They named one of Utah's most scenic drives a loop, but it's really not. It's more along the lines of an odd-shaped "Y."
The three points are Fairview, Huntington and the little-known town of Colton, located along Highway 6 between Soldier Summit and Price.
Forgetting the loop part, the Energy Loop is, indeed, one of Utah's more scenic drives. And, as studies show, Utahns do like to take scenic drives, whether just to look or stop and spend time.
According to the Outdoor Recreation Participation & Spending Study, Utah ranks No. 2 in the lower 48 for car camping per capita.
First is Idaho with 42 percent of its population taking a vehicle into or near a camping area, while 39 percent of Utahns choose to stay close to their vehicles, within a quarter-mile, when touring.
Offering wide diversity, the Energy Loop: Huntington and Eccles Canyons trip includes 86 miles of paved road. But to take in the entire byway, some backtracking is necessary.
The route consists of a leg from Fairview to the top of Fairview Canyon, where it splits and goes north past Scofield Reservoir to Colton and south toward Huntington.
There are no fees involved in the drive; it requires only time. Suggested drive time ranges anywhere from an hour and a half to four hours, depending on the traveler's wish to absorb the scenery.
The section of road was listed as a National American Byways in 2000. At that point there were three Utah drives listed on the national register. Today there are five.
To make the national list, nominations are made under a partnership program between local, state and federal agencies. The area must have archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.
This particular byway is called the Energy Loop because the area is an energy source for high-quality coal, oil, gas and electrical power for the western United States.
Places to stop along the way include:
The town of Fairview, with its Fairview Museum of History and Art, which showcases the region's history and art, in particular world-class artist Arvard T. Fairbanks. It also features a full-size replica of the Huntington mammoth, along with a number of other historic artifacts.
Located along the route are some of the most well-preserved homes of early settlers, including some in the historic town of Scofield, once the largest town in Carbon County.
On the outskirts of Scofield is the town cemetery, where a memorial was dedicated in May 2000 to more than 200 miners killed in 1900 in one of the worst coal-mine disasters in history.
There is also the trailhead to the Nuck Woodward system on the road to Huntington. Forest rangers established the trail system in the 1930s, and it was expanded in the 1990s. The trailhead provides access to more than 35 miles of trails for biking, hiking and horseback riding.
Then, of course, there is the trailhead to Skyline Drive, a few miles south of the split in the "Y" at the top of Fairview Canyon. The dirt road, which runs along the mountain ridge from Spanish Fork Canyon to Salina Canyon, a distance of about 70 miles, offers unequaled views of mountain settings and panoramic valley views.
The Energy byway, which is about two hours from downtown Salt Lake City, offers a firsthand view of Utah's pristine backcountry. The rugged mountains, pine forests and calm reservoirs of the Manti-La Sal National Forest provide a natural perspective of this area, sprinkled with occasional remnants of days gone by.