If you're looking for a quiet place to sit and ponder in downtown Salt Lake, this is the perfect spot. It has a very peaceful atmosphere with shady spots to sit in for every time of day (we were there at noon and still found plenty of shade to sit and eat lunch in). The sculptures are varied and thought-provoking and there's a free brochure available to tell you more about any of the sculptures that you want to learn more about. It's small for a public garden but that just adds to its charm. There's room to wander a bit and benches to sit and think on. It's a little oasis in the midst of the bustle of downtown Salt Lake City. (Fair warning: There are no picnic tables so it's more of a sack lunch spot if you're planning to eat there and there is no restroom or playground. It's meant to be a place for thinking and pondering, not a park. That said, my young kids still really enjoyed exploring the garden, so I'm not trying to discourage you from taking kids here, just wanting you to be aware of what it is and what it's not if you decide to go.)

Wonderful, lovely experience! This sculpture garden really is a hidden gem and a must see when visiting SLC. There was plenty of free parking available near the entrance and the entrance is clearly labeled, although tucked between homes. There are free pamphlets at the start of the garden, be sure to grab one of these so you can get some more insight into each sculpture. It was so peaceful here and such a unique experience! Definitely recommend checking it out and as a bonus, it's free to visit and dog friendly! Just make sure to keep those pups on a leash and the area free from waste.
Restrooms
There is a Porta Potty on site.
Dog-friendliness
Dog friendly! Dogs just be on a leash and make sure to bring your own poo bags.
Picnic area
There are several benches and a little seating area that would be nice for picnicing.

The Gilgal Sculpture Garden is a unique/eclectic/mildly unsettling collection of stone sculptures, engravings, and plant life, all curated by a single man with what one may refer to as a vision. The garden is relatively small but dense, and visits can take anywhere from 1/2 to several hours, depending on how in-depth you wish to experience the gardens attractions. The sculptures and carvings are all vaguely religious in line with the Mormon faith, but interspersed with the personal reflections of the parks founder, making for a very interesting glimpse into the mentality of Western settlement, perhaps even manifest destiny itself. All in all, the gardens are worth stopping by for the experience, even if just for a quick half hour visit.

This is an awesome piece of Utah history! This park was originally the back yard of Thomas Child's home, a masonry contractor. He started building the sculptures in 1947, when he was 57 years old. All of the sculptures are related to the beliefs and teachings of the LDS church, which Child belonged to. The garden becomes more interesting if you take the time to learn the background behind the park itself. The sculptures are very unique and interesting and I wish I could know what Thomas Child was thinking as he made each culpture. Everytime I have been there, the park has been especially windy so I would recommend bringing a jacket.

Wow... What a hidden gem... This place was really cool. Was trying to find something free to do with my boys and we went and checked this place out. It was worth the drive. Beautiful little place. Well cared for gardens. Lots of unique flowers and plants and even more unique sculptures . I loved the creativity and unique style of the artist. His creativity combined with his pain for the inspiration he finds in scriptures and poetry... I loved it. We spent about 20 minutes here and it was enough for my boys... But would have loved to have spent some more time and read everything engraved in all the stones.

Gilgal Gardens is a hidden gem right in Salt Lake City, Utah where there's always something blooming virtually year round. From the beautiful flowering trees, tulips and daffodils in the spring, to roses of all varieties and colors, along with a variety of other beautiful flowering plants all summer and into the fall, there's always something to see. There's even a family of quail who call the garden home. Add to the beauty of the flowers the unique and sometimes strange sculptures scattered throughout the garden and this is a must see place of interest when visiting the city.

