The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway

Information about Mammoths in Utah can be found on this sign on the Energy Loop Scenic Byway.

A new sign found along the Energy Loop in Utah points visitors to the Mammoth Discovery Site.

Angel, Leslie, and Carrie stand on the National Christmas Tree stump for 1995 at the Stuart Guard Station on the Energy Loop.

The Huntington Power Plant among green foliage and rainclouds on the Energy Loop.

A tragedy in triplicate lives on in the ancient wooden gravemarkers at Scofield Cemetery.

The Stuart Guard Station still stands watch on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A visitor reads about off-roading on the Skyline Drive.

Spring rains glisten on the sidewalks near the Fairview Museum of History and Art.

Two headstones stand side by side-- the old and the new both for the same man killed in the Scofield Mining Disaster.

A skeletal replica of the Giant Ground Sloth that existed during the last Ice Age in the area of The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Informative signs near Scofield tell about the mining disaster of May 1900.

Historic photos, maps and other items wait above a fireplace and on shelves to tell the story of the Stuart Guard Station and the Manti-La Sal National Forest.

A display inside the Stuart Guard Station depicts the hard and adventurous life of a forest ranger in the early days of the Manti and La Sal Forests of Utah.

A nice sidewalk provides access to the Stuart Guard Station.

A visitor studies an interpretive sign which overlooks Electric Lake surrounded by trees and rolling hills.

A visitor reads about energy production in Huntington Canyon, near the Huntington Power Plant.

Beyond this sign panel entitled "Scofield Reservoir: A Great Fishery" lies Scofield Lake surrounded by rocky mountaintops dry with summer.

Photos illustrate this information sign about the Wasatch Plateau in this closeup photo.

The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway winds its way through Utah mountains.

A young fisherman braves the strong winds on the reservoir at Huntington State Park on the Energy Loop.

A boat races across an inlet of the Scofield Reservoir on the Energy Loop.

At the top of the Wasatch Plateau, two of the three roadways that make up The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway. The area has tremendous 360 degree views of mountain ranges and valleys in all directions, some as far as 100 miles away.

Byway and highway signs along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway alert travelers to the upcoming Stuart Guard Station and other features. Pine trees tower along the roadside.

The Allosaurus skeleton and other dinosaur bones at the CEU Prehistoric Museum.

Visitor reads the Huntington entrance kiosk on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

The Huntington River's spring flow underneath the sparsely forested canyon walls near the east end of Huntington Canyon.

The Scofield Cemetery sits on a small hill above the town of Scofield.

Bright blues describe this little bay of the Scofield Reservoir on the Energy Loop.

The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway Entrance Kiosk is located at Huntington with the mountains of Huntington Canyon beyond.

A USDA Forest Ranger discusses an exhibit at the Stuart Guard Station.

Entering the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah, transports visitors to another time.

Trees line the driveway and rise behind the grounds of the Stuart Guard Station in summer.

A shepherd follows his flock on U-96.

A USDA Forest Ranger presents Tools of the Trade at the Stuart Guard Station.

A group of visitors pose on the National Christmas Tree Stump at Stuart Guard Station.

A cloudy sky presides over a late summer view of the approach and grounds of Stuart Guard Station along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A wafer-thin layer of ice covers much of the creek descending through massive boulders from Joes Valley Reservoir.

A replica of a wooly rhinoceros that lived during the last Ice Age is on display at the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum.

A visitor reads signs about the power of geology and Wasatch Plateau story.

A garage at Stuart Guard Station on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway contains the story of the CCC's work in this area.

Cars are parked along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway where people have stopped to read the story of the Riparian community. Tall trees and grassy hills line both sides of the road.

Tan and black sandstone boulders make Joes Valley a climber's paradise. A climber practices a move with a ground pad to catch his very short fall.

A display inside a garage at Stuart Guard Station on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway tells the story of the CCC's work in this area.

Sheep (and other ranch animals) may be encountered along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway, as they move between pastures and forage lands. These are above Burnout Canyon.

One of the reasons for the name of The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway is quite visible, but not an overly jarring presence, beside the road.

