At 12,174 feet, Delano Peak is the highest mountain in the Tushar Range. Beaver County offers a variety of reasons to travel: mountain trails, water activities, and historic sites. When planning your stay, it helps to first consider whether you’d rather spend your days hiking and driving mountain roads, by the water, or visiting cultural sites.
Mountains, Hiking Trails, and Climbing Routes
The route details vary considerably: the Skyline National Recreation Trail is 23 miles long and suitable for day hikes and backpacking trips. The Pocket Trail is a six-mile loop hike with 1,500 feet of elevation gain. A short hike to Granite Peak Reservoir takes approximately 40 minutes round trip. Blue Lake, a six-acre, deep-blue lake below Mounts Baldy and Belknap, is reached via a moderately strenuous hike. This gives you both specific route distances and a description of trail difficulty to choose from, without implying hiking times for the other routes.
At the Milford Domes in the Mineral Mountains, there are bolted slab climbing routes. Check route conditions locally. For winter activities, the Kent’s Lake Trail is suitable for snowmobiling; in summer, Eagle Point Resort offers mountain biking. These seasonal options bring different priorities to trip planning.
Routes and Drives
The Beaver Canyon Scenic Byway follows Utah Highway 153 east through Beaver County and ends near Puffer Lake, where the paved road ends. The Kimberly/Big John Backway is a 62-mile, state-designated gravel route with views of Beaver County’s highest peaks. Seasonal road conditions can vary; check them before you drive. The Kent’s Lakes Loop Drive, also known as FS Route 137, is a well-maintained, well-graded dirt and gravel road.
If you’re interested in the Paiute Trail, Section 05 starts at Beaver’s northeastern edge and generally follows lower North Creek. Check trail conditions and applicable rules before your trip. Fly-fishing opportunities are available in Merchant Valley, including in the creeks and at Merchant Valley Dam.
Lakes, Paddling, and Campgrounds
Stand-up paddleboarding is possible at Puffer Lake during the summer months. Anderson Meadow Reservoir offers calm water for stand-up paddleboarding; a Forest Service campground with 10 sites is located right next to it. You can kayak or paddleboard at LeBaron Reservoir; motorized boats are not allowed there.
Tushar Lakeside Campground has three large group sites as well as several individual sites with tables and fire rings; canoeing is also possible there. Activities at Tushar Lake include fishing, hiking, canoeing, sand volleyball, and wildlife viewing. These activities offer a variety of reasons to spend time at the lake and in its surroundings.
At Minersville Lake, also called Minersville Reservoir, there is a county-operated campground and a paved boat ramp. At Manderfield Reservoir, you’ll find shoreline campsites and a vault toilet. Check the information about these facilities again before your trip.
History and Unique Places
Missionaries offer free tours of Cove Fort and the surrounding buildings. A flag from the USS Utah is displayed in the second-floor courtroom of the Beaver Courthouse Museum; the ship sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Frisco Ghost Town preserves the remains of a former mining town that came into being after silver was discovered in 1875. The Beaver Opera House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. At Rock Cabin, the construction itself is remarkable: the cabin was built in a hollowed-out section of a large rock.
In the farm-to-table room at The Creamery, visitors can milk Lily, the cow featured there. Mags Brothel is a developing natural phenomenon with bubbling pools, boiling mud puddles, and hissing steam vents. Conditions for visitors may vary.
Landscape at Little Reservoir
The campground at Little Reservoir is set in an alpine mountain landscape, with a forest of ponderosa pines, piñon pines, junipers, and low-growing oaks. Along with the designated hiking and water activities, this landscape offers another perspective on trip planning: as well as cultural stops and routes, a stay in an alpine forest landscape can also shape your visit.
Discover more destinations: Beaver, Salt Lake, Utah County, Wasatch, Davis, Okanogan County, Sevier County, Millard County.
For the broader travel overview: Utah.
