Last updated: January 14, 2023
Place
Grassy Mountain Rest Area
Quick Facts
Location:
Interstate- 80, Milepost 55, Exit 56, Utah
Significance:
Views of the California and Pony Express Trails
MANAGED BY:
Utah Department of Transportation
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The rest area offers views of the Cedar Mountains to the southeast and the Grayback Hills to the northwest. On clear days Pilot Peak is visible, as well. Look back towards Hastings Pass, about 4.25 miles southeast of where you stand now. The trail crosses Interstate-80 about one mile west of here and crawls over the steep saddle of Grayback Hills.
West of the rest area an Auto Tour Route highway sign marks where the Hastings Cutoff crosses the freeway on the approach to the Grayback Hills, which are ahead and slightly to the right. Beyond the hills, the trail is about 6 miles north of Interstate-80, where the sun glares off the white salt crust and daytime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees. Some years, out on the salt salts, emigrant wagons bogged down in the mucky clay and salt beds. James Reed's (Donner-Reed Wagon Train) thirst-crazed oxen bolted into the desert and emigrants miserably stumbled along, desperate to reach water.
On the right at about milepost 22 stands the distinctive hooked peak of Floating Island, so named because atmospheric conditions often make it appear to float on hot air above the flats. The Hastings Cutoff crosses north of Floating Island and continues across the next basin toward Silver Island peak. From the Tree of Life sculpture along the freeway, the trails lies about 11 miles to the north.
Site Information
Location (Interstate- 80, Milepost 55, Exit 56, Utah)
An orientation panel at the rest area shows the location of the California and Pony Express Trails relative to the highway.