National Park Service marks two stops along Emigration Canyon Road. Little Mountain Summit, about 8 highway miles from east Salt Lake City, was the final pass. The Donner-Reed Party crossed it on July 21, 1846, after three days cutting a track over the top, and Brigham Young’s vanguard company followed a year later.
At the canyon mouth, outcrops and willows blocked the creek, so the Donner-Reed wagons climbed the 200-foot ridge now called Donner Hill. The 1847 company cut a road through the blockage in about four hours, and today’s roadbed roughly follows their route. Between 1847 and 1869, the Park Service says, tens of thousands of emigrants, freighters, soldiers, Pony Express riders and stagecoach passengers came down this way.
The canyon has since been widened, and the top of Donner Hill has been leveled for homes. Much of the land along the road is private; stop at public pullouts and parks, such as the Little Mountain Summit turnout and Rotary Glen Park, where the Park Service directs visitors.