Don't read this story about Farmington canyon.
If you're still reading it, fine. But stay away from here. The roads are awful. There are no flush toilets or showers.And wild animals - such as deer, elk, mountain lions and moose - are on the loose.
What's more, you might get lost.
You're still reading, huh? OK, then. If you must, come. But be prepared to spend hours of peace in a beautiful, little-known slice of mountain splendor.
If you like to get away from the hassles of the civilized Wasatch Front but don't want to drive very far or compete with a lot of people, this is the place for you.
To get there, drive north on 100 East from State Street in Farmington, which is only 20 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. The street eventually turns into a narrow road, which winds to the east and up the canyon, crossing the Wasatch National Forest boundary a half-mile farther. Another half-mile farther, the paved road ends and a dirt road takes over, making a giant switchback to the west.
"This is where a lot of people get scared and decide to turn around," says Jim Cook, a forest ranger who likes the canyon so much that he often whittles away his off hours there.
If you like to fish or hike, park your car (truck, motorcycle, three-wheeler, armored personnel carrier or whatever) at the switchback and start walking east into the steep, heavily wooded canyon. The trail, until about 65 years ago, used to be a road, which kept getting washed away. It's still passable, although you may have to work your way over heavy brush now and then.
As you go upstream, you will find an occasional pile of mine tailings. Scramble up the pile and explore an abandoned gold mine or two, remnants of Davis County's brief bout of gold fever.
If you're not into hiking or fishing, keep driving up the dusty road, which, despite some erosion on steep hillsides, is very sound. The road is maintained year-round by the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, which operates a large radar/microwave station near Francis Peak.
Though most people make the trip in cars, many mountain bikers are finding the canyon to be a prime trek. "I've seen a tenfold increase in mountain bikes up here over the past three years," the ranger says.
Driving through Gambel oak, mountain mahogany and maple trees, you soon begin to notice the civilization you left behind. There are a few pulloffs that you can stop on to take in the western view. But there are also nice views to the east into Farmington Canyon and the half-dozen other side canyons. The visual treat will sweeten toward the end of September and the first part of October as the leaves make their colorful turn.
On up the canyon, you'll enter stands of aspen and then conifers, such as Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir and white fir. Roll the windows down and let the olfactories go wild.
A few miles farther, you'll pass a forest service campground, which has about a dozen campsites, none of which is large enough to accommodate a large house trailer. In fact, says Cook, it's not recommended that long trailers be pulled up the canyon. The campground is named Sunset because of the colorful sunsets over the Great Salt Lake that can be seen from any clearing in the vicinity.
Just above the campground is the Rice Creek Field Station, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which logged hundreds of thousands of manhours in the canyons to combat flooding. Cook is trying to have the field station put on the Utah Historical Register. The station - a log bunkhouse complete with a coal-fired central heating system - is still maintained and utilized by the forest service and the Davis County sheriff's office.
Up the road from the station, you'll come to a fork in the road. To the left is Francis Peak; to the right is Bountiful Peak. Take your pick of peaks. Either will satisfy.
If you pick Francis Peak, you'll think it worth the trip just to see the massive golf-ball-like structures, affectionately called "the towers," which are manned 24 hours a day by FAA crews. You'll also like the views to the east, where you can see Morgan valley and, on a clear day, the Uinta Mountains.
As you approach the towers, you'll notice a road that veers to the right, on the east-facing side of the mountain. Though passenger cars have been known to brave the road, don't do it. Leave it to your old pickup or a four-wheel drive. The road soons becomes as nasty as the scenery is beautiful.
A series of switchbacks leads to the Smith Creek Lakes, three small ponds, actually, that sit in a cirque formed thousands of years ago by a glacier. Because the "lakes" are shallow and experience severe winter conditions, there are no fish, but they provide good sites for camping among Douglas fir and a few pinyon pine stands.
Please pack out your own trash and kindly take a little extra with you, as thoughtless deer hunters have left a number of unsightly reminders of their presence.
If you pick Bountiful Peak, you will first come upon a cozy campground that can accommodate three dozen parties. Southeast of the campground is Farmington Flats, which is used mainly by beavers during the summer and snowmobilers in the winter. In small canyons north and east of the flats, however, can be found large gatherings of grouse, which make for a sporty fall hunt.
Farmington Lakes (ponds) sit in a small basin about a mile above the campground. They, too, are fishless, but soon biologists will install a solar-powered water aerator that will feed oxygen into the larger lake, making it possible for fish to survive the winter.
As you approach the ridge above the lakes, you catch great views of the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. Go north on a small road and you'll come to Steed Creek Overlook. Stay on the main road and to the south you'll come to the Bountiful Peak Overlook. If you're a photographer, bring a really wide lens.
Now that you've experienced the Farmington Canyon area, you can return the way you came, stopping to enjoy things you missed during the trip up, or you can go south on the main road, which will take you to the Morgan Valley Overlook, Buckland Flat and then drop you down into Ward Canyon, which empties into Bountiful.
Whichever way you go, be sure to come back again sometime and try it the other way.
Just don't tell anyone else about it, OK?