along the gentle mountain slopes. On the other side of the summit the freeway continues into the Snyderville Basin, which is where the popular resort town of Park City is located. Also within the basin is the ski jump built for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the large shopping district at Kimball Junction. History 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. Construction on the road started in 1848 and was completed in 1850. The road through Parleys Canyon became the primary route into the Salt Lake Valley, surpassing the original route through Emigration Canyon. The canyon was used by a narrow gauge branchline owned by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway from Salt Lake to Park City (the Salt Lake and Park City Railway). However, with its steep grades the line struggled to compete with the Union Pacific's line (via Coalville, connecting to the UP main at Echo). The line was eventually rebuilt to standard gauge by the Rio Grande Western who along with their successor the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, operated trains up into the canyon until 1956. Some remnants of the Rio Grande line through Parleys Canyon, namely the cuts for the horseshoe curves, are in use by local roads and visible off the shoulder of the freeway. A lower portion of the same railroad line outside of Parley's Canyon, remains in use in the present day as the right of way for the UTA S-Line streetcar. References External links Articles and history about Parley's Canyon Openstreetmap Canyons and gorges of Utah Lincoln Highway Canyons and gorges of Salt Lake County, Utah Landforms of Summit County, Utah Mountain passes of Utah U.S. Route 40 Wasatch Range Interstate 80