Park City & Deer Valley

Crews Slated to begin Grooming the Mirror Lake Highway

December 10th, 2010

Ski and snowshoe trails in the Uinta Mountains east of Kamas offer beautiful scenery and ways for Parkites to beat busy wintertime crowds.

"Those areas are 20 minutes from town," said Parkite Charlie Sturgis, executive director of Mountain Trails Foundation. "Think about how popular our Round Valley has become. I skied out in Round Valley yesterday with a friend and probably saw 50 people. But when you go out to Beaver Creek on a weekday morning you're not going to see anybody. You're not going have any road noise. You're not going to have any familiar horizons."

U.S. Forest Service officials say crews near the Mirror Lake Highway are scheduled to groom the popular Beaver Creek ski trail next week. The roughly six-mile trail stretches from the Yellow Pine area to the North Fork trailhead. A track for skate skiers will be groomed in the Pine Valley area.

"People are still going up but the grooming is not going to start on the cross-country ski trail until Tuesday," said Kathy Jo Pollock, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. "It's extremely popular."

The Beaver Creek trail is non-motorized and dogs are allowed on the trail on odd-numbered days only.

"The Uintas, Mirror Lake, Weber Canyon or the Woodland area, they all offer much more pristine outdoor recreation than we might have in town," Sturgis said. "It's a great option for a change."

Snow forces closure of the Mirror Lake Highway each winter and crews next week are scheduled to begin grooming the road for snowmobilers and skiers.

"It's more heavily used by snowmobilers, but some cross-country skiers and snowshoers use that also," Pollock said about the road.

Skiers and snowmobilers share the highway.

"Generally speaking, the farther you can get off the main roads probably the happier you'll be in the long run," Sturgis advised skier and snowshoers.

State Road 35 over Wolf Creek Pass is also closed for winter. Pollock advised people to be prepared for harsh weather conditions while recreating in the forest.

"Make sure you have matches and a flashlight. Be prepared just in case something happens and you have to spend the night," she said. "It can be easy to get lost if you don't know the areas You need to make sure you have a map and compasses. Let people know where you're going and when you'll be back and don't go alone."

There is a $6 fee for parking along the Mirror Lake Highway. Call the U.S. Forest Service office in Kamas for more information, 435-783-4338.

by Patrick Parkinson OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

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