The Helper Riverwalk runs through the heart of town, beginning at the Helper River Beach, located at the corner of Ivy St. and S 100 W. Pass under shade trees with benches places for rest or bird watching, cross a suspension bridge, and walk the sandstone labyrinth, located at the Riverwalk’s north end. River Helpers, a new group formed in the spring of 2018, oversees the watering of native and water-friendly saplings planted by Helper Middle School students. Native cottonwood, aspen, and shrubs thrive have been planted in sunny spots to restore the natural habitat for species such as deer and songbirds. These native plants will replace the removal of invasive species, such as tamarisk and Russian olives. Several new beaches and swimming holes have been placed, along with access paths to the waterside, allowing for swimming, wading, and creating habitat for native fish.

Spring Canyon has been known to locals to be haunted and stories have evolved throughout the years, including the popular ghost legend,  The White Lady of Spring Canyon.

There is a popular walking trail that follows the canyon and has towering bands of gray and tan sandstone that is great for climbing.

Spring Canyon is a great way to get outdoors for a hike or a climb, and if you have a GPS, check out the geocaching opportunities in the area too!

Helper City Pool, open in the summer months, is an outdoor pool with a play-and-sprinkler slide structure and beach entrance for children and a deeper pool available for diving and schedules lap swimming. The concessions stand offers snacks and ice cream, and several tables and umbrellas offer shade. The pool is available for parties and stands adjacent to the City Park for extension of the fun!

The Western Mining Railroad Museum exhibits Carbon County’s coal mining past, and the railroad, which has been the lifeblood of the area.  It also showcases life in Helper throughout the last century.

The Western Mining and Railroad Museum is an excellent place to learn information not usually found in history books, with oral histories told by curators and docents. The gift shop also offers booklets about history and lore for a self-guided driving tour up Spring Canyon.

 Descend into the lower level for a walk-through section of a mock-up coal mine—complete with canary cages—and visit the jail and smithy. Upstairs, continue through the old hotel and visit themed rooms that house a well-stocked Company Store, schoolroom, Veterans Honor Hall, miniature locomotives, dinosaur fossils, and footprints. A miniature train will chug around a tiny track for a quarter, and ascend to the upper floors for a panorama view of the modern train yard.

You can’t miss the imposing yet friendly status looming over you here on Main Street.  Meet Big John!

He oversees the Helper Civic Auditorium and is affectionately known as the “Biggest Coal Miner” in the world.  Big John is 18 feet tall and is constructed of fiberglass.  The International Fiberglass Company created thousands of similar large statues for various industries.  In 1964, Mayor Chris Jouflas and City Council decided the town needed an attraction to honor its mining history.  The City placed an order for a coal miner statue and the community chose to name him Big John based on the Jimmy Dean song “Big Bad John.”  He represents those miners who lost their lives – much along the story of the White Lady which resonates today.  The story has numerous versions, the most common being she lost her husband in a mining accident at Peerless and then slowly lost her mind.  She still visits during Halloween up Spring Canyon.

The Helper Civic Auditorium, directly behind Big John, is one of two WPA buildings on Main Street.  The WPA was a program created during the Great Depression to stimulate the economy by employing local labor.  Architects from Salt Lake City, Scott and Welch, designed the building in the international style – a style developed in the 1930s closely related to modern architecture.  Major tenants of the style include simplification of form and adoption of glass, steel and concrete as preferred materials.  The beauty of the Auditorium lies in its’ majestic curves – the front portion serving as City Council Chambers and housing the Helper City Library on the right side of the building.

The Rio Theatre, located at 210 South Main St, hosts annual events such as the Butch Cassidy Film Festival and the Helper Arts, Music, and Film Festival. The Rio is also available for traveling shows, such as programs with the Utah Opera, Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra and Utah Youth Philharmonic. Comedians, local schools, and ballet performances also light the stage.

The city of Helper offers a wide variety of unique, cozy and convenient lodging options through AirBnBs, an RV Park, cabins and lodges.

The Pro Shop has the gear, snacks and drinks you need to start your day with 18 rounds of golf on the Carbon Country Club Golf Course. After enjoying this unforgettable course make sure to swing by the Country Club for the perfect meal to end to your day.

Heading south on Main Street, you’ll quickly get to Helper’s second WPA building.  The Post Office is easy to spot, proudly waving the American flag in front with all of the historic elegance to be found inside.  Built in 1937, the Post Office is a one-story flat roof red brick structure.  It also has new lighting outlining the structure and windows – a gift you can find all over our Main St. buildings thanks to a number of grants and donations.  Be sure to go inside and check out the mural by Jenne Magafan.  Western Town is a mural study consisting of oil on fiberboard approximately 25.5 x 43.25 in size.  This work was in conjunction with the Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program which commissioned artists to create images for post offices across the country.  For this mural, Magafan focused on the community’s past as a way to mitigate the uncertain present during the Depression. Critical to our heritage, Helper had to fight to keep their Post Office as a viable, active location.  Walt Borla retired from the Post Office after 45 years of service and led the fight to maintain the Helper Post Office location not once, but twice in his lifetime.  Walt Borla is permanently “linked” to both Helper and this iconic postal building.  A priceless piece of history, Helper has come full circle with more and more murals populating the historic buildings on Main Street, created by today’s artist community.  Across the street you can spot the City Garage mural, as well as the Lincoln Hotel – with more murals as you continue down Main Street and return north.