Beaver in Central Utah is a town of 3,200 people (2019) close to the Tushar Mountains, and anyone who visits the town feels like they are at the foothills of the Rockies.
Understand
The mountains to the east of Beaver reach elevations above and mountain passes are about in elevation. The elevation of Beaver itself is a little less than .
Climate
Despite the high elevation, Beaver gets hot weather, but it can also get very cold in winter. For temperature, the best weather conditions are in mid-to-late spring and September.
Get in
By car
It's quite easy to reach Beaver by car, and this can be done from every side of the town. The main transport route that connects to Beaver is I-15, the main interstate route between the I-5 in California and the I-25 in New Mexico and the Midwest. The I-15 enters Beaver from the north and south, and leads to many important cities, including Salt Lake City to the north and Las Vegas and Los Angeles to the southwest.
Utah State Route 21 goes from the Nevada-Utah border to Beaver. Route 21's western end is in Nevada as Route 487, which goes from U.S. 50 to the town of Baker (the gateway to Great Basin National Park) and the border, where it becomes Route 21. Route 21 goes through many miles of practically uninhabited desert country before coming to Milford, and from Milford to Beaver the route is closer to civilization.
The twisty Route 153 enters Beaver from the eastern side and connects Beaver with a ski resort. A lot of that road is unpaved, so it's probably best not to take it if you're trying to get across the Tushar Mountain Range.
By bus
Salt Lake Express provides intercity bus service.
Get around
Although you could probably get around the town by walking, like most towns and cities in the United States it's better to drive due to the great distances that often exist between towns and points of interest.
By car
The main road in the town is, not surprisingly, Main Street, which connects with I-15 at the southern and northern ends of town. It also intersects with most of the important east-west roads, making it useful for getting around town. The two main east-west roads are Center Street, which becomes Route 21 to the west, and East 200 North Street, which becomes Route 153 on its eastern side.
See
In the Beaver area, the main attraction besides the town's location for the traveler is the scenery. To the west is desert and open spaces, and to the east are the mountains.
The desert west of Beaver consists of high-elevation desert, with high valleys scattered among rocky, often juniper-covered mountain ranges. Farther west, on the eastern side of Nevada, are some mountain ranges that more closely resemble the Sierras. However, there are also some local points of interest.
- Cove Fort, Utah State Route 161 (Junction of Interstates 15 and 70), 38.600585°, -112.581956°, +1 435 438-5547, HSCoveFort@ldschurch.org. 9AM-dusk. Built in 1867 at the request of Brigham Young, the fort largely acted as a way station for people traveling the Mormon Corridor in the late 19th century. It is listed on mileage signs because it is the western terminus of Interstate 70, which travels over 2,100 miles to Maryland from Cove Fort. The site for Cove Fort was selected by Brigham Young because of its location about halfway between Fillmore, then the capital of the Utah Territory, and the nearest city, Beaver. It provided a way station for people traveling the Mormon Road. A town would have been constructed at the Cove Fort site, but the water supply was inadequate to support a sizable population. Another key factor in the selection of the site was the prior existence of a wooden-palisade fort, Willden Fort, which provided shelter and safety for the work crews who constructed Cove Fort. The fort is a square, 100 ft (30 m) on each side. The walls are constructed of black volcanic rock and dark limestone, both quarried from the nearby mountains. The walls are 18 ft high and 4 ft thick at the base, tapering to 2 ft thick at the top. The fort has two sets of large wooden doors at the east and west ends, originally filled with sand to stop arrows and bullets, and contains 12 interior rooms. As a daily stop for two stagecoach lines, as well as many other travelers, Cove Fort was heavily used for many years, often housing and feeding up to 75 people at a time. In addition to providing a place to rest, a blacksmith/farrier resided at the fort, who shod horses and oxen, and also repaired wagon wheels. With its telegraph office and as a Pony Express stop, it also acted as a regional communications hub. Free 2018-06-27
- Farnsworth Cabin & Monument, East Center Street (On Center Street almost a block east from the Main Street), 38.273796°, -112.640067°. This is the modest birthplace of Philo Taylor Farnsworth, who was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many contributions that were crucial to the early development of all-electronic television. He is perhaps best known for his 1927 invention of the first fully functional all-electronic image pickup device (video camera tube), the "image dissector", as well as the first fully functional and complete all-electronic television system. He also invented a small nuclear fusion device, the Farnsworth–Hirsch fusor, in his later life. While the cabin and the wagon next to it that are near surface street in Beaver seem to not be significant, the person who was born here is very significant. 2018-06-24
- Minersville Reservoir, 38.230691°, -112.819769°. This is a fairly long but narrow reservoir that is close to a narrow valley in the mountains west of Beaver (not to be confused with the much larger Tushar Mountains to the east, though). The dam is at the southwestern end of the lake, and there is a campground and park facilities area a short distance northeast of the dam. Minersville Reservoir is also one of the few reservoirs in the Great Basin, and the river that flows in and out of the Minersville Reservoir does not drain to any ocean or sea. 2018-06-24
Do
Definitely, driving is a good activity in the region, and enables you to get a good idea of the scenery without having to hike too far.
