ATV Adventures: A trip to Fantasy Canyon without my OHV
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- Fantasy Canyon, which is located south of Vernal and owned by the Bureau of Land Management, features intricate and peculiar stone figures.
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- Fantasy Canyon, which is located south of Vernal and owned by the Bureau of Land Management, features intricate and peculiar stone figures.
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- Fantasy Canyon, which is located south of Vernal and owned by the Bureau of Land Management, features intricate and peculiar stone figures.
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- Fantasy Canyon, which is located south of Vernal and owned by the Bureau of Land Management, features intricate and peculiar stone figures.
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- Lynn Blamires
What was I thinking? Where was my RZR when I needed it? At home!
My wife and I enjoyed a seven-day trip through Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, with our final destination being Vernal. The best excuses for not having my RZR with me are: 1) Fantasy Canyon was not on our itinerary, we didn’t decide to go until we realized it was so close to Vernal, and 2) I would have had to drive through three states pulling it on a trailer on the idea that I might need it.
I have seen pictures of this place before and thought it would be fun to see sometime. When we realized that it was nearby and had an afternoon free, we went to see why they call it Fantasy Canyon. It was easy to find using Google Maps, and critical turns are marked with signs.
The route took us through a vast oil field with storage tanks and oil pumps bobbing up and down everywhere we looked. As a child, these pumps reminded me of grasshoppers, and the name stuck. The only beauty I could see in an oil field is if I owned one.
We passed a sign that read, “Red Wash OHV Area.” That piqued my interest until I had a chance to talk to Lesha Coltharp. Lesha is with the Unita Travel Council and has much to do with the upcoming Outlaw ATV Jamboree. She told me they tried including this OHV area in the list of rides offered at one of the jamborees. It wasn’t very popular because it isn’t very scenic.
When we arrived, I was surprised by what we saw. When I think of a canyon, I think big, like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon or the big canyons on the Wasatch Front.
Fantasy Canyon encompasses all of 10 acres, but what is packed into those 10 acres is fascinating.
The Utah Geological Survey website describes Fantasy Canyon as crowded with intricate and peculiar stone figures, a unique expression of rock weathering and erosion.
The sandstone layer in which the pinnacles, pillars, arches and knobs are formed consists of ancient river channel sediments.
The Fantasy Canyon area was at the fringe of a vast subtropical lake, Lake Uinta. The lake was in a drying phase and retreating westward. Rivers en route to the dwindling lake deposited sand, silt and clay shed from nearby mountains. Once buried, these sediments eventually solidified into layers of sandstone, mudstone and claystone.
Differences in the rate of weathering and erosion between dissimilar rock types ultimately shaped Fantasy Canyon. The mudstone and claystone have been stripped away by water and wind, leaving the slightly more durable sandstone to be carved into bizarre, melted wax-like forms.
We thought as we explored Fantasy Canyon that it would be a fun place to bring children because it is flat, walkable and amazing. The best time to visit is in the spring or fall months. When you go, take plenty of water, bring your imagination, but leave your ATV at home.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
