By Scott Buehler, Moving UtahWatch saddles get made at Burns Saddlery
79 W Main St Free to browse Closed Sunday
Burns Saddlery is the reason to stop in Salina even if you were only passing through. It is a working saddle and leather shop on Main Street that has been in the same family since 1876, six generations now, and it still cuts, tools and stitches saddles, boots, belts and hats by hand in the back of the building. For a town of about 2,640 people, a nationally known Western maker on the main drag is the kind of thing you do not expect until you walk in.
The surprise most visitors come for is the television tie. Burns has made Western gear that has appeared on Yellowstone across several seasons, hats, belts, buckles and the hatband worn by Kevin Costner's John Dutton, and the shop's Dutton style black hat is one of its most requested pieces. Staff have joked that Costner is their best salesman. You can watch craftspeople at the benches, try on a hat, or just take in a wall of tooled leather that took a lifetime of practice to make.
The full story of the shop and the old Main Street around it is on the sibling Burns Saddlery, Mom's Cafe and historic Main Street page. This entry is just the stop.
The details
Getting there
Burns sits on Main Street near the State Street light, the heart of the US-50 and US-89 crossroads. Park on Main and walk in; the shop and its workroom are all on one floor.
Before you go
- Closed Sunday, like most of Main Street.
- The shop is a maker, not a museum, so what is on the floor changes; call ahead if you want something specific.
- Burns also runs retail stores in Park City and in Carmel, California, but the leather is still made here in Salina.
- Mom's Cafe, a couple of doors down, pairs naturally with a Burns stop for a Main Street hour.
Order a scone with honey at Mom's Cafe
10 E Main St Diner prices Open daily
Mom's Cafe has been a cafe on this corner since 1926 and has anchored the Salina crossroads ever since. It sits at 10 East Main, a few steps from the State Street light, in a building that has fed travelers coming off US-50, US-89 and, since 1970, I-70. The vintage neon sign out front is a landmark in its own right.
What people drive out of their way for is the Utah scone, a piece of fried dough the size of a plate that arrives hot with honey butter. It is closer to a country cousin of fry bread than to anything you would call a scone in England, and it is the thing to order. The rest of the menu is honest small town diner food, and the pie holds up.
The cafe shares a page with Burns and the rest of old Main Street on the sibling Burns Saddlery, Mom's Cafe and historic Main Street page.
The details
Getting there
Mom's is on Main Street just east of the State Street signal, with parking on the street and a lot nearby. It is a two minute walk from Burns Saddlery.
Before you go
- The Utah scone is the thing to order; ask for it hot with honey butter.
- Breakfast is the sweet spot, when the fry kettle is going.
- It fills up when a highway crowd comes off the interstate, so a weekday is calmer.
- Hours can shift with the season and staffing, so a quick call saves a wasted trip.
Ride the Paiute ATV Trail at Gooseberry
Gooseberry / I-70 trailhead Free Late spring to fall
Salina sits at the north end of one of the largest signed ATV networks in the country. The Paiute ATV Trail is a backcountry loop of roughly 275 miles, with more than 1,000 miles of marked side trails across south central Utah, and its northern start is the Gooseberry, or I-70, trailhead about nine miles east of town.
From that trailhead, marked as Paiute Trail number 01, you can ride west and drop right into Salina, which is why the town bills itself as a place where you gas up, eat and sleep between rides. The trailhead has a vault toilet, dirt parking, a loading ramp and dispersed camping, but no drinking water, so fill up in town first. The scenery climbs quickly from high desert into the aspen and pine of the Fishlake National Forest to the south.
The deeper telling of Salina's ATV access and the ride east onto the San Rafael country is on the sibling San Rafael Swell and the Paiute Trail page, and the whole trail system, its maps and the towns along it live on the region Paiute ATV Trail page.
The details
Getting there
From the Main and State crossroads, head south on State Street about two miles to I-70, go east roughly six and a half miles to the Gooseberry Road exit, Exit 63, then follow the frontage road to the trailhead. Trail number 01 also runs the other way, west into Salina itself.
Before you go
- No drinking water at the trailhead, so fill up in Salina before you ride.
- Utah OHV registration and the usual safety gear apply; the network is signed but remote.
- The high stretches hold snow into early summer, so early season riders should check conditions.
- Rentals and guides work out of Salina and nearby Richfield if you arrive without a machine.
Walk Salina's Main Street and the old crossroads
Main and State Free Year round
Salina is a crossroads town, and its Main Street shows it. The name itself is the giveaway: salina is Spanish for a saltworks, and the settlers who arrived in 1864 named the place for the salt in the soil and the deposits nearby. The corner of Main and State, where US-50 running east and US-89 running north and south cross, has been the town's center ever since.
A slow walk of a few blocks takes in Burns Saddlery, Mom's Cafe, a handful of brick storefronts and the plain, square pioneer architecture that marks most central Utah towns. This is not a polished tourist district; it is a working small town main drag that happens to hold a couple of genuine institutions, and that honesty is the appeal.
Why the highways meet here and what that has meant to the town gets its own telling on the sibling what makes Salina different page.
The details
Getting there
Everything is within two or three blocks of the Main and State signal. Park once and walk; the whole old core is flat and compact.
Before you go
- Most shops keep small town hours and close Sunday.
- Pair the walk with a scone at Mom's and a look inside Burns for a full Main Street hour.
- The salt the town is named for came from Salina Canyon to the east, not from the Redmond salt mine a few miles north, which is a separate operation in a different town.
- Summer brings the occasional Main Street event; the city calendar carries the dates.
