The park is divided into two portions. Along the drive and looking out over the Salt Lake Valley are monuments dedicated to the memories of the Mormon Battalion and also the day Brigham Young's party first arrived and, while quite ill, announced, "This is the place." This portion of the park is free of charge and a quiet place to reflect on the pioneers who journeyed here in many different ways all those years ago.
The second portion is
Heritage Village. The entrance fee for the village gives you access to dozens of historical buildings which have either been relocated and restored or replicated.
The entrance fee also includes activities for the kids. It wasn't explained very well to us right away, but we finally figured out that each kid can do 3 activities, and they are marked off in a box on the wristbands. Our boys did scratch art in the old halfway house, took a pony ride, got a taste of apprenticing at the saddlery, and made Native American jewelry.
A few thoughts from our visit:
- Don't go on a school field trip day...they break up in groups and fill the buildings. We had to skip quite a few because they were to full to get in to.
- Do buy Brigham's doughnuts. They're hot and greasy and delicious!
- Don't get discouraged when your wristband boxes are full. Under 3-yr-olds get to do the activities for free, and we were able to let our kids use the boxes on our wristbands when theirs were full.
- If you have visited historic sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints you will notice a difference in quality at this park. While the park focuses primarily on the lives of the Mormon Pioneers, it is not run by the church. This is a state park and while we were impressed with the facility, there were obvious differences in the quality of displays in the buildings, and especially in the interaction and information from the volunteer "pioneers" compared to official church historical sites. Not a big deal, but something that did keep popping through my head while we were there.
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