Faust Station to Lookout Station (9.8 miles)
Heading south from Faust Station on UT-36, the Pony Express side road leaves UT-36 after 0.6 miles. The side road is paved and has a large parking area and informational kiosk. Head west from the kiosk, the road soon turns to dirt. This first section, with its housing subdivision and man-made lake on the left, always feels in contrast to me with what I expect of the Pony Express trail.

At about 9 miles, Lookout Pass is reached and the view to the west of the terrain the road will be traversing comes into view. This is more what I expect from the Pony Express trail! There are many good dispersed camping sites heading west from Lookout Pass on the many spur roads. At 9.8 miles, the Lookout Pass Station is on the right. There isn’t much left of the station.

Across the road from the Lookout Pass Station is a concrete enclosure. This Aunt Libby’s Pet Cemetary. From the historical marker:

ENCLOSING GRAVES (WEST SIDE) OF TWO MEN AND A CHILD, EMIGRANTS OF THE EARLY EIGHTEEN SIXTIES.

ORIGINAL WALL ERECTED IN 1888, BY MRS. HORACE (AUNT LIBBY) ROCKWELL, TO SHELTER GRAVES OF HER BELOVED DOGS. 1. JENNY LIND, 2. JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE, 3. BISHOP, 4. TOBY TYLER, COMPANIONS IN HER LONELY, CHILDLESS VIGILS HERE. ABOUT 1866 TO 1890.

Lookout Station to Simpson Springs Station (15.8 miles)
The character changes from Lookout Station. Stay on the main road heading west from here on out. Major junctions are signed, with Simpson Springs/Fish Springs/Callao being the direction to go at these signed junctions.

About 2.7 miles from Lookout Station is an information kiosk about the Onaqui Wild Horse herd that roams this area. Keep an eye out, they are often spotted between Lookout Station and Simpson Springs.

At about 2.9 miles is a major junction. Stay left here. Right heads north to Dugway.

The Pony Express road crosses the vast openness south of Davis Mountain, then curves and heads south to Simpsons Springs Station and campground. The Simpson Springs Station is the most preserved/restored station on the trip.

Simpson Springs Station to Riverbed Station (8.1 miles)
Leaving Simpson Springs, the road heads southwest. Be careful in this section. This section is often rougher than the rest of the road and has caught people off guard going too fast. It is about 8 miles to Riverbend Station.

Just before Riverbend Station, the road descends and crosses Old River Bed, a wide dry wash. Though you wouldn’t know it now, the Old River Bed was an ancient river that drained the Delta/Sevier Lake area to the Great Salt Lake. The area has been found to have been used by ancient peoples between about 8,500 and 12,000 years ago when it was a marsh.

When the Pony Express Station was built on the west side of the Old River Bed, it proved to be a good place for ambush since the bottom of the river bed couldn’t be seen by approaching stage coaches or riders until they were right at its edge. This led to several robberies at the location, including a robbery where the robbers ended up with $40,000 in gold bullion!

There isn’t much left of the station, but it is a lovely and desolate place to stop.

Riverbend Station to Dugway Station Junction (8.9 miles)
From Riverbend, the road continues southwest across the vast open valley. At 8.9 miles, there is a metal water tank and pump house on the south side of the road, as well as a side road heading south.

Dugway Station Side Trip
To visit the Dugway Station, leave the Pony Express road at the tank/pump and head south on the good dirt road for 1.55 miles to a faint two-track road on the right (west) side. The Dugway Station is about 0.75 miles down the rough two-track. It was, on my visit, quite rutted and required high clearance 4-wheel drive to negotiate. Walking it is also an option. There isn’t much at the Dugway Station except the monument and a couple of Pony Express posts. Return to the water tank junction to continue west on the Pony Express road.

Dugway Station Junction to Black Rock Station (15.2 miles)
The Pony Express road leaves the Dugway Station junction, heads south, and passes over Dugway Pass. 7.6 miles from the Dugway Station junction is a side road on the right signed Dugway Geode Beds. From the Dugway Goede Beds junction, it is another 7.5 miles west to Black Rock Station at the north end of the Black Rock Hills.

