Encounter the same desert landscape that Pony Express riders once traversed on swift steeds when you drive Utah’s Pony Express Trail Back Country Byway. Isolated and without services, the route offers an exclusive peek into the Pony Express and Utah’s still wild west.
Get your first peek into the past at the byway’s eastern end in Fairfield, UT. Like many sites along the 133-mile byway, the Fairfield/Camp Floyd Pony Express Station includes an interpretive sign that will enlighten you with fascinating historical details about the byway and the site itself.
From Fairfield, head about 17 miles southeast along the Trail until you reach the Faust station. Read the interpretive sign if you like, or continue southeast for just over a mile to check out the Pony Express Trail Back Country Byway Visitor Information site, which was built in 1992. This site borders the Onaqui Mountain Wild Horse Management Area, so bring a pair of binoculars to scan the northern horizon. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of wild horses galloping across the desert.
Be glad you brought your camping gear when you roll into Simpson Springs, about 28 miles from Faust on the Trail. This BLM campground has 14 campsites, plenty of restrooms, and drinking water available. While you’re here, entertain yourself by checking out the reconstructed station and by reading the interpretive sign to find out why Simpson Springs was once a major hub for Pony Express Riders.
A little bit further along the byway, about 50 miles from Ibapha, UT and the byway’s western end, check out the wildlife that's attracted to the deserts’ wetland oasis. Literally springing from the earth, the rich wetlands of the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge are home to migrating bird species including the snowy egret and the white-faced ibis.
By the time you reach the byway’s west end in Ibapah, you’ll have covered over 130 miles of maintained sand and gravel road through Utah’s rugged desert. You might not be racing through this desert on horseback, but when you’re on the Pony Express Trail Back Country byway, you can still be a part of early America’s extraordinary mail-carrying adventure!
