Mirror Lake Scenic Byway
Personal Notes
This page presents links to our personal notes on our visits to locations along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, in the Uinta Mountains, in northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming.
For years, after we moved to the Salt Lake City area, we failed to visit the Uinta Mountains and the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. They are within an hours drive of the Wasatch Front. We'd heard all sorts of wonderful things about the area, and also heard that it was quite popular with the hikers, campers, fishermen, and other outdoor enthusiasts. And perhaps the thought of crowded campgrounds and trails, and the cutting rattle of ATV engines echoing through the otherwise calm forested slopes turned us away. But we finally made a weekend drive up through the area, just to take a look, and discovered an amazingly beautiful setting that we could no longer resist.
Since that time we have made annual trips into the area, each time camping at the Stillwater Campground in our favorite spot. And yes, there are lots of others sharing the area, but we generally have had enjoyable experiences in the campground and along the road and trails. It's a large area, and if you stay away from the popular lakes along the highway you can generally find some solitude.
Of course, taking a hike or an extended backpack trip into the backcountry will guarantee solitude, astonishing, breathtaking views, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Mirror Lake Scenic Byway Drive
We recently purchased a new Nissan Sentra, using the Government's Cash-for-Clunkers program, to replace our trusty 16 year old Isuzu Trooper. Since we have a Toyota Tacoma for our back road adventures, we thought that a high gas mileage sedan might be the best for our second vehicle. We use it mainly around the city, and occasionally for cross country trips. On this particular Sunday we decided to take it out for a little drive up into the Uinta Mountains to see how it handled on mountain roads and at higher speeds along a highway. The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway seemed to be a natural choice, offering spectacular scenic views all along its length.
We entered the Byway from the west, near Kamas, Utah. There was very little traffic heading east, but there were quite a few vehicles heading west; mostly campers in various configurations of equipment. Of course, after a long summer of hot weather, the one day we picked for a pleasure drive in the high country it became overcast and rained lightly off and on.
We paid the entrance fee of $3.00 and drove on into the range until we got to the Upper Provo River Bridge Picnic Area where we stopped and ate a bit of lunch. There are several picnic tables here, scattered about the meadow under the few tall pines in the immediate area. There is a trash bin and a vault toilet, but no drinking water. The river is just a short distance away. It's not a really a quiet picnic spot, since the highway runs close along the west side of the picnic area.
About the time we began to eat it also began to sprinkle, but it wasn't enough to dampen our enjoyment of our meal.
After eating we packed up and drove on along the Byway, observing that there were relatively few visitors at Mirror Lake and the other turn-outs along the drive. Most of the campground seemed almost empty. Perhaps it was the rainy weather and the overcast skies.
We drove on to the Bear River Ranger Station where we picked up some information, bought a couple of books on the Byway and Uinta hiking, used the restrooms, talked with the ranger, then drove on north to Evanston, where we caught Interstate 80 and continued on back to the Salt Lake City area. The ranger station also has drinking water.
