The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

in the state of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. It spans approximately as it travels from Fairview through the Manti-La Sal National Forest southeast to Huntington via Huntington Canyon, and northeast to near Colton via Eccles Canyon.

Route description

The route begins in Fairview at the intersection of

US-89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...

and SR-31 following SR-31 eastward and immediately connects with the north end of SR-231. As it exits the city, it turns northeast to follow Cottonwood Creek towards and into Fairview Canyon, about from the beginning of the route. It follows the canyon for another 6–7 miles, entering the Manti-La Sal National Forest, until it climbs out of the top end of the canyon at about altitude. From this point, the byway splits in two. The south branch continues to follow SR-31, climbing up to over elevation before dropping down to the east-southeast as it passes Huntington Reservoir, Cleveland Reservoir, and turning to the northeast towards Electric Lake. At this point, the route turns to the southeast, following Huntington Canyon and Huntington Creek downwards, eventually exiting the national forest and the canyon and ending in the city of Huntington, a mile southwest of

Huntington State Park Huntington State Park is a state park of Utah, United States, featuring a warm-water reservoir. The state park is located near the town of Huntington. Description Huntington Reservoir was completed in 1966 by the United States Bureau of Rec ...

. The North branch turns onto SR-264, which travels eastward towards the north end of Electric Lake, where it turns north to go up Upper Huntington Canyon. After about , the route turns east again and climbs out of the Upper Huntington Canyon, and crosses over to Eccles Canyon, following Eccles Creek down. After about , the canyon and the route turn back to the north again, passing through the town of Scofield, and passing by

Scofield Reservoir Scofield Reservoir is a reservoir impounded by Scofield Dam, in Carbon County, Utah. Located on the Price River, a tributary of the Green River, Scofield Reservoir is adjacent to the northernmost boundary of the Manti–La Sal National For ...

and

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

. It continues on past the north end of the reservoir for a few more miles before turning to the east yet again, ending northwest of

Price Canyon The Price River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 30, 2020 southeastward flowing river in Carbon, Utah and Emery counties in eastern Utah. It is a tributary to ...

near Colton.

History

For the histories of this route's constituent highways prior to its scenic byway designation, refer to: * SR-31 * SR-96 * SR-264 This route was designated a Utah Scenic Byway in 1990, a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. __TOC__ List The following roadways were listed b ...

on February 6, 1991 (as Huntington Canyon Scenic Byway, Eccles Canyon Scenic Byway), and a

on June 15, 2000.

Major intersections

North branch

South branch

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy Loop: Huntington Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway, The Utah Scenic Byways National Scenic Byways Energy Loop Energy Loop Energy Loop Energy Loop National Forest Scenic Byways Tourist attractions in Carbon County, Utah Tourist attractions in Utah County, Utah Tourist attractions in Sanpete County, Utah Tourist attractions in Emery County, Utah