Delta

Delta | Eric Erlenbusch

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Once the delta of ancient Lake Bonneville, today the aptly-named city of Delta is known as a base camp for exploring the West Desert, including the Great Basin National Historic Area.

Many use Delta as a stopping point on their way to Great Basin National Park or on their pilgrimage to the important Topaz Museum and Internment Campsite.

In Delta you will find motel accommodations, an RV park, several financial institutions, full-service automobile dealerships, gas, diesel and propane stations, multiple grocery and convenience stores and restaurants.

Local Highlights

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.
Great Basin 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.
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.
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.
Topaz Museum

The Central Utah Relocation Center — commonly referred to as “Topaz” because of its proximity to the Topaz mountain range — is one of 10 camps created in the United States during World War II to hold Americans of Japanese ancestry. The story of this event, including the eventual formal apology and monetary compensation to former internees in 1990, is preserved in stunning detail at the Topaz Museum in Delta, Utah.
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.

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Great Basin Wild Horses

Great Basin Wild Horses

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01

5 Days

Grand Adventure in the Great Basin

In this five-day itinerary you won’t find many crowds. But take your time and you’ll find this desert geography isn’t so empty after all.

Adventure, Agritourism, ATV and off-road, Camping & Backpacking, Climbing & Canyoneering, Cycling, Dinosaurs, Guided Experiences, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Photography, Scenic Drives/Road Trips, Solitude, Stargazing, Wildlife

Highlights

Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum
Pahvant Valley Heritage Trail
Topaz Incarceration Camp and Museum
Sinbad Road / Hermit Cabin
Great Basin National Park
Cove Fort

Great Basin Desert

02

3 Days

West Desert Ramble & The Pony Express

This itinerary is a three-day adventure along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in Utah's West Desert. Visit Simpson Springs, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Gold Hill and more.

Adventure, Film Tourism, Ghost Towns, History and Heritage, Solitude, Wildlife

Highlights

Camp Floyd State Park Museum
Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Historic Wendover Airfield

What's Nearby

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.
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.
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.
Great Basin National Heritage Area

The federally-designated Great Basin National Heritage Area (branded locally as “Great Basin Territory”) covers all of the highlights for travelers between Delta and Great Basin National Park, which lies near the Utah and Nevada state border. If you like the sound of ghost towns, wild horses, rockhounding for ancient fossils and remote hot springs — this is the heritage area for you.
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.
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.
Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum

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.
Trilobite Fossils & Rockhounding

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.
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.

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