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Show X INTRODUCTION Logan Canyon A s a s c e n ic a ttra ctio n , Logan Canyon is u n su rp a ssed anyw here. Starting th ree m ile s e a s t o f L ogan, the gorge cuts the m ountain range and extends e a s t and north for forty m ile s through the m o st beautiful s c e n e r y im ag in a b le. A jagged and roughly-hew n canyon, y e t it is g r een and verdant throughout. V ery few canyons of th is s iz e and depth have the m any cam ping fla ts with g reen fo lia g e and g r a ss that Logan Canyon h a s. The gorge is a s deep a s the Grand Canyon and n early a s w ide. The range of m ountains to w ers to a m axim um height of 9,000 fe e t above se a le v e l, m aking the canyon n ea rly a m ile deep. In many se c tio n s m ounta in s'a r e g la c ia te d , having harbored at le a s t ele v e n g la c ie r s . S ev era l sm a ll la k es in the tops of the h ills a tte st to th is fact. L ogan R iver is lin ed with unusual sp r in g s. The one from which L o gan gets its w ater supply r e su lts from a g rea t plunging truncated s y n clin e in which the w ater is gathered underground at a width of m ore than nine m ile s e a st and w e st, and tw elv e m ile s north and south. The canyon having cut a c r o s s the str u c tu r e , a llo w s the w ater from th is g rea t u n d er ground drainage b asin to is su e to the su r fa c e in the bottom of the c a n yon. T h is type of sp rin g alw ays produces cold w a te r —42 d e g r e e s. *A t B ea v e r Mountain, 29 m ile s up the canyon, is a new sk i a r e a , pop u la r am ong en th u sia sts of northern Utah and sou th ern Idaho. It has a lodge, c o n c e s s io n s , am ple parking and th r e e c h a ir lifts , and a T -b a r on a b eg in n er’s h ill. A new lodge and sk i tow op erate during the sk i se a s o n . Logan Canyon d iffers from m o st canyons of the W asatch in that the bottom is alw ays g reen and co v ered with v eg eta tio n . T h ere a r e n u m e r ou s cirq u es and fla ts ad m irab le su ited for cam p in g. D ouglas fir , E n g le m an sp r u c e , lo d g ep o le pine, and fir b a lsa m a re quite abundant. L arge a r e a s a re co v ered with asp en , w illow , a ld e r and b ir c h . Hard m a p les o c cupy the h ig h er s lo p e s , and ju n ip ers c o v e r the dry r id g e s. Logan Canyon has the d istin ctio n of having the o ld e s t liv in g juniper tree in the w orld . It is lo ca ted on Cottonwood Ridge above the Logan C ave, about two m ile s from the road. The tr e e is nearly^27 fe e t in c i r c u m feren ce, 44 fe e t high, and is' estim a te d by a u th o rities to be m ore than 3,000 y e a r s old. It w as a sa p lin g in the tim e of King Solom on. Logan R iver has a lw ays been a good fish in g str e a m . The r iv e r is stock ed ev er y y ea r and the abundance o f food in the str e a m con trib u tes to rapid grow th. A few y e a r s ago a G erm an brown trout w eighing 37 pounds was caught. Hundreds of elk roam the ra n g es, and thousands of d eer liv e am ong the a sp e n s, and quite often a r e v is ib le from the h ig h way. Through p rogram s la r g e ly com p leted by the old C iv ilia n C o n se r v a tion C orps and augm ented by the U. S. F o r e st S e r v ic e , running w ater, sa n ita ry and picn ick in g im p rovem en ts enable thousands tp enjoy the cool of the canyon about half the y ea r. In the la r g e s t a r e a , Guinavah P ark , a r e 41 individual sp o ts com p lete with sto v e , tab le, garbage can , e tc . Two open p icn ic and play a r e a s can each se r v e up to 500 p e r so n s at a tim e , and an am p h ith eater nearby se a ts 600. C old sp rin g w ater is piped throughout Guinavah-an a rea con stan tly in demand by p a rties la r g e and sm a ll. ? , — U. S. 89, now two la n e s but sla ted for fu rth er im p rovem en t, w inds up the length of the canyon (40 m ile s ), with num erous sid e roads o fferin g tours to m ore rem o te sc e n e s for th e.m o re adventurous to u r ist, and for h u n ters. B eautiful Tony Grove Lake is an o ile d s ix m ile s drive from the highway; hidden, high White P ine Lake is a sh o rt hike fu rther. Withheld till the la s t on the upcanyon d rive is the panoram a of B ear Lake sca n from the 8 ,0 0 0 -fo o t su m m it. Changing from indigo and tu r quoise in b righ t, su m m er sun, to sandy and s la te -g r e y in a storm and ic e -w h ite in the w in ter. B ea r Lake is backed by la v en d er and V erm illion c liffs with snow -capped peaks in the d is ta n c e —an a w e -in sp ir in g v iew . Logan Canyon is proving to be a tou rists* d eligh t, and a haven for the resid en t. |
