Mirror Lake Scenic Byway (Highway 150)

For Brad's Bday we decided to take the day off and take the Sportsters out for a little exercise.

The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway (Highway 150) runs from Evanston, WY South to Kamas, UT. It goes over the western tip of the Uintah Mountains. These are the only East/West running mountain range in North America the peaks range from 9500 Feet Above Sea Level (FASL) to 13,500FASL. The entire range is dotted with mountain lakes and streams - and the best part is - they are right in our back yard!!

We looped from home in Ogden up I-84, to Wanship/Rockport State Park then to Kamas, and over to Evanston, WY and then home - 220 miles total (about 4-5 hours). The mid-week excursion meant NO TRAFFIC so we were able to putter along at about 45mph once we were in the Wasatch National Forest and actually look at the scenary - breathtaking! The road is well paved (a B or C on an A-F scale) and not terribly technical (a 2 on a 1-5 sale where 5 is the most technical riding).

Going up from Kamas the 38 Miles is definitely a climb up to the 9200 FASL peak (Bald Mountain at the top peaks at around 9500FASL) and the last 2 curves at the top are 30MPH near-full-circle switchbacks. The first goes up and the second goes down over the peak and into the Mirror Lake turn-off. The 58 miles down to Evanston are just gradual long sweeper curves, so it's a very relaxing ride.

In all I was surprised at the ease of this ride and well...I've only been riding a year so I would definitely recommend it to a beginner rider looking for their first "Long Ride" - so long as the rider is comfortable on the Freeway as I-80 and I-84 are the only way to get too and from Highway 150. In all, I find Freeway riding easier than city riding because there is no oncoming traffic. Keeping up the speed though can sometimes wear my wrist out...but I digress. In all, this was a great relaxing ride and was a fun way to spend the day with my DH and put his new sporty through it's paces.