Places to Bird - Soapstone Basin

Soapstone Basin Road

From Wolf Creek Pass looking towards Soapstone by Marlene Foard ©Marlene Foard

Directions: You can approach the Soapstone Basin Road from the north or from the south:
From the north: Take the Mirror Lake road (State Highway 150) going east from Kamas. Go about 16 miles and turn right (going south) at the Soapstone turnoff. (You will pass a fee station before you get to the Soapstone turnoff, but you don't have to stop and pay the fee because you will be turning off the Mirror Lake road and won't be using the campgrounds or facilities).
From the south: The turnoff is on US 35, about 15 miles east of Francis or 16 miles west of Hanna in Duchesne Co.

Description: This is a very good dirt road (for summer use only) about 5 1/2 miles long, that goes from UT 150 (Mirror Lake Highway) in the north to UT 35 (the Wolf Creek Pass road) in the south. The north half runs near Soapstone Creek then climbs south over Soapstone Pass to highway 35. You can combine this birding trip with Mill Hollow or Wolf Creek Campground and Duchesne Ridge.

Birding: Two good places to stop along the way are at the turnoff to Lambert Hollow (about 2 miles from the north end) and at Piuta Camp where there is a small lake (a couple of miles or so from the south end). Be prepared to stop along the way when you see bird activity. The north end of the road that goes through a forested area with Aspen, is especially good for woodpeckers and sapsuckers along with some of the other "specialty birds."

Specialty Birds: Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Lazuli Bunting, Fox and Lincoln's Sparrows, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin,

| Merrill Webb's Description |