Escape Salt Lake City's Crowds With A Charming Day Trip City Through Some Of Utah's Best-Preserved Buildings

When traveling to Utah, most vacationers have majestic geography and camping on their minds. Others may be thinking of the state's historic ghost towns. Not many have plans to see memorable art. But that, as well as some of Utah's best preserved pioneer-era buildings, are precisely what they'll find in Spring City.

Fly into Salt Lake City for an urban trip that's populated with exceptional Mexican food, world-class genealogical resources and a window into Mormon (LDS) culture, all overlooking the towering Wasatch Mountains. But just over 100 miles south, tiny Spring City is a destination that will take you out of the city into a charming rural community that looks much as it did in the 1880s.

Why? When U.S. Route 89 was built in 1957, it went right past Spring City. Its location protected it from the progress that might have modernized its buildings with settlements of Baby Boomer families eager to bring their hometown into the 20th century.

Spring City is a permanent home to just over 1,000 souls. But it punches way above its weight class when it comes to its artistic community and its historic appeal. Spring City Arts is the place where creatives from all around Sanpete County converge to show off their wares in juried shows inside what was once Strate's Garage. But the city has been known for its settlement of masterpiece producers since the 1970s. Today, Spring City Arts hosts workshops for emerging artists and events such as an annual plein-air painting competition, giving visitors a way to take home a landscape of the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains or a tableau of area farm animals.

Nearby Horseshoe Mountain Pottery showcases the work of world-renowned potter Joe Bennion. There, travelers will meet the artist himself and have the opportunity to buy his stoneware intended for home use. To some, the circa-1905 building is still identified with Arthur Johnson Meat Market, which opened in 1916.

Spring City Chapel, also known as Spring City Ward House, is noted as a paragon of LDS religious architecture. Composed of oolitic limestone, the church has a unique, craggy exterior. Once inside, visitors will see wood rafters and plaster-finished walls that give the building an appropriately OId-West feel. Constructed between 1897 and 1911, the site may not be as old as East Coast historic churches, but the structure is a window into an era.

There are just two restaurants in town, but that's ideal for a day trip. Located in Spring City's old candy store, Das Café serves breakfast and lunch with a German accent. The bratwurst dinner includes a seared sausage served over sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and mustard-dill cream sauce. The Kraut Burger is topped just as the name suggests, along with crispy bacon and creamy Brie. The town's soda fountain, Roots 89 Grill, started life as Osborne Mercantile in 1930. Now, it's a place to grab a pastrami burger or a chili dog.

While Spring City is far from the only artsy little town that provides an escape from the bustle of Salt Lake City, its fully intact history should be enough of a draw to visit. A walk through the Spring City Cemetery provides more context. With graves dating as far back as 1857, taphophiles will recognize some of the names from their visits to the city's historic buildings, including those of the Allred family that founded the town.

Touring the 90-plus storied edifices listed on the Friends of Historic Spring City website, from log cabins to municipal buildings, will take guests all day. And what a delightful day it will be, filled with art, architecture, and fun food.