This panel inside the Stuart Guard Station shows in multi-colored detail the many resources of The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway in central Utah.

This sign, found along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway, tells about the Riparian Community.

Taking advantage of extremely grippy sandstone, a climber concentrates on the Joes Valley classic, The Angler.

Scenic passes make The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway a delightful and challenging bike ride.

The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway curves past evergreens in Huntington Canyon.

A covered mine conveyor belt parallels The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway for a long stretch. This is the section from the high-mountain t-junction at the top of all three canyons, and heading toward Scofield.

Several travelers read an interpretive sign about the region's coal. A tall building of the Skyline Mine complex is in the background.

A visitor admires a beautiful landscape and creek while stopping to read about riparian communities on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A climber clings to holds on a sheer cliff above icy, emerald green pools.

An interpretive sign at Joes Valley Overlook on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway explains the geology of this popular recreation area.

A state byway sign underneath the Utah Highway 96 sign indicates an approaching junction along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A visitor contemplates the high mountain forests while enjoying a picnic lunch on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A helicopter lifts water from a reservoir to fight fires in the mountains of The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Read about changing land use at this Scofield Lake wayside sign on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Two visitors read about coal mining near Skyline Mine.

A car passes underneath a pyramidal mountain in Huntington Canyon. Pine trees border the The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Juniper-strewn canyon walls tower over The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway in the lower canyon.

Visitor reads about Huntington Reservoir (and probably the discovery of the Huntington Mammoth) at a rest stop beside The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

National Forest maps and Wasatch Mountains signs provide orientation along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A visitor stops by this roofed information kiosk at Highway 96 on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Carrie inspects the larkspur fields of The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway just past the junction.

The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway includes both historic and modern-day mining and energy operations.

This view of the kiosk and parking area reveals green landscaping and a very nice skyscape.

As travelers proceed from the mountains down through Huntington Canyon, they are entering a much drier ecology. The canyonsides are more barren, showing off the striking geology, and the roadside vegetation is sparser and shorter.

This sign along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway informs visiters about how coal is formed.

A climber commits to a big move on this overhanging problem in Joes Valley in central Utah.

A USDA Forest Ranger guides a group through the exhibits inside the house at the Stuart Guard Station on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

An RV waits in the ample parking area by the History of Scofield Mining Disaster on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Huntington Creek runs along a good length of SR-31, providing both pleasing scenery and recreational opportunities. Many campsites, fishing holes, and pull-offs along the creek make it an important part of the The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

The well-kept grounds of the Fairview Museum of History and Art are decorated with a giant American Indian head.

An old cabin in a meadow in Eccles Canyon stands as a reminder of the settling of the West.

The Skyline Mine facilities are near the junction of U-96 and the Eccles Scenic Byway on the Energy Loop.

Red rocks and plateaus create a panorama from The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway meanders through lush valleys and over high peaks.

The Huntington Mammoth is on display at the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum in Price.

This view from The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway reveals a slice of the scenery.

A visitor reads about fishing Scofield Lake from one of three sign panels at this stop overlooking Scofield Lake which is surrounded by summer-dry mountaintops.

A car on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway in the upper canyons has passed a reservoir, of which a tiny glimpse can be seen in the background

Crabapple trees frame and outdoor exhibit at the Fairview Museum.

Visitor reads about Electric Lake at this interpretive stop on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

With a Byway brochure in hand, a visitor reads a welcome panel in the Huntington entrance kiosk on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Muddy waters lap the reservoir shore on this windy day.

Larkspur turns the high ridges a glorious purple in the springtime on the Energy Loop.

Visitors read about coal at this interpretive stop on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

A visitor reads about the Stuart Guard Station on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

This visitor stops to read the panel that tells of energy and pipe lines along The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway.

Clinging to a tiny flake of sandstone and praying it will hold, this climber is one move from finishing Sole Food on the Sabotage boulder in Joes Valley. "Bomb-proof" is a climber's term for a hold in which you can have a lot of confidence.

Heavy clouds create a dramatic view of the Sanpete Overlook right before a rainstorm.