This Is The Place Heritage Park

About

This is a Utah State Park built around the spot where Brigham Young and the first Latter-day Saint pioneers looked out over the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. The park covers 450 acres at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, on the east side of Salt Lake City, and its centerpiece is the This Is the Place Monument, a granite obelisk dedicated in 1947 in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000 people.

Most of a visit happens in Heritage Village, a cluster of restored and reconstructed pioneer-era buildings including homes, shops, and a replica of the original Brigham Young Academy. Costumed staff run blacksmithing and tinsmithing demonstrations, and the village has a pony corral, a splash pad called Irrigation Station, and two replica trains that carry visitors around the grounds. Entry to the monument and park grounds is free and open dawn to dusk every day. A Daily Experience Pass covers Heritage Village, parking, and the demonstrations; for the 2026 summer season, March 28 through October 31, it costs $25 per person for ages two and up. Village hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and the village is closed Sunday, though the Pioneer Center and gift shop stay open seven days a week.

The park sits about five miles east of downtown Salt Lake City, close enough for a half-day trip on its own. Utah's Hogle Zoo is directly across Sunnyside Avenue, and Red Butte Garden and the University of Utah are a short drive further up the canyon road, so the three make an easy pairing for a full day out.

Accessibility

This Is The Place Heritage Park is wheelchair accessible for most of a visit, though the park's own site cautions that some of its 450 acres of terrain are difficult in certain spots, and it does not publish a full accessibility page beyond one short paragraph.

Handicapped parking is available at the Visitors Center, and the Visitors Center itself is fully ADA accessible. There is no published detail on step-free routes into Heritage Village, the individual historic buildings, or the Pioneer Center, so call ahead if a specific building matters to your visit.

The park describes itself as fully wheelchair accessible while noting the ground is difficult to cross in certain areas; expect a mix of paved paths and uneven, dirt, or gravel ground between buildings. Two replica trains carry visitors around Heritage Village, added in part to make it easier for people with limited mobility to see more of the grounds without covering the distance on foot.

A limited number of wheelchairs are loaned out free at the Visitors Center on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive early if you need one. Service animals are allowed inside the Village with some exceptions the park does not spell out online; regular pets are restricted to the plaza outside the ticketed area.

The park does not publish accessible restroom locations, door widths, elevators, or sensory accommodations such as quiet hours or assistive listening, so call Guest Services at 801-582-1847 or email [email protected] before you go if any of those matter to your trip. Ask staff which buildings suit your specific mobility needs, since access can vary by structure on a site built from real pioneer-era construction.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Utah

• Natural History Museum of Utah (Salt Lake City)
• Red Butte Garden (Salt Lake City)
• Clark Planetarium (Salt Lake City)
• Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Salt Lake City)
• Hogle Zoo (Salt Lake City)
• Solitude Mountain Resort (Salt Lake City)

Photo credits

• Entrance archway sign for This Is The Place Heritage Park with snow covered mountains behind: An Errant Knight, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• Visitors gather outside a log pioneer cabin at This Is The Place Heritage Park: Stundra, Public domain (source)