18 days in Heber City, Utah…
Why we came…
Heber City is on our “Potential Places to Live” list so we wanted to check it out. The area is known for it’s outdoor adventures like skiing at Park City and Deer Valley and hundreds of miles of trails. It’s also known for great fishing in the Provo River, Deer Creek Reservoir, Jordanelle Reservoir, and Utah’s best trout lake: Strawberry Reservoir.
Heber Valley…Wasatch Range and Mount Timpanogos on the left
The campground…
Mountain Valley RV Resort is a top notch, brand new RV park in the southeast end of Heber City. In fact, only about a quarter of the RV park was open during most of our stay. By the time we left, another section opened. Most of the sites are large, paved, pull-throughs, with a patch of grass on each side. Because everything is new, all the facilities are in great shape. We had full hook-ups, good wi-fi, a nice laundry room, a pool and hot tub. Satellite will work from all sites until the recently planted trees get bigger. We also had a strong and reliable data signal on our cell phones. The folks that designed the park did a great job with the layout. The only knock I’d give it was that road noise was annoying nearly around the clock, though it decreased a bit in the middle of the night. Heber City has a good selection of restaurants, a couple of nice grocery stores, and a Walmart…all of which were just a few miles from the campground. We liked the campground and the area so much, we will spend most of the next winter here!
Work being done on 28 April / The same section on 6 May
Adventures…
The middle Provo River
On 22 April, we fished the middle Provo River a couple of miles below Jordanelle Reservoir. It’s a beautiful river with tons of trout, but they didn’t cooperate for us. There are supposed to be a decent number of good-sized brown trout mixed with a few rainbow trout. We got one little 7 inch brown trout before gusty winds ended our day.
Me fishing Strawberry Reservoir / Arleen sitting on the shore ice after it gave way
On 25 April, we fished Strawberry Reservoir. The large lake sits at 7,600 feet elevation about 20 miles southeast of Heber City. It’s a food factory that grows big trout and special regulations ensure it remains special. “Ice off” can be the best fishing of the year…we were “in the right place at the right time”! About 98% of the water was locked up under ice with a few people fishing each little open section. The lake is within a day trip of Utah’s population center along the Wasatch Range and is very popular. We scouted the upper lake where the Strawberry River enters and fishing was slow for us…we caught just one small rainbow trout. Reports were similar from everyone we spoke to. So much for “being in the right place at the right time”! Maybe everything we read about Strawberry Reservoir was just hype?!?
Standing on a snow bank to fish open water at Strawberry Reservoir / A 7 inch rainbow trout
Arleen fishing Deer Creek Reservoir / The Heber Creeper
On 29 April, we fished Deer Creek Reservoir just a few miles southwest of Heber City. It’s a beautiful lake half-ringed by the incredible Wasatch Range and Mount Timpanogos. We wanted to get the kayaks out, but left them behind due to expected gusty winds. That’s alright…there is a 7 mile trail along the length of the west bank. We parked near the dam and hiked a mile and half to fish a point. We had to scamper across the railroad tracks in front of the “Heber Creeper”…the tourist train that runs along the lake and into Provo Canyon. We fished for a short period before winds increased to 20-30mph whipping the lake into a froth. We caught no fish and saw no signs of fish. We wanted to spend more time at the lake just for the great scenery, but only went once.
Arleen landing an 18 inch cutthroat on our second trip to Strawberry Reservoir / My 18 inch cutthroat trout
We went back to Strawberry Reservoir on 1 May and did a bit better. This time we checked out the southeast end of the lake near Aspen Grove across the dam. We parked near the boat ramp and walked clockwise along the bank. The first bay and point were a bit shallow but all the fisherman reported some success…good news! We continued around the point and into the next inlet…it had a little open water, was deep, and looked very promising. Unfortunately, as we neared, four or five trucks parked high above the water, and a dozen guys hopped out and invaded like a swarm of ants. Now there were 14 of us fishing a small open patch of water…YUCK! To make matters worse, they caught fish and we didn’t! So we left the sweet spot and continued clockwise along the bank. There was no open water along the next point and not enough open water in the next cove. We turned around after walking about two miles. As we neared the sweet spot again, we saw the herd of fisherman leaving…excellent! Arleen and I each caught a couple of nice trout…the two biggest were 18 inch cutthroats. That’s what Strawberry Reservoir is known for!
