The Fremont Trail ties in the Paiute Trail in Circleville Utah and
travels south to the Tropic Reservoir near Bryce Canyon National Park.
This trail is over 50 miles long and much of it follows along the base
of the remote Mount Dutton. This trail receives less use than the
Paiute trail. Make sure you have a full tank of gas before
starting this trail. Full services are available in Circleville
and Bryce Canyon.
We started our trip by eating lunch and getting gas in
Circleville Utah for Polaris Ranger UTV we rented from
Lizzie and Charlie's RV and ATV Park. For the first few miles
out of Circleville the scenery was somewhat bland, however once you
start to climb horse valley Peak the views keep getting better and
better.
Horse Valley Peak is the highest point on the Fremont
Trail at an elevation of over 9000 ft. Once you cross the peak and
start down Smith Canyon the scenery really picks up as you start to see
huge Hoodoos.
This was my first trip on a UTV. I am typically a
dirt bike guy but I have to say I loved the Polaris Ranger Crew. I was
able to navigate while Randy drove us around. I also loved the
ability to talk to my friends instead of just pointing at something like
we do on dirt bikes.
The hoodoos on along this trail are different from the ones farther
south at Casto or Bryce Canyon, they have a different color and have
larger conglomerates (geologic term for rocks cemented together).
Smith Canyon in the Dixie National Forest really makes you want to stop
and take photos at every turn of the trail.
Small arch along the Fremont Trail in Smith Canyon. This is ATVing
and UTVing at its best.
There are many creek crossing as you make your way through Smith Canyon.
Most are easy but one was quite muddy and had a Toyota 4-Runner stuck in
it. That made for a costly day for someone as they had to call a
towing service to get them out.
As you start to exit out of Smith Canyon you will enter an open sage
brush desert for a few miles until you make your way to
Sanford
Canyon.