In July of 1848, Richard Ballantyne wrote that his company “Camped opposite Chimney Rock . . . Here the scenery is remarkable, interesting and romantic. It produces an impression as if we were bordering on a large and antiquated city".

William Henry Jackson tells of a typical Mormon camp along the trail. "The Mormon corral presents a lively, interesting scene. Three hundred men, women and children grouped within the space occupied by the encircled wagons very naturally making it so. A few of the families have small tents that are put up both inside and outside the corral; the rest sleeping either in their wagons or under them. The whole outfit is divided into messes of convenient size, and, as soon as camp is located, the first thing to do is to start the fires; those whose duty it is to provide fuel foraging around in every direction for 'chips,' sage brush, or any other material available, and soon forty or fifty bright little fires are twinkling inside and outside the corral, with coffee pots, frying pans, and bake ovens filling the air with appetizing incense. From a little distance one of these encampments, at night, resembles an illuminated city in miniature, and as one approaches nearer there is usually the sound of revelry. In every Mormon train there are usually some musicians, for they seem to be very fond of song and dance, and as soon as the camp work is done the younger element gather in groups and 'trip the light fantastic toe' with as much vim as if they had not had a twenty mile march that day".