In 2012 Scott House and his wife were looking for an affordable wedding venue while establishing their life in Park City.
The pair was inspired by an area close to their favorite mountain biking trails, TG and TG2.
“We had like this connection to the land and connection to our friends there, like it all fit, we all just knew it really well,” House said. “We would ride there on the weekends, and we’re not necessarily religious people, and so our thing was always like, on Sundays we go to the church and we go ride mountain bikes, we go ride dirt bikes, whatever it is. And that’s like our spiritual place.”
Using aspen trees a friend provided, House built the arch that stands at the church today. At the time, Bonanza Flat was private property.
“We didn’t ask for permission,” House said. “We worked on the ‘it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission’ program.”
On their wedding day in July 2012, the group dealt with microburst winds, heavy rain and temperatures in the 30s. House and his wife planned to ride their bikes to the after-party. The weather had other plans.
The next day they were going to remove the structure.
“But like a lot of good parties in Park City, we all had a really good time, and totally forgot to go up there and take it down,” House said. “So my wife and I went to the Dominican Republic for a trip, and we got back like two weeks later and were out on a bike ride with friends and we rode back and we’re like, ‘Oh man! We’ve forgot to take this thing down. I think we’ll just leave it here because no one’s touched it or anything. So we’re just gonna leave well enough alone.’ And that’s how it got started.”
House celebrated his son at the church in 2015, but hasn’t spent time there since. He said it’s been a trip watching the site explode in popularity; it is now a featured place on Google Maps.
“Once something gets on social media with a geotag, it’s hard to keep it a secret,” House said. “That spot is so beautiful. Bonanza Flat in general is beautiful, but that saddle in that ridge is really special, because you can’t see the road. All you see is the southern Wasatch and Clayton’s Peak, and then if you turn around, it’s just the view down to Park City and out to the Uintas. It really is a special piece of the world.”
House said it’s clear the church has now reached the point of overuse.
“It’s been hard to see and hear some of the stories of people almost getting in fistfights and people blocking the road and people bringing in wedding planners and florists and bands and all this stuff. That’s maybe not what that space is best for.”
Citing concerns about safety and disruption, the Park City Council decided to shut down the Church of Dirt last week.
When asked if he supported the council’s call, this was House’s response:
“I’m really agnostic,” he said. “At this point, I think the most important thing is that we’re doing everything we can as a community to preserve Bonanza Flat.”
Park City Trails and Open Space Manager Heinrich Deters said the biggest problem is the perception the church is a private venue, even though it’s on Park City-owned land. House said at the end of the day, it’s an area for recreation.
“It’s meant for people to go biking and hiking; it’s not a formal wedding venue," House said. "And so if it’s creating this issue where people think they own it, and that they can tell others not to go there during their special day, and it’s creating traffic problems that are dangerous on that road… then maybe it is time for it to go away.”
Deters said the city plans to remove the arch, benches, and other materials at the church once the upper portion of Marsac Avenue closes for the winter.