The sculptures and environment is really good but yet really small, you don’t need to spend more than 5 mins to finish the whole park, we almost missed the place when we driving. The maintenance is good and you can learn a lot from the park. There’s no restroom in the park, if you bringing your child with you make sure to be careful so they don’t run around the place, it could be dangerous due to a-lot of sculptures in small area.
Playground
No playground
Restrooms
No restroom
Picnic area
There’s some benches you can sit on but not big area

I searched for a surprise experience for my girlfriend and I to visit in the Salt Lake area. This was very eclectic and different to the point that we spent a couple hours just walking and visiting the gardens, sculptures in a very quiet, peaceful place in downtown area of Salt Lake. We were delighted with something different and cool. I suggest taking an hour or so to visit and see the strange and delightful sculptures that are now preserved by the Gilgal Preservation Society for all of us to enjoy. Thanks friends for your preservation efforts.

⭐️ ℂℙℝ ℝℕ⭐️ ••• .••• 》A hidden garden of stones engraved with scriptures, a Joseph Smith Sphinx, all carved by one man. Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. in the mid-twentieth century created 12 sculptures, and over 70 stones engraved with Mormon scriptures, poems, and literary texts.《 ° The park is not fully taken care of. There is a broken chair and one weird area. I won't reccomend to go there when it is dark

This is a Utah hidden gem! If you haven’t go and explored this park then you need to get on it! This place is full of art and sculptures. A ton of history about Utah and Mormons. It is very interesting to get a view of all this art and history that you might not be aware of. If you are just visiting Salt Lake City you should defiantly come check out this park. They have a lot of stuff in here that will help you get a feel for why Utah is the way it is. If you live here and you haven’t check this park out then get on it.

Great little garden to take a nice stroll. It is located in between a couple of houses, and it is not out in the open like a big open park setting would be. However, it is very well compressed into a nice peaceful stroll. There are benches throughout to sit on, and lots of different rock sculptures and scriptures on rocks you could take the time to read. You could even find a bench to sit on and just enjoy the flower garden. No cost to get in, donations accepted, and it is handicap ♿️ accessible.

The most incredible display of hardwork, tenacity, and devotion in art I've ever seen. The gardens are beautiful. The sculptures are described in a provided brochure, pictures of some of the process posted on a wall, and plenty of shade and benches to sit. Just the movement of the large stones were a feat in itself. The creator and designer, Mr. Child, actually invented the way of welding the stone. He was a master Craftsman in his field with incredible vision with sybolism.

Very nice, small garden with several rock sculptures and flowering plants. I took two stars because it was a mile long walk from the hotel at a 100 degrees temperature and we did it because it looked like it was going to be, um, more. If you are nearby and can go there to breath in and out on a regular basis, I am sure it can be a refreshing stop. But it is not worth going out of you way if you only have a limited amount of time in Salt Lake City.

The Gilgal Sculpture Garden is a fun and unique expression of the religious faith of Thomas Child, Jr. (1888-1963). Child went to great lengths to find and transport boulders from across the state to torch cut them into sculptures in his spare time. While it is unique, I would recommend visiting only if you are in the area. This is not a destination attraction. But if you are nearby, be sure to also check out the gothic style LDS 10th Ward Chapel.

I've heard about this place for a while, and just realized that it's a 5 minute walk from my work. I checked it out on lunch yesterday. Since we're in the middle of a 100 degree heat wave I didn't stay as long as I would like, but I really enjoyed it. I wish I was able to read all of the engravings. It's really cool that this unique little park is open and free to the public. The flowers in June were so beautiful.

This little garden is so special and unique. I'm not from this area so I'm not sure of the back story here. But the vibe is very peaceful and almost reverent. We went there on such a gorgeous day that the entire garden seemed to sparkle. I love everything about this place. If you like unusual and off the beaten path folk art you might find these gardens as wonderfully intriguing and mysterious as I do.

Among the most beautiful, unique, offbeat attractions that Salt Lake City has to offer. Anyone who wants to sate their curiosity about LDS history should balance their visit to Temple Square with a visit to this weird and wonderful park. The sculpture garden has an excellent walking tour to explain its ins and outs. Whether you spend 15 minutes or 2 hours here, you will leave in satisfied wonderment.

