Kelton

Kelton is a ghost town situated just north of the Great Salt Lake in the Park Valley area of Box Elder County, Utah. Its lifespan as an inhabited place ran from 1869 to 1942, with the railroad serving as the foundation of everything the community was.

As a section station on the First Transcontinental Railroad, Kelton once held genuine strategic importance. A busy stagecoach route connecting it to Boise, Idaho added to that significance — until the 1880s, when that route was discontinued. A second blow came in the early 1900s when the Lucin Cutoff rerouted the main rail line away from town, effectively cutting Kelton off from the very thing that sustained it.

Visitors today will find a remote desert setting with the remnants of a once-functional railroad town. Access is through rural Box Elder County, and the area is best visited in the warmer months when roads are passable. Come prepared for a self-guided experience with little infrastructure — this is open, exposed country far from services.