Golden spike

Golden Spike refers to the historic site at Promontory Summit in northern Utah associated with the ceremonial completion of the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The location is preserved and interpreted as a national historic site that commemorates that event.

The site includes a visitor center with exhibits, a marked ceremonial spot at Promontory Summit and displays that interpret the joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. Replica locomotives and interpretive programs illustrate the event and its technological and social significance.

The ceremony involved leaders of the railroad companies and the driving of a ceremonial spike to mark the connection; the event symbolized the completion of a coast-to-coast rail link. The location has been maintained to preserve the railroad grade and to provide public interpretation of the 19th-century project.

The site sits on Promontory Summit on the northern Utah plains, north of the Great Salt Lake and in a remote area of Box Elder County. It is reached by roads from the Salt Lake City region and other points in northern Utah.

• Date: The final, ceremonial driving of the last spike took place on May 10, 1869, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the contiguous United States.
• Locomotive replicas: Replicas of the two meeting locomotives are part of the park experience and operate during special events and demonstrations.

What to See #

• Visitor Center: A visitor center with interpretive exhibits and displays about the 1869 ceremony and railroad history, open seasonally.
• Promontory Summit / Monument: The ceremonial site at Promontory Summit where the final spikes were driven, marked by a monument and historical markers on the plains near the railroad grade.
• Replica locomotives: Replica locomotives of the Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific 'Jupiter' are displayed and used in demonstrations at the site.