It was cool! I thought it would be larger. Definitely not the best place for dogs but we were lucky, there were not a lot of people when we went so our dog wasn't as crazy. Our daughter liked exploring a little and smelling the flowers. Just had to make sure she didn't climb on the rocks that were art. It is definitely a cool place to see which I had never known about. It is very peaceful and quiet.

If you want to see the unusual side of SLC, this is the best place to go! The sculpture garden is not very big, you can see everything in less than 15 minutes if you just walk around. There are little things to look at and read if you want to spend more time there. The parking is on the street. If it's a nice day, I'll park at Trolley Square and walk the block and a half to the garden.

Really, really interesting, free place to visit. Won't take you long; it's kind of small. We do wish there were descriptions or history or background or something; we had no idea what anything was depicting or what anything meant. Like the Sphinx--we wouldn't have known it had the face of Joseph Smith had we not read it beforehand. Overall, though, pretty cool spot to visit.

Small garden with some neat statues. The flowers though were amazing!! Thank you to the women who was gardening that spoke with me about certain flowers. I’m guessing she was a volunteer. I was very happy when she cut me off some seed pods from some annuals I really liked. Walking through took 15-20 minutes. Would go back the next time I’m in SLC.

Fun, quick visit. Seems like it's in a residential backyard. It seems like it was someone's pride and joy and they put in a lot of hard work sculpting those rocks. Lots of religious significance to most of it. We were through in like 15 mins. Nice place to have in the neighborhood for who ever lives around there. It's fun to see since it's free

Slightly lame. Definitely underwhelming. Why does this place pop up for attractions in Salt Lake City? Is there really a scarcity of worthwhile places? This garden has a handful of sculptures, hardly interesting, slightly disappointing. No information regarding the makers of the sculptures. On the plus side, it is free.

Great little free distraction in the city. If you need to kill a little time while waiting this is a great place to visit. Lots of flowers and interesting sculptures and rocks. We visited while waiting for my father to be discharged from the hospital. It was a bright spot in a not so terrific day.

This was interesting, if small. It is very arty, but also slightly creepy. There are bible verses engraved in the artworks and paving stones all around, so it is heavily Christian themed. I would have liked it to be a bit bigger, but as small as it is, it is a good way to spend an hour in SLC.

Great little place for a quick visit. When putting the address in Lyft, it took us to the back of the garden, so be aware of that. It's not a very big place and it's interesting to see construction surrounding it. Good for a quick stop, maybe about 30min max. Especially on a hot day

One of salt lakes hidden gems. Also free to visit these gardens. that house these unique & fascinating historical sculptures It .Garden grounds seem to always be well maintained & nicely groomed. Should be added to your list of Things You Must See while in Salt Lake City.

I've wanted to visit this place for a while, and I am glad I finally made it. I thought all of the sculptures were really interesting, and I found all of the scriptures and quotes interesting as well. I definitely plan on going back when I have more time to explore.

A slice of tranquility in the middle of the city. They’ve improved access and put little walking trails through the flowers and gardens. Informative pictures and history under the old shed. The bird house is the biggest I’ve seen. Go if you can ❤️ …

It's a nice park, tricky to find it in a neighborhood. It is wheelchair accessible, it has a paved path through the park. Some trails off the pavement won't be wheelchair accessible. Be sure to get a brochure at the front to explain some of the exhibits.

Quirky little sculpture garden created as a passion project of a mormon bishop who used to own the land. Only takes a few minutes to walk around and see the whole thing. It is an interesting piece of Salt Lake history that is worth checking

If you are looking for an interesting park to visit while in Salt Lake City Gilgal is it! I had been here before and there were homeless people sleeping and a mess in there. This time around the landscape looks amazing! It looks like they

Beautiful hidden gem! I was excited to explore with my family and my friends family. Definitely worth picking up the brochure at the beginning of the path and reading some of the back story about this cool park and it's incredible creator.