Lower Provo River a couple of miles below Deer Creek Dam
Cole the boarder collie and Moses the black lab
On 2 May, we fished the Lower Provo River just a couple of miles below Deer Creek Dam. This pretty stretch of river has a roughly 50/50 mix of good-sized rainbow and brown trout. As we gathered our gear in the parking area, a black lab and boarder collie ran up to say hi. I threw sticks that the lab fetched and the boarder collie chased the lab. The two dogs followed us a mile down the river and hung out while we fished. Occasionally they entertained themselves and occasionally I entertained them with sticks and tug of war. After awhile I got concerned that somebody might be looking for them and called the phone number on their collars. The nice lady told me that we were near their cabin and that the dogs would go home if we told them to. After another hour, the dogs finally lost interest in us and disappeared…they didn’t even say goodbye! And the fishing? We only caught one 7 inch brown trout. The two dogs were the highlight of the adventure! I would love to spend more time fishing the lower Provo River.
The Strawberry Pinnacles / Arleen fishing the Strawberry River
A few people recommended that we check out the Strawberry River upstream of the Pinnacles. This section of river flows through more of a desert environment a lengthy 55 mile drive southeast of Heber City. We thoroughly fished a mile or two of the river and got skunked. I only saw one fish that I spooked…it was a nice one. The small river is lined with vegetation making it tough to fish, but I’d like to give it another shot.
A 20 inch cutthroat trout I caught at Strawberry Reservoir
My final trip to Strawberry Reservoir was on 6 May. Arleen spent the morning with her mom and I went fishing. There was more open water, but the lake was still 60%-70% ice-covered. I spotted an open cove from the highway and parked. It was an easy half a mile walk to the water and I had the place to myself. I got a weak hit in the first 15 minutes and then nothing for the next hour or so. The fishing was great my final hour at the lake! I caught 5, lost a couple of others, and broke a couple more off. The biggest were two 17 inch rainbows and a 20 inch cutthroat…my biggest cutthroat yet! I was impressed with the two rainbows. They took off on strong runs and made some nice jumps. If one of the 17 inch rainbows was tied tail to tail with the 20 inch cutthroat, the rainbow would have towed the cutthroat all over the lake! Strawberry Reservoir finally lived up to the hype…I look forward to coming back.
There are a couple of mountain roads in the area that close every winter. Some years, in late spring, the roads clear of snow, but they remain closed. When this happens, they can be excellent places for a bike ride. Road status is usually limited to “open” or “closed”, so the only way to find out how far we can ride, is to check it out ourselves.
State Route 150 through the Uinta Range is known as the “Mirror Lake Scenic Byway”. The route reaches an apex of 10,687 feet at Bald Mountain Pass making it Utah’s highest paved road. The Uintas had above average snowfall but we were hopeful that we could ride our bikes a ways up the pass.
As we pulled into the parking area near the “Road Closed” sign, we noticed about 10 people heading into the woods in different directions carrying small bags. We were curious what they were up to so I asked three nearby college-aged guys. The group was the “Mushroom Society of Utah” doing a foray. We got excited and asked them all kinds of questions. Mushroom hunters are often reluctant to share information, but these guys were an exception and we had a great conversation. They like to find and identify all mushrooms, but were hoping to find snowbank morels. The guys explained what they looked like and we made a point to try to spot some during our bike ride.
