Delta
Local Highlights
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Delta Snow Goose Festival
Every spring, watch thousands of snow geese fly over Delta on their annual 3,000-mile migration back to Canada. Delta is situated along the route from their California winter home and hosts the Delta Snow Goose Festival during the February migration. Attend to run the Wild Goose Chase 5K or 10K, observe the snow geese, and visit a craft and quilt fair put on by local artisans.
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Great Basin Historical Society Museum
Learn about the area and Great Basin at this free museum that uses historic objects and photos to tell the stories of Delta’s past. A haven for rockhounders searching for geodes, trilobites, and rarer fossils, Great Basin Museum showcases many local rocks.
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Gunnison Bend Reservoir
Minutes from Delta, you’ll find this calm reservoir that’s perfect for water skiing, boating, and relaxing. A peninsula in the lake keeps large waves from forming so it’s never too choppy, and the shallow depth keeps the water warm. Entrance to Gunnison Bend Reservoir is free, and there are plenty of picnic tables, pavilions, and a boat dock.
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Sunset View Golf Course
Play a round at this oasis in the desert at Sunset View Golf Course, a challenging 18-hole, par-72 course with amazing views spread over 7,000 yards.
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Topaz Museum
The atrocities of war should never be forgotten, and Delta has taken great care to preserve the lands and legacy of Japanese Americans relocated to Topaz Internment Camp during World War II. The camp’s buildings were cleared after the war, but you can still see the desertscape where they stood and imagine what life was like for its inhabitants. Visit the free Topaz Museum in Delta to see artifacts and hear the stories of the internees that lived at Topaz. Many of the camp’s buildings were purchased by Delta residents and can be seen on a driving tour available at the museum.
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U-Dig Fossils
Find ancient fossils at U-Dig Fossils, a private trilobite quarry an hour west of Delta. It has one of the world’s richest collections of trilobites, and it’s finders keepers—take home whatever you unearth.
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Van's Dance Hall
Once voted the best dance hall in America, Van’s Dance Hall is the place many World War II love stories began. Veterans met their wives here and people danced the night away until its closure in the 1960s. Famous more for what it was than what it is today, the dance hall sits empty but intact, with Delta residents hoping to restore it to its former glory.
What's Nearby
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Beehive Charcoal Kilns
Near Leamington, alongside on S.R. 132 northeast of Delta, look for two well-preserved charcoal kilns from the pioneer era. Built from stone and shaped like beehives, the kilns were likely built in 1871.
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Eureka Ghost Town
On state Route 6 from Salt Lake City to Delta, you’ll find the mining ghost town of Eureka. Founded in 1870 when gold and silver were discovered there, the population boomed in 1910 to nearly 4,000 inhabitants. Today, 600 folks still call Eureka home, and its historic buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. Explore its mining heyday at the old jail and the Tintic Mining Museum.
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Fort Deseret
Head over to the neighboring town of Deseret and see Utah’s last remaining adobe fort. Built in 1865 to protect settlers during the Black Hawk Indian War, the adobe mud and straw mixture used in Fort Deseret’s construction was “mixed by the feet of oxen,” and built in just 18 days by 98 men.
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Great Basin National Park
Delta is the gateway to Nevada’s Great Basin National Park, one of the country’s least-visited national parks due to its remote location. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit! Great Basin is home to 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak (the state’s second highest mountain), Lehman Caves and ancient bristlecone pine trees. Guided cave tours showcase Lehman’s limestone stalagmites, stalactites and rarer formations. See the world’s oldest known living trees on bristlecone pine trails to Wheeler Peak, Eagle Peak and Mount Washington.
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Little Sahara Sand Dunes
Explore the remnants of an ancient river delta at 60,000-acre Little Sahara Recreation Area, 38 miles from Delta. Off-highway-vehicle riding is the most popular pursuit for exploring the region’s sand dunes and trails, and it’s especially popular to climb Sand Mountain — a 700-foot wall of sand. Venture off from here and you’ll likely be all alone in this huge expanse of the Sevier Desert.
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Utah Territorial Statehouse
The town of Fillmore briefly served as Utah’s territorial capital, and territory leader Brigham Young directed the building of the territorial statehouse in 1851 in anticipation of gaining statehood. Unfortunately, just one wing of the building was completed and one legislative session held there in 1855 before the capital moved to Salt Lake City. The building has since functioned as a dance hall, jail, school and library. Today it’s a pioneer history museum.
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Yuba Lake State Park
Sandy beaches, warm water, and excellent fishing draw visitors to Yuba Lake State Park, just one hour east of Delta. Yuba Reservoir welcomes every type of water recreationist, and there’s even boat-camping along its shores.