- Scenic drive in the Tushar Mountains, Utah State Route 153 (From downtown Beaver, drive east on East 200 North Street and after not too long you should be out of the town. You will then reach protected area and the scenic part of the drive begins), 38.277023°, -112.616291°. Best avoided in winter. This is one of Utah's most scenic highway routes and it goes up the western side of the Tushar Mountains. (While the road goes down the eastern side as well, it is best not to drive along the eastern part of the road, which is unpaved.) Once you leave Beaver and you're driving east along the road, you will quite swiftly go into the mountain range. Around this point, you enter a canyon and the flora changes from scattered shrubs to more forested country. You continue to go through the canyon, which at times is like a great rocky gorge, before coming out of the canyon and reaching flatter, open terrain with pine trees on the ridges on each side. Higher mountains will be in front, but the road will avoid these and come to a mountain pass where there is a ski resort. Soon after the ski resort, the road becomes unpaved, so you will most likely want to turn back here. 2018-06-24
Buy
While there are a few shops in Beaver, don't expect any shopping malls. There is a Dollar store in the north of town, but this is about it when it comes to grocery supermarkets.
- Mike's Food Town, 270 North Main Street (On the Main Street north of downtown), 38.277928°, -112.640605°, +1 435 438-2852. Mon-Sat 7AM-8PM and Sun 1PM-6PM. 2018-06-24
- Surewood Forest Candle & Gift Company, 31 North Main Street (Downtown Beaver), 38.274625°, -112.641525°, +1 435 438-0211. M-W and F Sa 11AM-6PM; closed W and Su. 2018-06-24
Eat and drink
Once again, this is a field where Beaver is lacking. There are a few pizza restaurants, cafes, takeaways, and a McDonald's, but there is not really anything beyond that. If you're looking for something more fancy, the fact is that in the country areas of Central Utah you'll have a hard job finding it.
- Arshels, 711 North Main Street (On the Main Street north of downtown), 38.284113°, -112.641544°, +1 435 438-2977. 7AM-9PM. 2018-06-24
- Crazy Cow Cafe, 314 West 1425 North Street (Near the Paradise Inn), 38.294437°, -112.647786°, +1 435 438-6208. 2018-06-24
- The Creamery, 165 South 500 W, Beaver, 38.273337°, -112.648659°, +18337964551. The creamery offers a good selection of dairy products and also makes ice cream. Expect a 20-60 min wait for ice cream on busy days. 2022-02-21
Sleep
Beaver has quite a few hotels and motels.
- Best Western Butch Cassidy Inn, 161 S Main Street (Southern side of town), 38.277266°, -112.641302°, +1 435 438-2438. 2018-06-24
- Best Western Paradise Inn, 1451 North 300 West Street (Near the northernmost freeway exit in the town), 38.294909°, -112.647102°, +1 435 438-2455. 2018-06-24
- Days Inn (Wyndham), 646 West 1400 North (Northwestern end of town, west of the I-15 freeway), 38.293811°, -112.653346°, +1 435 261-2641. 2018-06-24
- DeLano Motel, 480 North Main Street, 38.280560°, -112.640568°, +1 435 438-2418. 2018-06-24
- Super 8 (Wyndham), 626 West 1400 North (Northwestern end of town, west of the I-15 freeway), 38.294009°, -112.652239°, +1 435 438-3888. Another Wyndham Hotel that is very close to the Days Inn. 2018-06-24
Go next
- A few miles to the west is Milford. Milford is the western end of towns in Utah, and the many miles from Milford west are practically uninhabited until you reach the small towns of Garrison and Baker. Baker is close to Great Basin National Park, which is in Nevada.
- To the southeast, on the other side of the Tushar Mountains, is the town of Panguitch. Panguich serves as the gateway to Bryce Canyon National Park.