Lovely garden! Pollinators abundant! We went in the middle of the day when it was very hot, but we found a bench in some shade. It would be so lovely in the evening. Definitely could use a fresh bathroom. The ports potty was pretty icky.

Super awesome little garden tucked away in Salt Lake. The sculptures are something else, and if you don't have ties to Mormonism, it's definitely worth stopping by. There's even some parking right in front of the entrance to the garden.

Tiny. And creepy. Very creepy. The artwork is mostly of body parts doing strange things. I love art, it's truly amazing for the human mind, but this is not art. It wasnt worth the drive as it was quite small and the walkways very muddy.

God,,,,, what a place. Iconic, well-designed, bizarre, peaceful. A great place to take out-of-towners. A must-visit place for folk-art connesuorues (idk how to spell, fight me). Shoutout Dr. Gilgal for this special place!

One of the nicest sculpture parks in all of Salt Lake the other ones that we visited did not have as many Brighham Spynx sculptures as Gigal garden does. Planning on coming back for some sunbathing when it’s summertime.

Stay away. It has interesting sculptures, but it’s a glorified dog walking and poop park. If you do visit it won’t take more than 10 mins. The stuff is off… but on the plus side it’s better than the city art gallery!

This place is a fascinating matchup between a man's faith and his talent for sculpting. He has expressed his faith through his sculpture and his sculptures are interesting, sometimes disturbing, and very well done.

Hidden gem in the middle of the busy Salt Lake City. The place also have a wall with pictures from the moment this park was created. A very quiet place that take all the stress away from this loud City

Really unique and very beautiful and well kept. Definitely a hidden gem in Salt Lake City. However it's pretty small so don't expect anything that's going to take more than 10 minutes to walk through.

Unique in town, almost a historical place, surrealist combining exquisitely the LDS beliefs and the modern sculpture arts. Great engineering work funded by Child, the filantropic local artist.

Small sculpture park tucked away off the street. It's definitely different and worth a quick walk through if you are in the area
Playground
No playground
Restrooms
No restrooms

Interesting place to visit if you are in Salt Lake City. I'm not a fan of the theology, but the sculptures were creative and we had a nice time eating our picnic lunch in the gardens.

This is a great opportunity for anyone. Hidden feature just to North East of Trolley Square. .. There are several exhibits with sculptures and some awesome photo opportunities. …

So cool!! Weird to be in downtown SLC, but it was so quiet other than birds chirping happily! We even saw a squirrel! The sculptures were incredible! Definitely a must see!

It is a small garden with masonry fork art unique to Utah. Native plants add to the interest of the garden. The garden is a tribute to all who follow their dreams.

Amazingly pretty and clean! Super nice landscaping and gardening surrounding the suberb masonry art! Was totally alone at 10am. It was so peaceful and beautiful!

Very interesting and so much talent. Don't miss seeing this in SLC. Be sure to grab a brochure so you can fully understand Mr. Child's vision. Highly recommend.

Such an amazing hidden gem! Love that the talented man who built this garden had a vision and pursued it with such vigor. You can feel the passion in his work.

Very pretty area but if you’re a tourist like me, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it. It’s a good pit stop but you’re not going to spend much time here.

Most obscure and awesome little place in Salt Lake City that I've found. There is a new little family of quail running around that are absolutely adorable.

Interesting installment... A nice quiet place to eat lunch. Beautiful gardens and flowers. I wish there were more/better explanations of the sculptures.

Always fun to bring friends & family here after dinner across the street in the Trolley Square. Great place to sit in a shady bench & meditate as well.

Nice quiet area with great statues and greenery , enjoyed the roses walking in and the art inside, the late hours open helped me as well , thank you!

Interesting place. Enjoyed the history of Mormonism. Learning experience reading the the stones that had scriptures, poems and literalrary texts.

