Parley's Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Utah. The canyon provides the route of Interstate 80 (and previously the Lincoln Highway and U.S. Route 40) up the western slope of the Wasatch Mountains and is a relatively wide, straight canyon. The lower part of the canyon, however, is relatively twisty and had to be dynamited to make way for I-80. Despite this, the interstate remains six lanes wide throughout the canyon. Parley's Canyon begins where Interstate 215 merges into I-80 in Salt Lake City and ends at Parley's Summit. On the other side of the summit the freeway unfolds into the Snyderville Basin, which is where the popular resort town of Park City is located. Clearly visible as you enter the basin is the ski jump built for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the large shopping district that has manifested itself around Kimball Junction. The upper portion of the canyon is part of the Summit Park census-designated place (CDP). However, this area is more commonly referred to as Jeremy Ranch or Parley's Summit. Here, the canyon is wide enough to form large communities along the sides of the freeway along the gentle mountain slopes.
The canyon receives its name from Parley P. Pratt who was assigned to explore the canyon, called Big Canyon at the time, and to build a toll road, called the Golden Pass Toll Road.[1] Construction on the road started in 1848 and was completed in 1850. The road through Parley's Canyon became the primary route into the Salt Lake Valley, surpassing the original route through Emigration Canyon.[2]