Monday, October 24, 2011

Alpine Loop Scenic Byway

Saturday we had the chance to take a scenic drive around the Salt Lake City area to catch the Fall colors. Fall is my favorite season and I wanted to experience it here and capture some images to share with you. Fall is beautiful back east where I come from, but I have discovered it is equally spectacular out west here in Utah.

We drove from our Millcreek Canyon area, past Parley's Canyon and Lamb's Canyon, up Parley's Summit to Park City, then on through Heber City, Midway, past the Deer Creek Dam, Mount Timpanogos off in the distance, down into Provo Canyon (I-80, Rt 40, Rt 189). I love driving this route (approximately 45 minutes) from Salt Lake City to Provo Canyon as an alternative to taking I-15 south, because its much more relaxing and scenic. I posted some photos from this loop two weeks back when we had snow (in early October!!) and you can see them here.

After that drive, we stopped and had a fantastic lunch at the Sundance Resort (I recommend the place and the restaurant) and then headed to our prime destination - the gorgeous Alpine Loop. The Alpine Loop is a 20-mile drive across the Wasatch mountains and the Uinta National Forest, between Provo Canyon and American Fork Canyon. It is called Utah Highway 92, but it is a small road that in some places can barely take two cars. This Utah Alpine Loop should not be confused with a similarly named one in Colorado. Our Utah Alpine Loop is an official Scenic Byway (!) and it is a beautiful drive any time you can do it, which is typically only between May and October as the rest of the year it is usually closed due to snow. On this drive you have great views of Mount Timpanogos and other glacier carved peaks, alpine forests, amazing Aspen groves.

I have posted a few of my favorite images here and will be posting more this week to celebrate the beauty of Fall and Utah. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the Fall on your own scenic byway adventures, and I hope you enjoy my scenic byway moments.












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