ATV Adventures: Riding the high country to Daniels Summit
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- Cue the music: “The hills are alive …” No, stop the music and enjoy the beauty of the mountains at 10,000 feet.
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- Mark and Charlotta of Farr West at the majestic entrance to the Daniels Summit Lodge.
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- Lynn Blamires
The mountain OHV trails are open and life is good. I took my big grandkids from Kamas to Daniels Summit on an OHV adventure on Saturday. I use “big” because I can’t call them little anymore since they aren’t. One has an RZR and we have been riding together for a while. The other has only been out on the trails a few times.
I had a GPS track from Daniels Summit to Kamas from a big ride I took — Kanab to Kamas in 2020. Not knowing if there was a place to unload, we started in Kamas and rode 15 miles of unnecessary highway miles. There are plenty of places to stage near Mill Hollow Road where we left the highway to climb into the high country.
As we climbed up from Highway 35, we came to Mill Hollow Reservoir. It was an active place — the shores were lined with families fishing, while others enjoyed the paddle boards and canoes. We were not the only ones enjoying a day in the mountains. We noted the deep blue waters as we passed.
Our track took us almost to 10,000 feet. It was obvious that these roads had not been open very long. There were patches of snow that still extended onto the road in places. The trail we followed was on Unita National Forest land, but most of it was on the Uintah Ouray Indian Reservation.
Later, when I overlayed our track on the map, I found trails that led to Soldier Creek, Red Creek, Strawberry and Current Creek reservoirs. There are a lot of reasons to come back and explore these trails.
We stopped for a while to enjoy this first-of-the-year mountain experience. The temperature was perfect and the mountains were covered with a beautiful blanket of green dotted with patches of snow. In the distance, we could see the ranks of mountain ranges and the wildflowers were starting to bloom. I better stop. This is starting to sound like “The hills are alive with the sound of …”
The trails were active with other riders. They were with families who were enjoying a mountain experience. It felt like being at the Salt Lake Off-Road and Outdoor Expo. I saw many tents mounted on the tops of trucks and other examples of camping equipment from the show. I even saw an InstaPrivy — it consists of a cover that balances on your head with an army-green nylon cover that drops down around you while you sit peacefully in a private moment.
I mentioned wildflowers — the bluebells were early in their bloom. We also saw columbine, sweet peas, geraniums and dandelions — wait dandelions don’t count.
We dropped into a canyon following Pass Creek a short distance before climbing out on a rocky section, then went back down into a canyon following Co-op Creek. We saw a lot of work done by beavers on these waters. While we didn’t see any of the critters at work, we did see some of their lodges.
We followed the Willow Creek Ditch through another canyon. At Bookman Hollow, we turned north and followed the Strawberry River. Then at the first opportunity, we turned west. We saw a lot of campers on this section of the trail.
We followed this trail in a southwesterly direction that dropped down to meet Highway 40 across from the Lodgepole Campground. If you ever come from Duchesne and pass by the Daniels Summit Lodge, you will see a dirt road that climbs into the forest on your right. That is the trail we came out on. In times past, I made the trip by Daniels Summit on business and wondered where that dirt road went. Now I know.
We rode the highway to the lodge and parked in front of the Lodgepole Grill. The Daniels Summit Lodge is a beautiful resort nestled by the forest. A giant hand-carved wooden bear greeted us at the entrance to the lodge. The interior has a western décor with massive logs supporting the structure. It is a fun place to visit.
It took three hours to cover the 50-mile distance to the lodge and we were in the mood for food. The Lodge Pole Grill was exactly what we were looking for. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and prepared to make the return trip. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and enjoy your adventure in Utah’s beautiful mountains.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
