4.2.3.4Snowmobile Trails and Routes

There are designated snowmobile routes on the Ashley National Forest. These can correspond with other trails and routes or they can be just a route for snow mobiles. Popular snowmobile destinations include Wolf Creek Pass, North Fork Duchesne River, and the Yellowstone ATV Complex. While the forest only restricts snowmobiles in the wilderness area, much of the forest land in Duchesne County can be inaccessible during the wintertime. This is because many of the roads that connect users to the forest traverse tribal ground and are not plowed during the winter months. This prevents snowmobilers from accessing parts of the forest like Moon Lake since snowmobile use on tribal land is prohibited even on the roads. In Southern Duchesne County snowmobile access is not an issue and many users travel freely on forest land in that part of the county.

4.2.4Other Types of Trails and Routes

4.2.4.1Known historic trails

There are several identified historic trails in Duchesne County, and likely more than were documented by this report.

• The Jesse Knight Flume Trail north of Duchesne follows the old Blue Bench Irrigation flume that historically took water from Rock Creek and delivered it to users on top of Blue Bench. The old Flume was abandoned in the early 1920’s but ruins of the structure remain in some places along the route. Locals use the route as an ATV trail to access various properties.
• The Nine Mile Stage Route was the main connection into the Uintah Basin for several decades at the turn of the 20^th century. The route was used to transfer people, goods, and mail between the rail line in Price to Fort Duchesne and the rest of the Uintah Basin. Part of the route is used as a connecting section of the Badlands ATV trail. The entire route can be driven by highway vehicles today, though a six-mile portion of the road is unpaved through Gate Canyon.
• Uintah Mountain Maintenance Trails
• Paint Mine (Moon Lake)