We enjoyed the steady uphill ride…it was just steep enough to be a good workout, but not so steep as to force us to take breaks. We only made it four and a half miles (to mile marker 19) before we hit fairly deep slushy snow. We posed for a few pictures in the snow, had a snack, and hopped on the bikes for the fun part…the downhill! We stopped at a campground about half way back to look for snowbank morels…jackpot! We found a few pounds worth, but put just a couple in a plastic bag, and rushed back to show them to the Utah mushroom experts. Sure enough, they confirmed that we made a “good find”. They even said that we found more than any of them had! We were excited so we quickly put our bikes away and drove back up to the campground. We picked a couple more pounds and fantasized how our first ever spring mushrooms would taste in various recipes.
Before we consume a mushroom the first time, we do a bunch of research to make sure they are ok. Information on snowbank morels was contradictory, but we learned that they are very poisonous raw, and edible for some people after being thoroughly cooked. We decided that we were not going to see if we were “some of the people” that could eat them. It was so rough to go from super excited to super disappointed, but it’s not worth the risk! Oh well…we can identify another mushroom and we delved deeper into the world of morels. Hopefully we’ll find the real morels someday!
Here’s a quote from a web page about snowbank morels:
“Another genus of false morels are known as the Gyromitra genus. This includes G. gigas, the snowbank false morel. The giant snowbank false morel, or calf’s brain, is often found near snowline in the spring. Lots of folks eat it, and some of them live to be pretty old. Some of them don’t. Your call.”
Stopped by snow at mile 19 on state route 150 in the Uintas / A basket full of snowbank morel mushrooms
Friends and family…
Through the grapevine we learned that one of our most respected ex-bosses, Fred Williams, was stationed at Hill Air Force Base, an hour away in Ogden, Utah. We worked for him in Germany and he made a lasting impact on us personally and professionally. We called him and planned to meet for a lunch. We were so excited to see Fred and his wife, Von. We had an excellent conversation for two hours that could have gone on all day. The Williams’ are special people and the U.S. military is better with them in it! Hopefully we meet them down the road someday and can talk and talk over a nice campfire.
Fred and Von Williams at Roosters in Layton, Utah
We met “canoe”, Jim on the Northwood RV Owner’s Association (NROA) forum. Jim lives along Colorado’s Front Range, but has spent a considerable time exploring and canoeing the western US and Canada. We had nearly met on a couple of previous occasions, but the plans didn’t work out. Finally, we were close enough to meet up for lunch. We met at the Balance Rock Eatery in Helper, Utah. The town was quaint and “stuck in a time warp”, and the food was excellent. Jim told great stories and three hours passed before we knew it. We would gladly join Jim on a river adventure!
Me and “canoe” Jim in Helper, Utah
Ellen arriving in Park City, Utah
Arleen’s mom, Ellen, was on a 2,800 mile road trip to visit her three daughters. She drove from Roundup, Montana to Kiowa, Colorado, to Rose Hill, Kansas, back to Kiowa, Colorado, and then to Heber City, Utah, and finally home to Roundup, Montana. We hadn’t seen her in awhile so it was very nice to spend time with her.
The post office in Midway, Utah / Making friends with two Clydesdales near Midway
Mount Timpanogos / “This hills are alive with the sound of music…”
Checking out a pine cone and trying to figure out the type of tree it came from / Beautiful place!
Enjoying the trail in Nunn’s Park along the lower Provo River / The trout pond near Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls in the lower Provo River Canyon
Fill’er Up Coffee Station in Midway, UT / A covered walking bridge over the Provo River
Ellen at the “Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum” in Heber City / A great dinner at the Snake Creek Grill
Ellen & Arleen at Olympic Park in Park City / In a bobsled / Greg West…our tour guide
At the base of the ski jump / Ellen shredding the powder! / At the top of the bobsled run
Next…
We will spend two weeks near the Flaming Gorge Dam to fish the Green River and explore the eastern part of the Uinta Mountains.
Parting Shots…
Driving up the Provo River Valley back dropped by Mount Timpanogos / Sunset out of our front window
American White Pelicans flying over Strawberry Reservoir / Hot air balloon flying outside our window
(50,820)
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