Smithson’s Spiral Jetty
5h starting and ending in Salt Lake City (SLC)

I could not wait until Roden crater and Heizer’s City get completed and open to the public to fulfill my dream of seeing all four-corner-state land art monuments at once, so decided to visit Spiral Jetty while on my way back from Yellowstone. It definitely is a little adventure but is not as dramatic as some websites tend to portray the journey. It is better to have an all-road car, as the last 12 miles are indeed on dirt road but no need for high clearance, at least not with the dry conditions I experienced.
The directions on the DIA art website are very accurate but they miss to mention the Golden Spike National Monument which is on the way (near Promontory on the map). It would be a pity not to visit it, so plan an extra 30 minutes/1h for it. Golden Spike is the location where the Union Pacific Railroad met the Central Pacific, thus creating the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.
The sheer remoteness of this awesome piece of art makes the journey itself part of the monument, so you are kind of living it. We had the chance to pass by a carcass of a calf, adding a nice dramatic touch to this ensemble, but regretting of course that Damien Hirst was not there to slice it in two.
There were not a lot of visitors, at that time only another car, replacing one that just had left, so no need for ticketed entrance. For land art lovers, I would definitely recommend as a must-do. You might want to ensure the lake is not too high as to cover completely the art piece (the spiral jetty website has a section on current conditions).







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