About this city
Also known as: The Golden Spike Site
Perched dramatically in the high, wind-swept sagebrush plains of Box Elder County just north of the Great Salt Lake, Promontory is an unincorporated historic site of monumental national significance. It stands proudly in world history as the exact location where the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States was officially completed on May 10, 1869. The driving of the legendary 'Golden Spike' here united the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, instantly shrinking a coast-to-coast journey from months to days and fundamentally unifying a post-Civil War nation. Today, the area is meticulously preserved under the National Park Service as a Golden Spike National Historical Park, maintaining its vast, uncommercialized desert frontier aesthetic while functioning as an elite global pilgrimage destination for railway historians and engineering enthusiasts.
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Suggested stay: 1 day
Watch the thunderous, fully operational replicas of 1860s steam locomotives re-enact the historic union at Golden Spike National Historical Park. Hike the rugged Big Fill Trail to view pristine 19th-century railroad earthworks and hand-carved stone blasted rock cuts. Photograph the historic monuments erected at the site of the golden spike rail tie.
