Tooele Guide
Things to do in Tooele County
Salt flats, racetracks, mountain trails, museums, ghost towns and Pony Express stations. Filter by town or type.
All sights and activities
33 listings
Ajax Underground Store Site
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Rush Valley, UT
A roadside marker at the site of William Ajax's remarkable underground department store, dug by hand in the 1870s and once a well-known stop for travelers in Rush Valley.
Blue Lake
Beaches & Lakes
Wendover, UT
A warm, spring-fed lake in the desert south of Wendover that stays diveable all year. It's a favorite training site for Utah scuba divers and a good birding stop. The last stretch is a rough dirt road.
Bonneville Salt Flats
Scenic Viewpoints
Wendover, UT
More than 30,000 acres of hard white salt along I-80 east of Wendover, famous for land speed racing at Bonneville Speedway. Drive to the end of the access road and walk out onto the salt. It's often flooded in winter and spring, so check conditions before you drive on it.
Bonneville Seabase
Snorkel & scuba
Grantsville, UT
A set of warm, salty spring-fed pools near Grantsville stocked with tropical ocean fish, where you can scuba dive or snorkel hundreds of miles from the sea.
Clark Historic Farm
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Grantsville, UT
A preserved pioneer farmstead in Grantsville run by a local nonprofit, with a historic home and barn, farm animals, and community events through the year.
Danger Cave
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Wendover, UT
One of the most important archaeological sites in the Great Basin, with evidence of people living here more than 10,000 years ago. The cave is gated to protect it; Utah State Parks offers occasional guided tours.
Deseret Peak Complex
Parks
Tooele, UT
Tooele County's big events and recreation complex between Tooele and Grantsville: an outdoor aquatic center, rodeo arena, ball fields, a BMX track and a campground. It hosts the county fair and many of the valley's largest events.
Donner-Reed Museum
Museums
Grantsville, UT
A small museum in an 1860s adobe schoolhouse holding items the Donner-Reed Party abandoned while crossing the salt desert in 1846. Open by appointment.
Faust Pony Express Station
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Rush Valley, UT
A stone monument marking the Faust Pony Express station of 1860-61. This is where the pavement ends and the Pony Express Trail Backcountry Byway heads west across the desert.
Gold Hill Ghost Town
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Wendover, UT
A remote mining ghost town in the Deep Creek Mountains south of Wendover, with a handful of weathered buildings left from its gold, copper and tungsten booms. Buildings are private property; look from the road.
Grantsville Reservoir
Fishing
Grantsville, UT
A reservoir southwest of Grantsville at the foot of the Stansbury Mountains, popular for trout fishing, paddling and camping.
Iosepa Historic Site
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Grantsville, UT
The site of a town settled by Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander Latter-day Saints from 1889 to 1917 in Skull Valley. The cemetery and a memorial pavilion remain, and descendants gather here every Memorial Day weekend.
Lookout Pass Pony Express Station
Scenic Viewpoints
Vernon, UT
A station site at the top of a low pass on the Pony Express Trail, with wide views west over Skull Valley and the desert.
Mercur Cemetery
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Stockton, UT
The hillside cemetery is nearly all that's left of Mercur, a gold-mining boomtown that once had thousands of residents. A short walk from the parking area.
Metaphor: The Tree of Utah
Scenic Viewpoints
Wendover, UT
An 87-foot sculpture by Swedish artist Karl Momen rising out of the salt desert beside I-80, about 25 miles east of Wendover. There's no exit at the tree, so most people see it from the road.
Ophir Historic District
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Stockton, UT
A tiny silver-mining town from the 1870s tucked into a canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains. A row of restored historic buildings is open on summer weekends.
Oquirrh Hills Golf Course
Golf Courses
Tooele, UT
Tooele City's public 18-hole golf course on the east bench, with views across the valley to the Stansbury Mountains.
Pony Express Trail Backcountry Byway
Scenic Viewpoints
Vernon, UT
A 133-mile gravel road that follows the original Pony Express route across Utah's west desert, from Faust to Ibapah. The interpretive site near the start explains the route. Carry extra water, fuel and a spare tire; there are no services.
Simpson Springs Pony Express Station
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Vernon, UT
A restored stone station at one of the most dependable water sources on the Pony Express Trail, with a BLM campground next door.
Utah Firefighters Museum
Museums
Tooele, UT
A large collection of antique fire engines and firefighting gear at Deseret Peak Complex, with a memorial to Utah's fallen firefighters.
Utah Motorsports Campus
Go-Karts
Grantsville, UT
A world-class road racing facility in the Tooele Valley with a full road course, a kart track and off-road courses. Watch a race weekend, or book karting and driving experiences.
White Rock
Natural Landmarks
Dugway, UT
A huge pale boulder outcrop standing alone in Skull Valley, a popular spot for scrambling and dispersed camping on BLM land.
Benson Grist Mill
Museums
Stansbury Park, UT
A restored pioneer flour mill built in 1854, one of the oldest buildings in western Utah. The grounds include historic cabins, a blacksmith shop and a country store, and it hosts seasonal events.
Adobe Rock
Historic Sites & Landmarks
Lake Point, UT
A rocky outcrop beside Highway 36 that served as a landmark and campsite for emigrant wagon trains and early travelers through the Tooele Valley.
Ideas by how much time you have
A couple of hours. Walk through the Benson Grist Mill in Stansbury Park, visit the Donner-Reed Museum in Grantsville, or drive up Settlement Canyon above Tooele.
Half a day. Race go-karts at Utah Motorsports Campus, fish Grantsville Reservoir, or drive to the old mining town of Ophir.
A full day. Drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, hike Deseret Peak from South Willow Canyon, or follow the Pony Express Trail west from Faust to Simpson Springs.
Good to know
- Tooele County is big. Tooele to Wendover is about 100 miles on I-80, so plan the Salt Flats as its own trip.
- Fill up before you head west or south. There are long stretches with no gas past Grantsville, and none on the Pony Express Trail.
- Cell service drops in the canyons and across the West Desert. Save your directions before you leave town.
- Summer is hot and dry on the valley floor and much cooler in the canyons. Bring more water than you think you need.