Bull Creek Pass Back Country Byway | Utah

Ascend from thick desert plains on the Bull Creek Pass Back Country Byway. This 68-mile dirt road ventures through the remains of Eagle City, a mining town born from Utah's gold rush. Travel through the same entrenched badlands, colorful canyons, and breathtaking cliffs that met opportune gold miners in the 1890s. Climbing up the Henry Mountains will get you to stunning views of Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks. Developed campsites like the McMillan Springs and Lonesome Beaver Campgrounds give you the opportunity to hike, stargaze, and sightseeing southern Utah’s beautiful landscape.

Byway Details

This remote BLM Byway is a single-lane road for 68 miles with a dirt surface. There are numerous rough sections, steep grades, and blind curves. The route ascends from the desert floor, traversing badlands, and buttes, canyons and cliffs, through slopes of spruce and ponderosa to the alpine elevations of Bull Creek Pass. The wildlife match its diversity. Mule Deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain lion and bison all inhabit the Henry Mountains. Developed campgrounds are on the byway at McMillan Springs campground and just north of it at Lonesome Beaver Campground. Mountain washouts will close the road in the fall monsoon seasons. Remote but scenic, Bull Creek Pass is an excellent way to experience parts of the country thought long lost.

Attractions & Features

• Along the byway into the Henry Mountains, keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. Deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, antelope, and even free-roaming bison wander these parts in abundant numbers. Take in diverse vegetation that ranges from Aspen and Ponderosa Pine to Juniper and Salt Desert Shrub.
• Sightseeing: colorful canyons, steep cliffs, vast badlands, and rugged alpine mountains. The Byway climbs nearly a mile as it loops through this colorful, vibrant mountain range set between Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks.