Brigham City is a city in Utah known for its peaches. It holds an annual celebration called Peach Days on the second weekend in September. It is a good base for visiting the Golden Spike National Historic Park where the American transcontinental railroad was completed. It is an important center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).
Understand
The city is named for Brigham Young, an important figure in Mormon history of the 19th century.
The transcontinental railroad was completed not far from here in 1869 just four years after the end of the Civil War.
In 2018, it had a population of about 19,000 people.
Get in
The nearest major airport is Salt Lake City International Airport (IATA: SLC) in Salt Lake City. For visitors with the means to charter their own flight, Brigham City Airport is only a short distance north from the center of town.
UTA offers bus service, and there are also plans to extend the FrontRunner commuter train to Brigham City at some point in the future.
Get around
See
- Brigham City Museum, 24 North 300 West (Corner of Forest St. and 300 West), 41.5123°, -112.0204°, +1 435-226-1439. An art and history museum that has 6-8 temporary exhibitions each year. The museum features a permanent exhibition on the history of Brigham City that includes an interactive area geared to children. Historic collections include all of southern Box Elder County. Free
- Box Elder Museum, 641 East 200 North (In the Hervin Bunderson Center on 200 North), 41.5148°, -112.0125°, +1 435-226-1439. Northern Utah's natural history museum. Exhibits include fossils, minerals, and information about the mining history of Box Elder County. Free
Do
- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 41.5097°, -112.069°, +1 435 723-5887. Auto tour route: Daylight hours, year round. Visitor Center: 8AM-5PM Tu- F, 10AM-4PM on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. 2017-08-06
- Eagle Mountain Golf Course, 960 East 700 South, 41.49586°, -112.00819°, +1 435 723-3212. 2017-10-30
- Peach Days. On the second weekend in September, much of Main Street is closed off to cars, and the festival is celebrated by a parade, a car show, a carnival, and other activities. 2020-05-19
Buy
Eat
Drink
- Mim's Bar and Grill, 4020 North Highway 13, +1 435-744-2206. Corinne. Just outside Brigham City to the west in Corinne.
Sleep
- Galaxie Motel, 740 South Main St, 41.4956°, -112.0160°, +1 435 723-3439. Your basic mom-'n'-pop small-town motel (a dying breed). Clean and well-kept, decent beds, A/C. No pets; smoking and non-smoking rooms available. Office hours 8AM-10PM. $40
- Howard Johnson Inn, 1167 South Main St, 41.4955°, -112.0161°, +1 435-723-8511. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 11AM. Credit card is required. Pets allowed, storage safe in the room. Front desk open 24 hours.
Nearby
Thirty miles to the west, you'll find Promontory Summit and the symbolic last spike which completed the Trans-Continental Railroad and joined East to West in 1869. The trip around the world overland described in Around the World in Eighty Days in 1872 passed through this point when crossing the United States of America. By 1904, Promontory Summit had been bypassed; the original tracks were removed in 1942.
- Golden Spike National Historic Park, Promontory Summit, 41.6205°, -112.547°, +1 435 471-2209 ext 429. Daily 9AM-5PM. A May 10, 1869 last spike joined the Union and Central Pacific railroads here, uniting a nation by rail from coast to coast. $10/vehicle 2019-11-05
- Spiral Jetty, Rozel Point peninsula (on the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake), 41.437778°, -112.668889°. Robert Smithson's 1970 earthwork sculpture forms a coil 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide; over 6000 tons of black basalt rocks and earth winds counterclockwise off the shore into the water. The water level in the lake fluctuates, so at times the sculpture is submerged and not easily visible.
Go next
- To get to Bear River City follow route 13 to Corinne and continue north.
- To the south, the closest town is the very small town of Perry.
- To the east, Mantua is known for its large reservoir.