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One of the miner's cabins on the Cottonwood Canyon Trail, closed now because of the fire.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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This is me relaxing on the porch of one of the cabins at Moore's Old Pine Inn in Marysvale.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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A trail that winds through the woods on Big John's Flat, closed now because of the fire.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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Awerkamps from Arizona at one of the Pine Creek cabins in Marysvale.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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Wildfires are affecting some of the ATV trails we love to ride in Utah again. This is the third consecutive year that a major fire has impacted Marysvale. This year, the Cottonwood fire is affecting both Marysvale and Beaver.

At this writing, the Cottonwood fire is burning directly east of Beaver between I-15 and US 89. It has grown to almost 96,000 acres and, at this writing, is 47% contained. Trails in the Paiute ATV Trail System connecting Beaver and Circleville, Junction, and Marysvale are closed. However, these towns are not closed.

Marysvale is a small town with a little more than 400 people. The OHV community accounts for as much as 95% of occupancy in the town’s lodging during the riding season. Marysvale provides access to some of the best OHV trails in the world.

Sam Steed is one of three members of the Piute County Commission. He lives in Marysvale and owns and operates the Rocky Ridge Resort. He is frustrated by the misinformation being spread about trail closures. Reservation cancellations have hurt some of these small towns that depend on tourism dollars.

Marysvale is a small town, but it is big when it comes to lodging. Here is some information on places to stay that will help with your OHV plans: 

• The Pine Creek Cabins Resort is located off Bullion Canyon Road in a quiet location along Pine Creek. This resort has six cabins and three full-hookup RV sites. Website – https://www.pinecreekresortandcabins.com 
• The Old Pine Inn on Main Street is Utah’s oldest historic hotel. Butch Cassidy and western writer Zane Grey have been guests here. They offer seven rooms in the inn and eight old west cabins. OHV rentals are available if you don’t have one. Guests receive a special discount when renting through Rose Ranch Rentals, which will deliver OHVs anywhere in Marysvale. Website – https://mooresoldpineinn.com 
• Rose Ranch Resort is located at the north end of Marysvale off Highway 89. They feature RV spaces, cabins, and camping areas with open green grass. Beaver Creek runs through this resort. They boast the largest and newest Polaris Side-by-Side fleet available to rent on the Paiute OHV Trail. Website – https://roseranchresort.com  
• Marysvale Motel 4-U has six rooms and a cabin on Main Street. Website – https://www.marysvalemotel4-u.com 
• The Paiute Trails Inn has seven rooms and a suite on Main Street. They have also opened a BBQ restaurant that they are trying to keep open, catering to the ATV community. Website – https://paiutetrailsinn.com 
• Rocky Ridge Resort is up the hill from Nate’s Place (formerly Tuggs), the only filling station in town. They feature eight cabins and many RV hookups. Rocky Ridge is also tied in with Rose Ranch for OHV rentals, which will deliver to anywhere in Marysvale. Website – https://rockyridgeresort.com 
• South Forty RV Park features 75 pull-through sites and two cozy cabins with king-size beds and private baths. Website – https://south40rvpark.com 
• Lizzie and Charlie’s RV/ATV Park offers 92 RV spaces, four deluxe cabins, seven primitive cabins, three rental homes, and six tent spaces. This park offers its own OHV rental program. Website – https://lizzieandcharlies.com 
• Hoover’s River Resort has seven cabins and seven RV sites. Hoover’s Grille is a popular place with a great menu. Website – https://hooversriverresort.com

The information on the ATV trails affected by the fire has been updated. With the level of containment in place, more trails have been opened. The information on open trails is available at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/utfif-cottonwood-fire. 

While the Bullion Canyon Trail, the Cottonwood Trail, and the Tushar Mountains are closed, Beaver Creek, Deer Creek, and all the trails north, east, and south of Marysvale are open.

Here is the current information on other towns affected by fires:

• Beaver – trails on the north, west, and south are open
• Scipio – Highway 50 south of Scipio is closed due to the Wild Goose Fire. Access to Aurora and Salina is via I-70 or on State Highway 28 south from Nephi.
• Eureka – the Iron Fire has closed trails north and west of town, but all the trails south are open.
• Blanding and Monticello – the Babylon fire is burning Abajo Mountain and Elk Ridge, and is at 0 for containment. Monticello is on an alert status for evacuation. Blanding is a safer bet for riding trails. This will seriously affect the trails offered at the San Juan Safari. Organizers are in a wait-and-see mode.

When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and consider choosing trails that will give these towns our support. They have the best trails and great accommodations.

Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.