Little Sahara

Jenny got really good at riding out there. A couple of times she was braver than I was about going off of faces and sliding down for 40 feet. She is hooked more than I am on this activity area too.

We all rode my friend Adam's new bike, a Yamaha Raptor 660 with paddles. That is a pretty mean bike. Jenny had a lot of fun on it. I preferred the automatic electric shift 4x4 ones. They gave me more confidence and didn't require paying as much attention to what I was doing with the clutch and subsequently stalling in the sand.

Welcome, Welcome to the land made for four wheelers.

But I still got some good air on the big boy bike -- and I found myself in some places I didn't want to be in. That happened mostly at night when you get a little scared when you are stuck straight sideways on the face of a dune and you can see around you cause there in ZERO light out there. You get to the top of a dune and the other side of the peak looks like the end of the earth, it drops off to nothing.

I loved watching the fast sand rail buggies fly around Little Sahara. That would be a hobby of mine if I was rich. They are V8's, Hyabusa motorcycle engines...you name it. The drivers make it to the top of sand mountain like in 10 seconds.

ON the face of the sand mountain picture, you can see ripples at the base going horizontally. They don't look like a lot but they are about 2-3 ft high, but they are in perfect synchronization of the spacing apart. Get going too fast across them and you can get bucked off mighty quick.

We plan on renting 2 more four wheelers next time and going back again 2 more times before the end of fall while it is cool.

It was only 91 degrees during the day, but when there is no shade and the heat is constantly reflecting off the sand not to mention a hot motor throbbing beneath you, it gets hot!

The nights were down into the high 40's. But all the other people will get out there to ride sand mountain till 2-3 A.M. and then party all night. It is a good idea to camp a bit further away from people like that if you want to sleep soundly at night. Your bikes are safe enough, but the roaring drunks and their throbbing stereos will get to ya.

There will be 40,000 people in that park over most of the weekends. Then All the major holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th and July 24th (That's a Utah celebration) the attendance is really crazy. On those dates you will see this area packed with visitors and their bikes.

Easter weekend is the biggest event going of the whole year. Some of the Easter Eggs hidden a century ago have never been found.

Little Sahara is located less than 1½ hours from Provo and just outside of Nephi.

How to get there: The Little Sahara Recreation Area is about 110 miles from Salt Lake City -- via Nephi.
Travel on I-15 to Nephi. Take exit 225 and travel west 14.5 miles on State Route 132 to Juab County Route 1812 (“Sand Dunes” sign). Turn right (northwest) onto Route 1812, travel about 14 miles, passing through Jericho Junction (intersection with U.S. Highway 6), until you reach the turnoff sign for Little Sahara Recreation Area. Turn left (southwest) to enter the area. There is a daily use fee.

You can experience the quiet side of Little Sahara at the Rockwell Outstanding Natural Area. Set aside as a vehicle-free zone, this 9,000-acre unit is a miniature version of the larger surrounding desert ecosystem. Rockwell's sand dunes, scattered junipers, and sagebrush flats provide habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals. Mule deer and antelope, 15 species of birds, the Desert whipsnake, and 8 other species of reptiles live here. Stands of Utah juniper, sagebrush and grasses typical of the Great Basin, plus an extremely rare species of saltbush, dot the landscape.

Latest Usage Fees: There is a use fee of $8.00 per day with the exception of Easter, Memorial Day, and Labor Day weekends when the fee is $10.00 per day. Annual permits may be purchased for $75. Day-use fees and annual passes may be paid by credit card. Safety Flags and ice must be paid for only with cash or personal check.

The western quarter of Utah is very desolate with few towns or paved roads - beyond I-15 at the foot of the central mountains the land becomes mostly flat interrupted only by occasional ranges of hills, part of the Great Basin Desert that stretches across Nevada.

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The Monsters of Moab: Earth has a vault of time vast beyond our human comprehension. No geologic feature is permanent. The mountains are constantly falling. New islands are constantly rising. Even the poles seem to shift now and then. Three hundred million years of unhurried incremental changes culminated in exposing the Arches as we know them today.

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The Little Sahara Recreation Area, 124 SQUARE MILES of four wheeling paradise. Sure, a lot of it is nothing but sand and sage brush -- but there are miles of trails all through that. Plus, the endless dunes do go on -- and on, for miles.

Cache Valley: People travel to northern Utah to get away from the rest of the world. It is a place to regroup and gather your thoughts as you sit by a beautiful canyon lake or river. Fur trappers once roamed this area, and planned two of the largest rendezvous here.

Cascade Springs is a must see for those heading over American Fork canyon on the Alpine Scenic Loop. There is a $3.00 dollar use fee to access the canyon.

Cedar City: This small college community is ideally located to serve as the gateway city to Utah’s national park country.

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Deer Creek State Park & Reservoir lies in the southwest corner of beautiful
Heber Valley and consistently provides some of Utah's finest year-round fishing.

Huntington Beach’s 8 miles of pristine, uninterrupted beach-front enjoy a
year-round Mediterranean climate and offer great swimming, surfing, sunbathing,
beach sports, and romantic sunset walks. There’s also plentiful parking, restrooms
and showers, convenient food and rental concessions, all-season daytime lifeguard
services, and fire rings for evening gatherings.

Utah Valley Trails: Communities in Utah Valley have constructed and are
continuing to expand a system of non-motorized trails and pathways.
These trails provide recreational opportunities and alternatives to automobile
travel, preserve open space, and maintain access to public lands. Many trails,
like the Jordan River Parkway, are paved, multi-use paths suitable for walkers,
joggers, roller-bladers and bicyclists.

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