Last updated: December 5, 2023
Place
Donner Hill
Quick Facts
Location:
Emigration Canyon, near Rotary Glen Park and Pioneer Trail State Park.
Significance:
A difficult obstacle for the Donner-Reed party
MANAGED BY:
Various; some private, state and local parks nearby
Donner HIll hammered yet another nail into the Donner-Reed coffin. For 12 days the emigrants had gnawed a track through the rugged Wasatch wilderness, and now, at the very edge of the Salt Lake Valley, limestone outcrops and dense willows blocked their exit from the mouth of Emigration Canyon. The discouraged travelers pulled to the left out of the creek bottom and up the 200-foot-high ridge that thereafter would bear their name. The effort nearly used up the strength of their oxen. The next year Brigham Young’s vanguard pioneer party, having more men for the labor, opened a road through the blockage, avoiding the hill climb, in just 4 hours’ time. The current roadbed approximates their route.
Today, Emigration Canyon is widened and the top of Donner Hill has been leveled to make room for residential development. But the hill is still impressive and Emigration Creek, edged by willow and scrub oak, still runs along the south side of Emigration Canyon Road. Visitors can easily envision how this spot looked in 1846-47.
The evening of their arrival on July 22, the Donner-Reed Party encamped a short distance beyond the hilltop with the broad Salt Lake Valley stretched at their feet. A grassy park along the ridge, adjacent to Crestview Drive, is named Donner Park in commemoration of that campsite. The next day the emigrants descended the ridge and traveled across the valley to the Jordan River. From there, the Donner Reed Party continued along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake.
Site Information
Location (Emigration Canyon, near Rotary Glen Park)
On the right at odometer mile 20 is another small sign for Donner Hill. A stone monument commemorating Donner Hill is on the left where the road curves to the south. At that location the hill is in front of you, easy to see, with a condominium at the top. Use caution when crossing the oncoming lane to enter or leave the widened road shoulder at the monument. Then continue down Emigration Canyon Road around the S-curve. If traffic permits, turn left at odometer mile 20.6 into an unmarked entrance for Rotary Glen Park. If you miss the entrance, turn left onto the next paved road, Crestview Drive, and turn around at a safe location to return to the intersection. Turn right and make an immediate right turn into Rotary Glen Park. Now go left across the parking lot and follow the dirt access road to the east. End at a gravel parking lot.
Look across the small reservoir toward Donner Hill, the ridge to the northeast. The emigrants ascended the ridge on the north side of the condominiums. From this vantage, the steepness of the climb is evident. Take the opportunity here or at the picnic area to the west to explore Emigration Creek.