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Still early in the year, where I look around for low valley adventures. Today I found Horseshoe Springs which is quite the drive from us, so I tried to find some other things to do in the area. Horseshoe Springs is located in Skull Valley. To get there, from Salt Lake take i80 west, past Tooele, Past Grantsville, to exit 77 south onto SR 196 (Skull Valley Rd.) heading towards Dugway Utah.
A couple DBP shots of Antelope Island.
Stansbury Island (DBP)
The first landmark is Lone Rock, official name, although locals call this Submarine Rock, which I think fits better. (DBP).
Not much further down the road is the signed turnout for Horseshoe Springs. It is a short gravel road, that I think any vehicle can make.
Clear stream above it.
The trail starts on an old boardwalk that looks like it could use some maintenance. You can see the right spring clearly, and if you look really close, you can see the other side of the horseshoe middle left. It is fairly flat here.
It’s quite a bit larger than I imagined it would be.
Pretty shade of blue.
And quite clear.
So clear you can see the fish! How the heck did fish get here?
Fairly quickly after the beginning of the northern pool, the trail goes back to normal trail.
Duckies!
We heard water trickling and looked up to see water coming down the hill into the horseshoe. Pretty sure that’s another spring up there.
And here is where the 2 arms join, and then flow on downstream.
View back towards the road and the mountains.
This arm looks a little more shallow, and a little more gross.
caught this fish speeding though the shallows towards deeper water. Kicking up mud and creating a wake behind it as the stream was more shallow than his body size.
Here another stream feeds the southern arm.
And the southern pool. Also a very pretty shade of blue. There were some people wading in it. I had brought a swimsuit as I wanted to do so as well, but for some reason wasn’t feelin it at the moment. These springs are warm, at about 73 degrees so it would have been comfortable. Still kind of kicking myself for not jumping in.
Some geese enjoying it.
The source of the spring I mentioned a moment ago from the runoff. This is between the 2 arms, and is a little more on the gross looking end.
Back at the northern arm. I am pretty sure each arm has a spring in the bottom, and I think you can see the source in this image,
The stream above, and Lone Rock. So I said it was bigger than I thought it would be, but the entire loop only took us about 5 minutes or so. Not much to it, but it is pretty.
And back from the road you can better see the full horseshoe shape. I wanted to climb the hillside a bit higher to get a better image, but there wasn’t any shoulder to pull off onto, and there was a fence at the base of the hill, so this is as high as I managed today.
Quick grab of Google Maps really shows the horseshow shape.
This is a really pretty and fun spring, but I am glad I looked for some more to do as that was quite a drive just for a warm spring! So keeping that in mind, and the fact that I didn’t take a dip I’m not sure if I can give it a fair rating, but I am going to go with 7 squirrels. Its really far away, and has quite a few people, but it is pretty, and is a nice excursion from the city.
This post is running long so I am going to split it out into two parts. Check out Part 2: Iosepa and Timple Springs.
1 comment:
I've fished Horseshoe Springs a few times. No luck, not even with worms (candy to bass). I've seen a few small bass in the weedy areas, but they're very wary. There are also very large carp, and they are even warier.
If you plan to visit Horseshoe Springs, keep in mind that your last chance for gas is at the Tooele turnoff, Exit 99, 22 miles from the turnoff to go down Skull Valley.
Or you can continue further west about nine miles and get gas, ice, and cold drinks at Delle. I try to frequent the Delle station, to keep it in business. Please do the same.
There is no potable (drinkable) water at Horseshoe Springs, and no outhouse. Keep these facts in mind, too.
The nearest are at the Tooele turn off or at Delle.
Bring insect repellent if you visit the springs. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums can be bad at times, particularly in the evening.
Evening at Horseshoe Springs is very nice, often offering a magnificent sunset over the Cedar Mountains to the west.
Many pioneers and wagon trains, including the ill-fated Donner Party, stopped at Horseshoe Springs to take on water. It's the last fresh water until you get near Wendover. All other springs along the route are brackish and unfit to drink because of the salt content.
Horseshoe Springs at the peak of summer can be a brutal oven. An umbrella that attaches to your folding chair is very welcome.
Bring plenty of water to drink (alcohol and soft drinks will only dehydrate you). The area is regularly patrolled by the BLM, so ensure you have a fishing license if you plan to fish.
Few people catch fish there, though. If you go there for fishing, it's not worth the trip.
Mind the 60 mph speed limit, the UHP often runs radar along the Skull Valley highway.
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