Partner Highlights Blog:
Tooele County

The Community and Partner Relation Team along with Kim Heys from the marketing team, Jenica Barber from the research team, Christina Martin from the film team and Patrick Morrison from the Division of Outdoor Recreation joined Chris McCormick, Tooele County Tourism Director for the first Tourism focused tour of Tooele County.

There is a quiet, breathtaking wonder in watching a place hold space for both its storied past and its unfolding future. Wandering through Tooele County, you feel an undeniable current of transformation, from the ancient, sacred silence of Danger Cave, harboring 12,000 years of human history, Benson Grist Mill with pioneer heritage to the soaring, radical vision behind the 511-acre West Desert Motorsports Park. We gathered alongside local leaders, private industry, and passionate caretakers at historic mills, World War II airfields, and vibrant community parks, all united by a single, powerful conviction: Tooele is no longer just a pass-through bedroom community, but a destination coming fiercely into the tourism scene.

Tooele County is balancing an explosion of new residents with the urgent preservation of fragile gems, like the deteriorating structures of Ophir or the volunteer-sustained Fire Museum, both requiring deep love, state-level collaboration, and strategic care. By expanding recreation, reimagining lodging, and fiercely honoring the land's deep-rooted heritage, Tooele is building a sanctuary where both day-trippers, overnight guests and lifelong residents can truly belong. The UOT team felt the spirit of preservation and the balance the community faces going forward.