Camp Grant is located a short distance from the freeway and was originally established by the Donner-Reed party in August of 1846 as a good place to stop and rest. A monument by the side of the road states that Brigham Young's party had to greatly improve the road when they arrived in 1847, but they "acknowledged with gratitude, the work performed by the Donner Party, cutting this road over the Wasatch Range from Henefer to the Salt Lake Valley. This camp was later used by thousands."
Little Mountain Summit was the last summit encountered while crossing the Wasatch Mountains on the Pioneer Trail. There is a monument at the summit that states "From this point the trail descends northwest until it reaches Emigration Creek. As William Clayton's emigrants guide warns, 'The descent is very steep all the way.' The Donner Party passed over the summit August 21, 1845 and the Mormons on July 2, 1847."
Toward the bottom of the canyon there is a monument recognizing Brigham Young's "Last Camp Site" on July 23, 1847. Brigham Young and his party entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.
At the mouth of the canyon is one of the strangest markers. Apparently when the Donner Party reached the mouth of the canyon, they found the creek that they had been following was blocked by boulders too large to move. They decided the only thing to do was to cut a road up the side of the mountain and get to higher ground. The monument sign states that "...every yoke of oxen was required to pull each of the party's twenty-three wagons up the hill. After this ordeal, the oxen needed rest, but there was no time. The party pushed on to the Salt Flats, where many of the oxen gave out. This caused delays, which led to disaster in the Sierra Mountains.
When Brigham Young's party arrived at the same spot, they did not want to climb the mountain; so they looked for a possible passage on both sides of the creek. It was soon discovered that by clearing less than 300 feet of brush they could bypass the boulder field. It took Brigham Young's people about four hours to cut a path through the brush and enter the Salt Lake Valley.
After passing through the boulder field there is a monument dedicated to the Donner-Reed Party and the Mormon Pioneers. We had visited this monument on a previous trip, so we turned around and drove back up the canyon to the road that leads to Morgan, Utah.
In addition to the beautiful scenery in the canyon, there were also a number of wild and domestic flowers in bloom.
Where the road to Morgan crosses Big Mountain summit there is a monument that states on July 19, 1947, Orson Pratt and John Brown were the first members of Brigham Young's Party to climb the mountain and see the Salt Lake Valley.
The reservoir at East Canyon State Park is a popular campground and recreation area and it was a nice place to stop for a picnic lunch.
The Browning Firearms manufacturing plant (not open to the public) is located in Mountain Green, but their outlet store is located in Morgan. It was an interesting place to visit, but I did not find any bargains that I could not pass up.
Also located in Morgan is the historic Heiner Brothers Hotel that was built in 1890 at a cost of over $1,000 in just materials. The hotel contained a theater with a stage and in 1917 the theater started showing silent movies. In 1935 the theater was modernized with air-inflated seats and a modern sound system. The movie theater closed in 1949 and has never reopened.
Devil's Slide is a unique geological formation located east of Morgan adjacent to Interstate 84. It is reported to be one of the most photographed natural rock formation in Western United States.
The two parallel limestone strata have been tilted into a near vertical position and resemble a playground slide; thus, the name "Devil's Slide." The two sides of the slide are about 40 feet tall and the distance between the sides is about 25 feet. No information was listed as to the length of the slide.
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