ATV Adventures: New dates set for the Beaver County ATV Jamboree
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- The Rock House — a house built into a boulder, sometimes called the Smurf House — found on one of the rides at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
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- Crawling among the boulders on Mineral Mountain at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
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- A charcoal kiln at the ghost town of Frisco, found on one of the rides at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
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- Unusual rock formations found on Mineral Mountain at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
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- Lynn Blamires
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
The Rock House — a house built into a boulder, sometimes called the Smurf House — found on one of the rides at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
After changing the jamboree dates due to a late snowstorm in 2022, Beaver has set the dates for this year’s ATV jamboree to be Sept. 30 and Oct. 1-3. Beaver is between two mountain ranges — the mysterious Mineral Mountains on the west and the lofty Tushars on the east. These dates will provide ideal opportunities to explore the diverse beauties and treasures these mountain ranges offer.
Check-in will be on Tuesday afternoon, followed by a Pork Bellies BBQ dinner at 5 p.m. The next three days will be filled with guided rides and fun. Join an ATV parade on Beaver’s Main Street on Thursday, followed by an ice cream social at The Creamery. The Timberline Restaurant will cater the closing dinner. Lunches from the famous Arshel’s Café can be purchased for each day’s ride.
Registration is open, but there are only 168 slots available for this year’s event. Fees are $130 per person and include two dinners, an ice cream social, a T-shirt, a hat, three days of guided rides, a bag of goodies from the state of Utah Tourism board and entrees for the prizes offered. Registration and information are available at https://beavercountyatvjamboree.org.
The purpose of the Beaver County ATV Jamboree is to offer an off-road vehicle event to encourage participants from all over the nation to come and experience the 290-mile OHV trail network in Beaver County. The mission of the jamboree is to provide positive exposure for Beaver County and to offer local businesses tourist and other related revenue opportunities. Participants will experience Utah’s Paiute and High Desert trail systems that traverse Beaver County.
Two new rides are being offered this year — Buckskin Valley and Butch Cassidy. These are in addition to a list of 15 other rides that will have you looking forward to another year. Here is information on these new rides and a sample of others being offered:
Buckskin Valley
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Crawling among the boulders on Mineral Mountain at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
This intermediate-level ride takes you along multiple points on the Old Spanish Trail and continues through the beautiful red rock formations of the Panguitch Valley. Continuing west, you will experience the beauty of the Showalter Mountain and the lower Bear Valley.
Butch Cassidy
This historical 77-mile ride takes you past Butch Cassidy’s birthplace in Beaver and includes two thrilling water crossings. You will navigate two-track mountain trails, including some challenging mountain grades. The ride also includes a stop at Butch Cassidy’s legendary hideout in Circleville. You can buy lunch in town or bring your own.
The Rock Corral Loop
This trail showcases the granite peaks of the Mineral Mountains. The images of a circus bear and dinosaur were pointed out as we traveled through large granite monoliths along the route. One special point of interest was the Indian rock paintings, which are unique and different from typical petroglyphs.
The Granite Reservoir is featured on this ride. It is a natural pool tucked high in the jagged rocks of the Mineral Mountains. A hike of about 20 minutes will bring you to the edge of these pristine waters.
Parowan Gap
This ride will cross over the Bald Ridges south of Beaver and down Cottonwood Wash into the Parowan Valley. There will be a stop at Kane Springs, passing by the Little Salt Lake. There will also be a stop to look at dinosaur tracks in the ancient sandstone rocks. Finally, you will see the famous petroglyphs located in the Parowan Gap. These ancient markings were made by native people and Spanish explorers passing through. Pioneers also made their mark on these canyon walls.
Frisco Kilns
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
A charcoal kiln at the ghost town of Frisco, found on one of the rides at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
The historic charcoal kilns are an important and interesting feature of this ride. The trailhead is west of Milford, and the trail follows old mining roads as it winds through miles of junipers before arriving at the ghost town of Frisco. Charcoal was important to smelting silver deposits mined in this area in the 1870s. I enjoyed exploring these mining relics.
Picture Rock
This trail goes into the Tushar Mountains and crosses over Tanner Mountain to the base of Mount Baldy. Traveling up Twitchell Canyon, you will cross Indian Creek many times before coming to the Picture Rock Quarry. The shale rocks here have intricate designs resembling art pieces. We had lunch by the peaceful waters of Manderfield Reservoir in a beautiful forest setting.
When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and plan to see the beauties of Beaver County. It is one of the best jamborees Utah has to offer.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
Unusual rock formations found on Mineral Mountain at the Beaver County ATV Jamboree.
