Utah pioneer towns you can still visit sit along U.S. Highway 89. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area covers six historic counties in central and southern Utah: Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne, Garfield, and Kane. The story runs across 400 miles of landscape, in five districts with their own towns and Main Streets.
This page is a where-to-go guide. It is not a second history encyclopedia. We are a National Heritage Area along Highway 89, All-American Road State Route 12, and Scenic Byway State Route 24. We are not the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the overland route from Iowa to Salt Lake City.
Church History describes Latter-day Saint pioneers who gathered to the Salt Lake Valley between 1846 and 1890, traveling by ship, wagon, handcart, and train. That is the pioneer story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This page is about the towns those settlers and their neighbors built along this corridor. For the Heritage Area account, read The Mormon Colonization. For visit questions, and for the trail-versus-Heritage-Area distinction, see the FAQ.
Source: Mormon Trails (Church History)
Where to go
Each district has its own landscape, towns, and stories. Start with one, or open the full districts list.
Little Denmark
Little Denmark is the Sanpete Valley district: Scandinavian pioneer heritage and historic Main Streets. The valley sits between the Sanpitch Mountains and the Wasatch Plateau. Ephraim is the largest city, home of the Scandinavian Festival and Snow College. Five miles south on Highway 89 is Manti, the county seat, with Temple Hill and the Mormon Miracle Pageant story. Spring City is listed in full on the National Register of Historic Places as a well-preserved Mormon settlement. Mount Pleasant is a Preserve America and National Main Street community. Sanpete’s first settlement was Manti in 1849.
Sevier Valley
Sevier Valley sits on Interstate 70 and Utah Heritage Highway 89: valley farms, museums, and travel hubs. Richfield is the largest city, named for its farming soil. Salina was first settled in 1864, abandoned after the Black Hawk War, and later rebuilt. Southern Sevier County also holds Fremont Indian State Park.
Headwaters
Headwaters begins at the southern tip of Sevier County and follows Highway 89 to Long Valley Junction, where it meets Highway 14. It is named for the Sevier River and the streams that feed it. Highway towns include Marysvale, Circleville, and Junction. Big Rock Candy Mountain stands a few miles north of Marysvale, at the edge of Sevier Valley and the start of this district.
Boulder Loop
Boulder Loop begins and ends on Highway 89, then follows Scenic Byways 12 and 24. This is red-rock and highland-town country: Boulder, Escalante, Torrey, and the Capitol Reef gateway in Wayne County. Fruita, at Sulphur Creek and the Fremont River, was a small Mormon farming community known for its orchards. The Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon park pages are the place for park details. This page is for the pioneer towns on the way.
Under the Rim
Under the Rim sits beneath the red-rock rims of the Colorado Plateau. Kanab is the film-history town known as Little Hollywood. Orderville is the United Order town. From 1874 to 1886, people there pooled their wealth in a common storehouse. Glendale and Mt. Carmel share the Long Valley story. Kane County is the gateway to Utah’s Dixie and the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition.
Plan the drive
The Travel Planner is the printed corridor guide. The map side shows Highway 89, parks, and scenic byways. The guide side lists museums, itineraries, events, and visitor info. Read it here or download the print-ready PDFs.
For 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day starting points that link the planner, the districts, and the Capitol Reef week, use the Highway 89 road trip page. More sample routes live under Tours & Itineraries. Museums along the corridor are on Museums.
A note on “LDS pioneers”
People still search for LDS pioneers when they mean the Latter-day Saint settlers who built towns along this corridor. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asks writers not to use “LDS” or “Mormon” as the name of the Church, and not to use “LDS” as a stand-in for its members. Latter-day Saints is the preferred term for members.
Historical language is different. The same style guide says:
“Mormon” is correctly used in proper names such as the Book of Mormon or when used as an adjective in such historical expressions as “Mormon Trail.”
We use Mormon pioneer and Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area in that historical and legal sense. We do not keep a separate LDS pioneers page.
Source: Style Guide: The Name of the Church (Church Newsroom)
For basic Church and Mormon pioneer history questions, with links to official Church pages, see the FAQ.