Drive Salina Canyon where the empty road begins
East on I-70 Free Year round
Head east out of Salina and the valley pinches into Salina Canyon, the corridor I-70 climbs toward the Wasatch Plateau. It is a pretty drive of rock, river and coal country history, and it is also the doorway to one of the strangest stretches of road in America. East of Salina, I-70 runs about 104 miles to Green River with no gas, no food and no lodging along the highway, described as the longest stretch of the Interstate system anywhere in the country with no services.
That section opened in 1970 and was, at the time, the longest piece of Interstate built on an entirely new route since the Alaska Highway. For a traveler it means Salina is the last real town before the big empty, so the town's gas stations and Mom's Cafe do a brisk trade in fuel and food for people about to cross the San Rafael Swell. Even a short drive up the canyon and back gives you the feel of it.
Why the highways meet at Salina and what the crossroads role has meant is covered on the sibling what makes Salina different page.
Fuel up before you head east. From Salina, I-70 runs more than 100 miles to Green River with no gas, food or lodging along the highway. Fill the tank, carry water and check the weather before you start across the San Rafael Swell, in summer heat or winter storms alike.
The details
Getting there
From the crossroads, head south on State Street to I-70 and turn east; the canyon begins almost at once. The first stretch is scenic and easy, and the services free run to Green River starts in earnest past the Gooseberry exits.
Before you go
- This is the only fuel for more than 100 miles heading east, so top off in Salina.
- Cell signal fades quickly once you leave town.
- Coal trucks work the canyon; give them room on the grades.
- The San Rafael Swell views open up well east of town; the sibling Swell page has the details.
Near here, worth the drive
Three drives that round out a Salina day
These three are not in Salina, and it would be dishonest to pretend they were. They are the near here anchors, close enough for an afternoon or a day, and each is worth the drive.
Cool off at Yuba State Park
About 55 minutes north State park fee Warm season
The closest real water to Salina is Yuba State Park, on the Sevier Bridge Reservoir, about a 55 minute drive north toward Nephi. Yuba is a warm water reservoir with sandy swim beaches and boat ramps, and it is a genuine summer destination for the whole Sevier Valley when the days get hot. Check the water level first; in October 2026 it read 18% and two boat ramps were closed.
Anglers fish it for walleye, perch, catfish and northern pike, with rainbow trout in the mix, and in winter it draws ice fishing. Reservoir levels swing hard from year to year with drought and runoff, so the beach and the boating change with the water, but on a full pool summer day it is the best swimming within an easy drive of town.
Yuba sits closer to Nephi and Mona than to Salina, so the full survey of the park, its beaches and its fishery lives on the region Yuba State Park page.
The details
Getting there
The route runs north and west from Salina toward the I-15 corridor between Scipio and Nephi, where the park entrances sit just off the freeway. Check current directions, as the closest access shifts with the reservoir level.
Before you go
- A state park day use fee applies; camping is extra and sites fill on summer weekends.
- Water levels change year to year, so check current conditions before a beach day.
- There is little shade on the beaches, so bring your own.
- Nephi and Mona sit closer to Yuba than Salina does, and their pages cover the north end.
Point the car east into the San Rafael Swell
East on I-70 Free to view Spring and fall best
The empty country east of Salina is not just empty; it is the San Rafael Swell, a giant dome of tilted rock the size of a small county, laced with slot canyons, buttes and old mining tracks. I-70 slices straight across it, and the highway overlooks alone, at Ghost Rock and the Swell viewpoints, are worth the drive from Salina for the sheer scale.
Salina is the natural western base for the Swell, the last town with fuel, food and beds before the crossing. Serious exploring, the slot canyons and the backroads, takes planning and often high clearance, but a scenic drive to the overlooks and back makes an easy half day from town. Go in spring or fall; summer on the Swell is brutally hot and shadeless.
How Salina serves as the launch point for the Swell, and the practical side of heading out there, is the subject of the sibling San Rafael Swell and the Paiute Trail page.
The details
Getting there
Take I-70 east from Salina; the Swell begins well past the Gooseberry exits and the highway overlooks are signed. Remember there are no services on this stretch, so this is a fuel up in Salina drive.
Before you go
- No fuel, food or lodging on I-70 between Salina and Green River, so start with a full tank.
- Summer heat is severe and there is no shade; carry plenty of water.
- Backcountry roads often need high clearance or four wheel drive and can wash out after rain.
- The highway overlooks give most of the scenery with none of the risk if you are short on time.
See the rock art at Fremont Indian State Park
About forty five minutes southwest State park fee Year round
Southwest of Salina, out past Richfield where I-70 climbs Clear Creek Canyon, Fremont Indian State Park protects one of the richest concentrations of rock art in Utah. The site came to light when the interstate was built through the canyon in the 1980s, uncovering a large Fremont culture village, and today a museum and a dozen short interpretive trails lead to pictographs and petroglyphs left on the canyon walls roughly a thousand years ago.
It is an easy and genuinely surprising stop, about forty five minutes from Salina, with trails short enough for a casual visit. The museum frames who the Fremont people were and what daily life looked like here long before the highways and the salt.
The deeper history of the Fremont culture across central Utah lives on the region Fremont Indian State Park page.
The details
Getting there
From Salina, take US-89 and I-70 south and west past Richfield, then follow I-70 up Clear Creek Canyon to Exit 17 and the signed park entrance.
Before you go
- A state park day use fee applies; the museum keeps its own hours, so check ahead.
- The trails are short and mostly easy, with the rock art close to the paths.
- Do not touch the pictographs; skin oils damage them.
- Richfield, halfway there, has full services and the region's hospital.