The Deep Creeks

The Deep Creek Mountains are the 4th highest range in Utah, with two summits over 12,000 feet. They are located just east of the Nevada border and just west of the salt flats. In spite of the fact that the Deeps have thick forest, year-round streams and beautiful scenery, they were never included in the National Forest system and are instead a jewel in Utah's BLM lands. Most people in Utah have never heard of the Deeps.

The Deeps are deep in magnificent isolation. The only paved access to the Deeps goes to the little settlement of Ibapah on the west side, but west side access is generally blocked to the public by landowners and the Goshute tribe. The east side is even wilder, with many deep, rocky canyons and no pavement at all. A few tiny ranching communities at the foot of the range are clustered around springs and irrigation diversions.

To get to the east side of the Deeps from Salt Lake, the fastest route is to drive west on I-80 to Wendover, then head south on US 93A toward Ely. About 26 mi south of Wendover, look for a paved road heading east, signed for Ibapah. Go east (left) and south on this poorly graded and aligned road for about 29.5 mi to the intersection with the Pony Express road in the green Deep Creek Valley. Kiss goodbye to the pavement and head 6 mi east-northeast (left) on this good dirt road over a gentle ridge to Clifton Flat. Turn east (right) at a signed intersection to head down Overland Canyon, staying on the Pony Express road. In 14 mi, you'll reach a T with the Snake Valley Road. Turn south (right) toward Callao (/'kæl.ei.oʊ/, not like the Spanish pronunciation). It's about 8.3 mi to the CCC campground at Toms Creek, which is a reasonable place to get oriented to, although it's not a very pleasant place to camp. There are no services in Callao; in fact, the next gas station is many miles to the south at Baker, NV.

You can also reach Callao and the Deeps by driving west on the Pony Express Road from Rush Valley, south of Tooele. The turn-off is on SR-36 about 5.5 mi north of Vernon and about 16 mi south of the junction with SR-73. This is a long and lonely dirt road with amazing scenery. If you drive this route, make sure that you have plenty of gas and that your spare tire is inflated.

Here are some interesting destinations in the Deeps, going from north to south: