Grassy Trail Creek Homestead

September 6, 2021

I only found out about this old homestead along Grassy Trail Creek about a week earlier through a friend, and on Memorial Day morning I didn’t have anything going on so I went for a short drive and hike to check it out. I’d driven within a third of a mile of the place many times before but never noticed it. There were a lot of ruined buildings and foundations, suggesting that it was a pretty big operation at one point.

Old road to the homestead
Old road to the homestead

Ruined building
Ruined building

Ruined building
Ruined building

Water trough
Water trough

Large water trough
Large water trough

Very large wooden beams
Very large wooden beams

Part of an old car
Part of an old car

Building foundation
Building foundation

Another partial car
Another partial car

Building foundation
Building foundation

Cistern opening
Cistern opening

Inside the cistern
Inside the cistern

Building foundation
Building foundation

Dugout
Dugout

Ladder in the dugout
Ladder in the dugout

Rusty cans
Rusty cans


Today records show there is a single 160-acre section of private property in the area, so apparently somebody proved up on their claim, but the majority of the structures are now on BLM land. I saw a sign saying “Property of Utah Wildlife Resources,” but it was square in the middle of the private property surrounded by BLM land. Interestingly, the area appears to have been irrigated by a pond just to the north rather than by the nearby Grassy Trail Creek–I can’t find any record of this homestead on early topo maps, but a 1937 aerial image shows fields and the pond but no discernible canal from the creek.

DWR sign on private property
DWR sign on private property

Small reservoir
Small reservoir

1937 aerial photo
1937 aerial photo


After I walked back to the Jeep I drove north across US-6 toward Mud Spring to look for the location of a Civilian Conservation Camp that I suspected was in the area. I didn’t find any sign of the CCC camp but I did enjoy driving along the old highway that’s being reclaimed by grasses and brush.

Old highway
Old highway

Mini bottle in an anthill
Mini bottle in an anthill



Photo Gallery: Grassy Trail Creek Homestead

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