Senator John Curtis walks through Summit, Wasatch Counties on 250-mile journey across Utah

Senator John Curtis at Soldier Hollow for a 250th Anniversary Hike Photo: TownLift//Randi Sidman-Moore

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, U.S. Sen. John Curtis is marking the milestone one step at a time.

The Utah senator is walking 250 miles across the state over nine days, beginning near the Utah-Idaho border and ending Saturday at Provo’s Stadium of Fire. Averaging about 30 miles a day, Curtis says the journey is his way of honoring the nation’s semiquincentennial while meeting Utahns in communities across the state.

The walk began in Dingle, Idaho, the birthplace of Curtis’ mother, just seven miles north of the Utah border. Along the route, the senator has stopped to meet with local residents, elected officials and community leaders while highlighting the values he says have shaped both the nation and Utah’s pioneer heritage.

Curtis entered Summit County on Wednesday, where county officials and staff joined him for part of the day’s route. The next day, as he made his way into Park City along SR-224, Gov. Spencer Cox walked alongside him for a portion of the trek after attending the Western Governors Conference in Deer Valley.

Reflecting on the experience, Curtis said walking has given him a new perspective on the state.

“I think everybody should walk the state at 3 miles an hour,” Curtis told KSL. “You get a whole different view, and it’s a good view.”

The senator has said the walk is intended to focus less on politics and more on the principles he believes unite Americans.

“They’re good values. They’re values that span right and left in all demographics — family, faith, hard work, patriotism,” Curtis told KSL. “All those things that we see in our founders are what I’ve been seeing the last few days.”

On Friday morning, supporters gathered to join Curtis along the Deer Creek Reservoir trail as he continued south toward Provo.

He is expected to complete the final mile of his journey Saturday by walking into Provo’s Independence Day celebrations.