Spiral Jetty, Smithson

The Jetty shot from midway up the hill in front of it. The rocks forming the shoreline seem to rush out into the lake forming the jetty. While we were there several families with children visited the Jetty. The first reaction of the children was to run out onto the Jetty much like Smithson does in his video. The site inspires a kind of weightless euphoria in the visitor.

This is a photo of the end (or beginning) of the Jetty. We took it specifically for Joan Watson.

Michel is weightlessly demonstrating the euphoric nature of the site. He is actually lifting out of the center of the Jetty itself.

Chelsea stands with the "promenade" of stone behind her as the Jetty flows out of the shore into the salt flats of the lake.

Behind Chelsea we see the profile of the Jetty rising from the lake bed.

Looking oddly like dental work, the stones of the Jetty are caked with several inches of salt deposits.

The convergence of the Jettys lines as seen from inside.

Salt flats around the Jetty. The salt layer on the lake bed is several inches thick. It can be hard or soft. Underneath the softer sections red water can be seen which sometimes makes the salt appear pink. Also punctuating the salt flats are outcroppings of what first appear to be stone similar to that of which the Jetty is constructed. Upon further investigation one realizes that this stone is actually a soft, oily clay.

Remnant of attempts at drilling the Lake for oil. This photo was taken near the straight jetty constructed in the twenties several hundred feet from the Spiral Jetty.

Our tent in alignment with the Jetty's point of origin.

Last night Chelsea and I camped at Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. The Jetty is located about an hour and a half North of Salt Lake City Utah on Promontory Point. The trip involves travel 15 miles of gravel roads worn out of the desert floor. Several shots of the trip can be seen in the video Smithson made about the Jetty (1969). Below we have included directions.

The Jetty was entirely out of the water with dried salt flats extending for hundreds of feet beyond it to the beginning of the water. The crystaline salt reflected the sunlight and made the ground glitter with a blinding white light. It was a very different experience than when water surrounds or covers the Jetty.

See all of our images from the Jetty at our Picasa site.

DIRECTIONS TO SPIRAL JETTY: Access to Spiral Jetty is available through the Golden Spike National Historic Site. The Division of Natural Resources has posted signs at each turn/fork to indicate directions to the Jetty.

1. Go to Golden Spike National Historic Site (GSNHS), 30 miles west of Brigham City, Utah. The Spiral Jetty is 15.5 dirt road miles southwest of Golden Spike's visitor center.

To get there (from Salt Lake City) take I-15 north approximately 65 miles to the Corinne exit (exit 365), just west of Brigham City, Utah. Exit and proceed through Corinne, paying close attention to the signs, and drive another 17.7 miles west, still on Highway 83, turn left and follow signs, another 7.7 miles up the east side of Promontory Pass to Golden Spike National Historic Site.

2. From the visitor center, drive 5.6 miles west on the main gravel road.

3. Five point six miles should bring you to an intersection. From this vantage point you can see the lake. Looking southwest, you can see the low foothills that make up Rozel Point, 9.9 miles distant.

4. At this intersection the road forks. One road continues west, the other goes south. Take the south (left) fork. Both forks are Box Elder County Class D (maintained) roads.

5. Immediately you cross a cattle guard. Call this cattle guard #1. Including this one, you should cross four cattle guards before you reach Rozel Point and the Spiral Jetty.

6. Drive 1.3 miles south. Here you should see a corral on the west side of the road. Here too, the road again forks. One fork continues south along the west side of the Promontory Mountains. This road leads to a locked gate. The other fork goes southwest toward the bottom of the valley and Rozel Point. Turn right onto the southwest fork, just north of the corral. This is also a Box Elder County Class D road.

7. After you turn south west, go 1.7 miles to cattle guard #2. Here, besides the cattle guard, you should find a fence but no gate.

8. Continue southeast 1.2 miles to cattle guard #3, a fence, and gate.

9. Another .50 miles should bring you to a fence but no cattle guard and no gate.

10. Continue 2.3 miles south-southwest to a combination fence, cattle guard #4, iron-pipe gate - and a sign declaring the property behind the fence to be that of the "Rafter S. Ranch". Here too, is a "No Trespassing" sign.

11. At this gate the Class D road designation ends. If you choose to continue south for another 2.3 miles, and around the east side of Rozel Point, you should see the Lake and a jetty (not the Spiral Jetty) left by oil drilling exploration in the 1920s through the 1980s. As you continue southwest beyond the site of the oil jetty, turn from the southwest to the west (right) onto a two-track trail that contours above the oil-drilling debris below. Only high clearance vehicles should advance beyond this turn. Travel slowly--the road is narrow, brush might scratch your vehicle, and the rocks, if not properly negotiated, could high center your vehicle. Don't hesitate to park and walk. The Jetty is just around the corner.

12. Drive or walk 6/10th of a mile west-northwest around Rozel Point and look toward the Lake. The Spiral Jetty should be in sight. The lake level varies several feet from year-to-year and from season to season, so the Spiral Jetty is not always visible above the water line.