Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who left the Midwest beginning in 1846 and crossed the continent to gather in the Rocky Mountains. About 70,000 came to Utah between 1847 and 1869.
Beginning in 1846, tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints left homes, friends, and families and endured the rigors of travel by ship, wagon, handcart, and train to gather with fellow Saints in the Rocky Mountains of North America.
The Church’s Mormon Trails exhibit tells that gathering. A Newsroom article puts the Utah journey at about 70,000 people, under Brigham Young’s direction, before the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869.
This page is about the towns they built later, along Highway 89 in the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area. That corridor is not the 1,300-mile Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley. For the trail itself, see Mormon Pioneer Trail. For the Utah settlement story, see The Mormon Colonization.
Where to visit
The Heritage Area has five districts. Each one has its own towns and landscape. The full list is on Districts.
Little Denmark
Sanpete Valley, between the Sanpitch Mountains and the Wasatch Plateau. Twelve towns. Ephraim is the largest and hosts the Scandinavian Festival and Snow College. Manti, the county seat, sits five miles south on Highway 89. It is known for Temple Hill and the Mormon Miracle Pageant story. Spring City is listed in full on the National Register of Historic Places. Mount Pleasant is a Preserve America and National Main Street community. The first Sanpete settlement was Manti, in 1849.
Sevier Valley
Along Interstate 70 and Highway 89. Richfield is the largest city, named for its farming soil. Salina was settled in 1864, abandoned during the Black Hawk War, and later rebuilt. Fremont Indian State Park is in southern Sevier County. More is on the Sevier Valley page.
Headwaters
From the south end of Sevier County down Highway 89 to Long Valley Junction. Towns include Marysvale, Circleville, and Junction. Big Rock Candy Mountain stands a few miles north of Marysvale. See Headwaters.
Boulder Loop
Begins and ends on Highway 89, then uses Scenic Byways 12 and 24. Towns include Boulder, Escalante, and Torrey. Fruita, in Capitol Reef National Park, was a Mormon farming settlement known for its orchards. See Boulder Loop.
Under the Rim
Kanab is the film-history town known as Little Hollywood. Orderville ran a United Order, a common storehouse, from 1874 to 1886. Other towns include Glendale and Mt. Carmel. Kane County is the entry to the Hole-in-the-Rock route. See Under the Rim.
How to visit
Start with the free Travel Planner and Visitor Info. For a day, three days, or a week on the highway, use the Highway 89 road trip page and Tours.
Common questions, including who the pioneers were and how this corridor differs from the historic trail, are on the FAQ.