Big Fill Trail - Golden Spike National Historic Site
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 41° 38.231 W 112° 29.466
12T E 375809 N 4610568
Big Fill Trail - Golden Spike National Historic Site
Waymark Code: WMTN5D
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2016
Views: 1
The Big Fill Trail is a mile and a half round trip walking trail at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. A trail guide is available at the trailhead and the Visitor Center.
The trail follows the original Central Pacific railroad grade out to The Big Fill where the Central Pacific built a large fill across a large ravine. The Union Pacific built a large wooden trestle (The Big Trestle) across the same ravine a few hundred feet downstream. The return trail follows the original Union Pacific grade back to the trailhead.
There is a parking lot and sign at the trailhead. Text of sign:
Big Fill Trail
Look down this path toward the sharp V-shaped notch in the shoulder of the mountainside ahead. Walking the Big Fill Trail, you can still see some of the violent fury of the final days of the race to Promontory, carved into unyielding limestone.
Although the Promontory Mountains don't look as formidable as the Wasatch Front of the Sierra Nevada to modern eyes, your hike here will show you the toughest grade for a train to pull along the entire transcontinental route from Donner Pass to the Missouri River.
This 1.5-mile round-trip route leads to the Big Fill and Big Trestle site. The grade is easy to walk - just 1.6 percent - thanks to the limits set in the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862.
Before You Hike
*Hiking time - about 1 hour
*Take drinking water
*Metal detectors, firearms, and artifact collecting are prohibited
*Wear a hat, there is no shade
*Watch your step. Slopes off the grades are loose and rocky.
*Prepare for mosquitoes and ticks.
*Rattlesnakes have the right-of-way.
Approximate Time to Finish: 1 hour
Addtional Website URL: [Web Link]
Brochure or Interpretive Signs: Brochure
Rate the Walk: 
Fee?: Not Listed
Wherigo Cartridge: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
A picture at the start of the Trail or Walk is greatly appreciated. Additional photos taken during the course of the walk would also be of great benefit.
If there does not appear to be a defined beginning to the trail or walk, pick a logical place (e.g. close to parking) or where information about the walk or trail can be gathered.