This Utah Town Has The Most Walkable Downtown
Brigham City is only an hour’s drive north of Salt Lake City, and it invites you to venture through the streets of its downtown area from the moment you walk underneath the Brigham City Gateway Arch on Main Street. Along Main Street, you will see notable landmarks like the LDS Brigham City, Utah, Temple, or the Idle Isle Café, which is the oldest continually operating restaurant in Utah. There is also access to green space downtown, such as Rees Pioneer Park, which is easily accessible from Main Street. Brigham City is considered to have one of the most beautiful historic downtowns in the United States.
Main Street
The glowing neon lights of the Brigham City Gateway Arch will undoubtedly lure you onto Main Street. The arch spans the width of Main Street and is at the center of town, close to Idle Isle Café. As the oldest continually operating restaurant in Utah, it has been serving patrons since 1921. You will have an authentic dining experience from the comfort of original handcrafted wooden booths, marble and onyx counters, and art deco lighting that help to preserve the same atmosphere as it has for over 100 years.
Other historical buildings farther down Main Street include the Box Elder Tabernacle, an example of Neo-Gothic architecture. Construction began in 1876 by early-day pioneers with the intention that it would be used as a house of worship. The building rises high above the trees and can be seen from many different entrances to town. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It is still used to this day as a meeting house, venue for concerts and events, and is open for free guided tours between June and September.
The Brigham City Utah Temple is directly across the street, and while the public cannot enter the building itself, they are welcome to tour the exterior grounds. This includes a water feature and landscaped gardens with fruit trees that pay homage to the region’s fruit-growing heritage.
Peach Days
Peach Days is the largest event in Brigham City and has taken place since 1904. The festival celebrates the annual harvest of peaches, which have become synonymous with Brigham City. It is frequented by visitors and locals alike every year on the weekend after labor day. Many of the activities are free to attend, such as Peach Days Free Car Show, which is held on the Saturday during the day, a parade, and a live concert at night.
There are also over 200 vendors in attendance who are selling food, crafts, and much more. The Saturday parade goes down Main Street. Here you will see the Peach Queen pass by, who is crowned at the Peach Queen Pageant. There is also a second parade, which takes place in the evening and a carnival that includes food trucks and classic carnival rides like the Ferris wheel.
Forest Street
The other main corridor of downtown Brigham City is Forest Street, which branches off from Main Street. The Brigham City Museum of Art and History is one of the first places you will stop at when walking down Forest Street. The museum conveniently grants free admission to its permanent exhibit on the history of Brigham City, and five to six temporary exhibits a year, which display historical and fine art. The museum’s collection includes over 12,000 works of art, historical artefacts, ephemera, natural history specimens, oral histories, and much more.
Rees Pioneer Park is further along Forest Street. With paved walking trails, bridges, and within downtown, this park is perfect for walking to and walking in. After walking around the park, spend a few moments reflecting by the duck pond, or enjoy a picnic on one of the shaded picnic tables. Other park facilities include a children’s playground, restrooms, and drinking fountains.
Tour the Temples
Beyond Brigham City are other towns with their own bustling and walkable downtown areas, like Logan, which is 18.16 miles northeast of Brigham City. Logan is home to the second temple built in Utah, the Logan Utah Temple. Like other temples, the public is not permitted to enter, the exterior grounds are available to visit and feature an oval reflecting pool, which elevates photo opportunities.
Smithfield is 24.55 miles north of Brigham City and is home to the twelfth temple built in Utah, the Smithfield Utah Temple. Across the street from the temple is Forrester Acres Park, a premier spot in town for outdoor recreational-based activities, equipped with several game fields and ball courts, walking paths, and open green spaces for enjoying the outdoors.
Honeyville is a much smaller, rural farming community that is only 9.46 miles north of Brigham City. Its main attraction is Crystal Hot Springs, which comprises three hot tubs, a soaker pool, a lap pool, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and two 360-foot water slides. Out of all the hot springs across the United States, Honeyville’s hot springs stand out as having the highest mineral content.
Discover Downtown Brigham City
Brigham City is the perfect size for exploring on foot. It is smaller than Salt Lake City, but larger than nearby towns like Honeyville. While those two other places have their own attractions and are well worth visiting on their own right, Brigham City packs everything that is quintessentially Utah into its downtown area. From the cultural influences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Brigham City Utah Temple and plenty of outdoor spaces like at Rees Pioneer Park, Brigham City’s main attractions are merely a walk away from one another.
