Welcome to the Park of the Month newsletter for May 2025. This Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month we’re featuring a park that tells the story of the railway that opened up the American West.
Golden Spike National Historical Park
Location
Promontory, Utah, United States
Claim to fame
On May 10, 1869 in a place called Promontory Summit in northern Utah, two bands of railroad lines were connected with the “Last Spike,” thus uniting the Eastern and Western United States by rail for the first time. Golden Spike NHP commemorates this moment, its impact on the nation, and the laborers that constructed America’s first transcontinental railroad.
Reason to visit
Golden Spike NHP preserves a 15 mile (24 km) section of the original Transcontinental Railroad. Near the park visitor center is the site where the last spike was driven, commemorated by a plaque.
During summer months, the park boasts daily railroad ranger programs featuring replicas of the original trains that met for the last spike ceremony. Weather permitting, visitors can also drive the route of the railroad on one of two Auto Tours.
Wild Fact
Railroad construction was difficult and dangerous work and was often done by Native Americans and Chinese immigrants, who received lower wages and harsher working conditions than their white colleagues.
Chinese railroad workers were often given the most dangerous or challenging jobs, and it is estimated that around a 1,000 of them died while building the railroad. Golden Spike NHP memorializes their struggles and celebrates their hard work by telling the stories of these marginalized laborers.
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