Interesting sculpture park a little difficult to find the entrance. You must park on the street and walk in. Worth spending a half hour +or - at.

Went during the early summer. Lovely Flowers and interesting sculptures. It's about 15/30 minute walk thru. Off the beaten path & worth the stop

Weird little stone garden curiosity, not really sure what to think about this place ( probably bottom of the list of places to visit in SLC)

Great sculpture park. Came here a few years back when I visited SLC. Definitely worth popping in to check it out. I spent about 30mins here!

Very interesting place and well worth the visit. Can be tricky to find because it is in the middle of a residential area. Relaxing and free.

Interesting, very small sculpture park. If in the area might be worth a quick stop, but wouldn't drive out of the way or far to visit.

Small yet elegant. A sight to see! Walk through in under an hour. Great to see how hard the owner worked to leave a beautiful legacy!

What a cool little place. I took my granddaughter just out of curiosity. Such talented artists. Very small, but worth a walk through.

Nice quiet park with plenty of unique and interesting things to look at. Each item's meaning is explained in the free guide book.

Beautiful, small and very unique garden. Plenty of benches to sit, enjoy and reflect. Great combination of art and religion

Great little hidden park with some great sculptures! We loved it! It gives the history of the park and each sculpture.

Small and filled with homeless people. A couple of the sculptures were interesting but overall not worth the stop.

Beautiful sculpture garden in the day or night, snow or sun! Worth the visit. Only take a few minutes and is free!

Great for a short walk enjoying scupltures and garden (it's not a big park you can go around like in 45 min )

It very very small garden with a few interesting sculptures . Stop by only if you are in that neighborhood.

A place I feel exMormons and Mormons have something in common. Beautifully maintained and thought provoking

This park could have been cool to walk around, but it seems to be a place for the homeless now so we left.

It's a fun little free sculpture. Definitely very lds but it's a cool to see bits of history and culture.

Cute garden with shade and a nice breeze. Enjoyed looking at the quotes. Clean porta potty in the garden!

Very artistic and welcoming. Must see, the visit requires less than one hour if you are in Salt Lake City

A cool place to visit with some interesting sculptures. Consider it a detour rather than a main event.

Kinda meh but also I'm not LDS / Mormon so I didn't quite understand it. Definitely different though.

Fun, odd, little out-of-the way park in downtown SLC. Take a peek and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Beautiful flowers. Grounds are kept clean. Lots of scriptures on the rocks. Very peaceful setting.

Nice little spot to walk, kind of weird if you don’t know much about mormon culture... like myself

Very nice clean park. The rock sculptures were interesting. Loved the sayings engraved in stone.

Beautiful place. It would be a wonderful place to sit and contemplate if it wasn’t 95 degrees.

This place was kinda neat, very small, and very hard to find by Google Maps. But glad I went.

Small sculpture garden, LDS dedicated if that aligns with you. The birdhouses were very cool!

This was a very unique experience. We had a good time exploring & learning about Mr. Childs.

Interesting an odd. A folk art sculpture garden made by a devout Mormon as an act of faith.

Beautiful little park, interesting sculptures and gorgeous trees, flowers and bird houses.

Really unusual & unique park. Can definitely say I've never seen anything quite like it.

It's like an artsy adventure in a secret garden – definitely a unique spot to check out!

A little gem tucked away in the heart of SLC. You have to find it, but worth the effort

Pretty cool garden! Definitely interesting stuff and cool how hidden/tucked away it is.

Didnt know this place existed, fun and creative place to visit for outdoor sculptures.

Great, the sculptural arrangements over 70 stones engraved with sculptures and poems.

Quaint little garden space with sculptures. Great place for some local history.

What a fun little place!! I can't wait to go back when everything is in bloom.

This is a wonderful park. Thank you volunteers for making it so nice.

It’s a small park and it doesn’t entertain us for more than 10 mins

Loved it. It was an amazing experience. Small place but so unique.