The site Enterprise
A National Historic Landmark and memorial site, free to visit
Mountain Meadows, a quiet place to visit south of Enterprise.
About ten miles south of Enterprise on State Route 18 is a National Historic Landmark and memorial site. Four memorial locations, no visitor centre, and a valley that asks to be treated with quiet. Here is what is there and how to visit.
By Scott Buehler, Moving Utah
Updated September 2026
The short answer
Mountain Meadows is a National Historic Landmark and memorial site off State Route 18, about ten to eleven miles south of Enterprise and roughly four and a half miles north of Central. It preserves a valley set aside for remembrance, and it is a burial site, so it is treated as one: quiet, free to visit, and without a visitor centre or facilities of any kind. There are four main memorial locations, including the overlook and memorial wall up on Dan Sill Hill and the gravesite memorial down on the valley floor, linked by short walking paths and interpretive panels. Most people give it anywhere from twenty minutes to an afternoon. It is a place you stop at with respect rather than one you plan a day around.
What the site is
A preserved valley, and a place of remembrance.
Mountain Meadows is preserved as a memorial site, kept so that those it remembers are not forgotten. It is not a museum or a park. It is a quiet valley with several memorials and interpretive panels, kept so that what happened is remembered plainly and with care.
The federal government designated the meadows a National Historic Landmark in 2011. The ground is owned partly by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has bought hundreds of acres over the years to preserve the valley, and partly by the United States Forest Service. Between them they maintain the memorials, the walking paths and the panels a visitor finds today.
There are four main memorial locations. The overlook on Dan Sill Hill carries a memorial wall with names cut into granite, and the gravesite memorial sits down on the valley floor. Interpretive panels are set across the site, and reading them is most of what there is to do here. It is a burial ground, and the quiet is the point.
Enterprise is ten miles up the road, getting on with its week. That ordinariness is part of what makes standing here matter, and it is the right reason to stop.
How to visit
Getting there, and what to expect.
The overlook is the usual first stop. Its turning off State Route 18 is signed on the west side of the highway, about four and a half miles north of Central, and climbs to a parking area on Dan Sill Hill. A short trail leads to the memorial wall and a view over the valley floor below.
The gravesite memorial is down on the valley floor, reached by a separate forest road. Beyond those two there are further memorials and interpretive panels set across the site. None of it takes long: the whole visit can be twenty minutes or an afternoon, depending on how much of the site you walk and how long you spend with the panels.
There are no facilities of any kind here, and nowhere nearby to get anything, so bring what you need. The roads down to the valley floor are forest roads and can be poor in winter and after storms. For most people this is a quiet stop on the drive between Enterprise and St. George rather than a destination with services attached.
If you go
The valley floor is reached by forest roads, not highway. They can be rough in winter and after storms, there is no maintenance schedule to plan around, and there are no services of any kind at the site. Check conditions in the cold months, and carry water and fuel.
Scott Buehler
Moving Utah About Scott
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The site, answered.
Off State Route 18 in far northwestern Washington County, about ten to eleven miles south of Enterprise and roughly four and a half miles north of Central. The overlook turning is signed on the west side of the highway and climbs to a parking area on Dan Sill Hill.
It is a National Historic Landmark and memorial site preserving the ground where an 1857 tragedy occurred. Today it is a quiet valley of memorials and interpretive panels, cared for so the people it remembers are not forgotten.
Yes, and it is free. There are four main memorial locations with interpretive panels and walking paths, including the overlook and memorial wall on Dan Sill Hill and the gravesite memorial on the valley floor. There is no visitor centre and no facilities, and it is a burial site rather than an attraction.
Four main memorial locations. The overlook on Dan Sill Hill carries a memorial wall with names cut into granite, and the valley floor holds the gravesite memorial. Interpretive panels are set across the site.
It is owned partly by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has purchased hundreds of acres over the years to preserve the valley, and partly by the United States Forest Service. The federal government designated the site a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Anything from twenty minutes to an afternoon. The overlook alone is a short walk from its parking area. Visiting the gravesite memorial as well means a separate drive on a forest road, and reading the interpretive panels properly takes longer than most people expect.
No. The site is free, and there is no visitor centre, no water and no facilities at any of the memorial locations. Bring what you need, and treat it as a quiet stop rather than a destination with services attached.
Usually, but they are forest roads rather than highway. They can be poor in winter and after storms, and there is no maintenance schedule you can plan around. Check conditions in the cold months, and be aware that there are no services of any kind at the site.
As the burial place it is. Keep to the paths and the panels, stay quiet, and give it the respect a grave asks for. It is a place of remembrance rather than a tourist stop, and most people who come feel that the moment they arrive.
If southern Utah is on your list, I will give you the honest version.
Enterprise is a quiet high-desert farm town about an hour from either metro, ten miles up the road from this valley. If you are weighing a move to this corner of the state, the trade-offs and the good parts both, that is the conversation I am useful for.
Or call me: (435) 357-4345or send me a message
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