Flaming Gorge
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At Flaming Gorge we stayed at the peaceful Canyon Rim Campground, tucked among the pines with easy access to jaw dropping views. After setting up, we walked the Rim Trail, which hugs the edge of Red Canyon and leads to several incredible overlooks. From each one, we could see the reservoir’s deep blue water framed by towering red canyon walls. Later that evening, we hopped on our bikes for a short ride along the forestry road just outside the campground. It was a peaceful ride through tall trees and the quiet forest.
View Point on Canyon Rim Trail
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The next morning, we visited the Red Canyon Visitor Center, where we watched a very interesting documentary about John Wesley Powell and his daring 1869 expedition. Powell, a one armed Civil War veteran, set out with nine men in wooden boats to chart the unmapped canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers, including the Grand Canyon, which no white man had successfully navigated before. The expedition began on the Green River, floating through what’s now Flaming Gorge. Along the way, they faced raging rapids, lost boats, dwindling supplies, and near mutiny. Three men left to climb out of the canyon before the final stretch and were never seen again. Powell, against all odds, made it through, and his journals opened the American imagination to the wild canyons of the Southwest.
We then drove the Sheep Creek Geological Loop, a 10 mile stretch packed with dramatic rock formations. You can see where the earth buckled and folded during the uplift of the Uinta Mountains.
We made a quick stop at the Flaming Gorge Dam, though the visitor center was still closed. According to a park volunteer, it’s tied up in permits and government red tape. Even so, standing above the 500 foot wall holding back the river was worth the stop.
Next, we walked a section of the Little Hole Trail, which hugs the Green River. We passed fly fishers casting in the current and paused to watch trout gliding through the crystal clear water.
Then we visited the Swett Ranch, a 1900s homestead. Walking among the old buildings gave us a glimpse of what it took to live out here—resourcefulness, grit, and probably a good amount of stubbornness. A marmot had taken up residence under the house, the entrance covered by a bush.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at Red Canyon Lodge, where we ordered rainbow trout. After seeing them in the river earlier, it felt like a fitting (and delicious) way to end the day.
We then drove the Sheep Creek Geological Loop, a 10 mile stretch packed with dramatic rock formations. You can see where the earth buckled and folded during the uplift of the Uinta Mountains.
We made a quick stop at the Flaming Gorge Dam, though the visitor center was still closed. According to a park volunteer, it’s tied up in permits and government red tape. Even so, standing above the 500 foot wall holding back the river was worth the stop.
Next, we walked a section of the Little Hole Trail, which hugs the Green River. We passed fly fishers casting in the current and paused to watch trout gliding through the crystal clear water.
Then we visited the Swett Ranch, a 1900s homestead. Walking among the old buildings gave us a glimpse of what it took to live out here—resourcefulness, grit, and probably a good amount of stubbornness. A marmot had taken up residence under the house, the entrance covered by a bush.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at Red Canyon Lodge, where we ordered rainbow trout. After seeing them in the river earlier, it felt like a fitting (and delicious) way to end the day.