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The turn off to Clay Canyon is located 1.5
miles from the town of Fairfield Utah. This Canyon is well known
as being the location mined for Variscite. This yellow and green mineral were
mined for the jewelry trade, which continued up until about World War
I. Now days the mineral is collected by rock hound enthusiasts
for personal use only. If you plan on collecting this mineral,
you had better do some homework before hand. It takes a very trained eye to spot
the rock the mineral is located in and in most cases the rock will
have to be cut open to expose the Variscite.
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Our trip to Clay Canyon was solely for the
purpose of riding our ATV's. As you travel up Clay Canyon the
right hand side of the road is closed due to the cleanup of Manning
Canyon, everything to the left is open to OHV travel. You will find several
trails/roads leading in every direction. Most of the trails we
traveled required some riding skills, most were very rocky and
steep. On our adventure we found ourselves
riding on the ridge line that separates Clay Canyon from Sunshine
Canyon. If you are not an experienced rider and you find
yourself on this trail turn around, this trail is very steep and
very rocky! If you are an experienced rider and want a sense
of adventure give this trail a try. Once you reach the top you will
be offered a small treat, a view into the Mercur Gold Mine. The
start of this ridge line trail is located at the end of Clay Canyon
road, next too a
large pit that is being used as a OHV play area.
There are plenty of riding opportunities in
this area with the lower trails being more user friendly. This
area offers trails for all riders. This trail system offers well graded
dirt roads, narrow trails leading through washes, and steep rocky,
rutted scary trails. You may even link from this trail system to the
Five Mile Pass OHV area. Use caution when riding in this
area as you are bound to run into covered mine shafts, and
obvious areas where mining has taken place.
Driving
Directions:
Travel on
State Route 73 from Lehi, Utah to Fairfield Utah. The turn off
to Clay Canyon is located 1.5 miles from Fairfield. This road
is well graded and heads north through dry farms. As you
travel down this road it will make a 90 degree turn and head west.
Shortly after this turn you will see a large BLM sign that has a map
posted of this area. From this sign travel to your right
towards Manning Canyon, you will see the signs
for the closed area. Stay to the left and it will
lead you to Clay Canyon. Find an area on the left hand side of
the road to stage and make your own adventure on the many trails
this area has to offer.
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