Famous Art in Utah: The Spiral Jetty Built by the Artist Robert Smithson

The Spiral Jetty was built by the artist Robert Smithson in 1970. He was one of the founders of the earthwork movement of artists who wanted to create something that was an experience. Smithson's jetty can be experienced through all your senses by seeing it, touching it, being able to walk out on it and even smelling the brine shrimp and tasting the salt crystals. He placed his art work in a secluded area without worldly distractions.

Smithson located the spot for his jetty from a helicopter. It sits on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point. In 1970 the level of the lake was unusually low because of several years of drought. A few years after it was built it submerged under water until 1999 when it re-emerged. In 2004 when our family went, it was completely out of water and people were walking way beyond towards the lake. In 2007 it was under water with a few rocks sticking out.

The jetty is built of mud, salt crystals, and basalt rock. It took six days to build and is 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide. It spirals counter clockwise from the shore into the lake. Originally it was black rock against the water, but now it is mostly white due to the salt crystals formed; the lake is 27% salinity. The jetty was financed by a U.S.D. grant of $7,000. Smithson sat on the hill above the jetty and directed the building. You can climb to that spot today to view it. Smithson died in a plane crash in Texas three years after the jetty was finished at age thirty-five. It is owned today by the Dia Art Foundation of New York, a donation from Smithson's estate.

Location: To get there from Salt Lake City take I-15 North approximately 65 miles to the Corrine, Exit 365, which is just west of Brigham City. You will be on Highway 13, go through Corrine to a fork in the road and take the left fork to Highway 83. Drive another 17.7 miles west and turn south and follow the signs another 7.7 miles east of Promontory Pass to Golden Spike National Historic Site. (While you're there spend some time at the visitor's center. They are films, artifacts and books that feature this lonely spot in the desert where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific met in 1869 and joined the two halves of the nation. We were lucky to be there in the late afternoon when the two engines were fired up and headed to the train barns.)

From the visitor's center drive 5.6 miles west on the main gravel road. It should bring you to an intersection (where you will see the lake and off to the SW you will see Rozel Point, your destination, 9.9 miles in the distance.) At this intersection take the south fork (to the south); there you will cross a cattle guard, the first of four. Drive 1.3 miles south to a corral, take the fork that goes southwest (right) toward the bottom of the valley. Then go 1.7 miles to the second cattle guard, continue SE 1.2 miles to the third cattle guard. Continue 2.8 miles S/SE to the fourth cattle guard and there will be a sign that says "no trespassing" at the Promontory Ranch. Go south 2.3 miles around the east side of Rozel Point and you will see a jetty, but not the right one. This jetty is left from an old oil drilling exploration. On your right you will see a concrete foundation.

Note: Only high clearance vehicles should go beyond the concrete foundation. Drive or walk the remaining .6 mile N/NW past the foundation, and take the fork to the right to a two-track trail above the oil exploration area. Look towards the lake and you should see the jetty. If you can't see it and it is submerged, walk up on the hillside and view the jetty from above.

If you go: Take water. There is no fresh water or other facilities at the site. If you plan to get in the water, take enough water to rinse off. The salt dries on your skin and you will itch. And make sure you bring your camera.