Dugway Geode Beds Side Trip
Just north of the Pony Express on the side road is a kiosk with information about the geodes and a map of the collection areas. Pay attention to the map, as the areas do occasionally change. The collection areas are places where the dirt has been turned over by tractors to create large mounds. The mounds contain a variety of rocks, but with a little persistence and good eye, you may find geodes.

On our trip, we spent about 45 minutes digging in several areas and found a handful of geodes. Some people were having better luck, some weren’t having any luck! We broke the geodes with a hammer and placing them in a sack. All-in-all, we came home with several excellent specimens. A very fun side trip. There is primitive camping in the area as well, though it can get somewhat busy on weekends when the weather is good.

Black Rock Station to Fish Springs Station (10.5 miles)
From Black Rock Station, the scenery changes. The road heads south along the Black Rock Hills, then due west across the Fish Springs flats and up to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. The Fish Springs Station is just north of the entrance to Fish Springs Refuge.

Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge Side Trip
The refuge is a great stop. There is a picnic area and wildlife viewing area, a pit toilet, and an 11-mile automobile driving tour around several pools in the refuge. On our visit, we saw countless birds as well as 3 coyotes. The lush environment is quite a contrast to the rest of the route.

Fish Springs Station to Boyd Station (13 miles)
Continuing from the Fish Springs Station, keep and eye out on the left for a side road just after leaving the fenced Wildlife Refuge. The short road goes to a parking spot and a trail up to Hot Springs Cave.

From the Hot Springs Cave Sign:

“The first human occupation of the Fish Springs Marsh can be traced to the gradual evaporation of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville around 11,000 years ago and the formation of the marsh. Today, the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake are all that remain of Lake Bonneville. Archaeological and botanical remains from Hot Springs Cave suggest the inhabitants of the cave were hunting and gathering the abundance of wild animals and plants that occur in this marsh environment.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hot Springs Cave is crucial to our understanding of our past. Permits to excavate or remove artifacts on all federally owned sites can be issued only to qualified persons for the purpose of furthering knowledge in the public interest. Preservation of our national heritage is everyone’s responsibility. Enjoy but do not destroy your American Heritage.”

Just past the Hot Springs Cave side road is another side road on the right with old rusted bus remains next to the road. This is the Wilson Health Springs side road.

WIlson Health Springs Side Trip
The side road heads north to the Wilson Hot Springs area. If you drive it, stop when the road reaches a large parking area. Continuing past the parking area into the grassy wetlands can leave you stuck up to your axles, or at least that would be my assessment based on the ruts we saw on our trip.

From the parking area, follow the trail / ruts to another old bus that appears to have been stuck to its axles in the mud for decades. It would be interesting to know its story. Signs here indicate unstable ground and scalding water lays beyond and access is prohibited. Though you can’t actually visit the hot springs, seeing the old bus and wetlands in the area seemed worth the short side trip to me.

From the Wilson Health Springs junction, it is about 9 miles to Boyd Station.

Boyd Station to Willow Springs Station (9.8 miles)
To the west, the Deep Creek Mountains dominate the view. About 8 miles from Boyd Station, the small community of Callao is reached. Continue on the main road west through Callao. I could not find a marker for Willow Springs Station.

On the west side of Callao, the road reaches a T-junction. Go left here for about 4.5 miles to go to the CCC Campground. Otherwise, go right.

Willow Springs Station to Canyon Station (12 miles)
On the west side of Callao, where the road reaches a T-junction just past where the Willow Springs Station once was, go right, north. About 4 miles north of the T-junction is a major intersection. Go left here and continue about 8 more miles to Canyon Station on a small hill on the left side of the road.

Canyon Station to Burnt Station (3.6 miles)
From Canyon Station, the trail passes through the canyon and the Burnt Station monument is visible across the deep wash as you begin to leave the canyon on the north end. To visit the monument, take the first left after you see the monument, then the next left as the rough two-track circles back to the monument.

Canyon Station to Burnt Station (3.6 miles)
From Canyon Station, the trail passes through the canyon and the Burnt Station monument is visible across the deep wash as you begin to leave the canyon on the north end. To visit the monument, take the first left after you see the monument, then the next left as the rough two-track circles back to the monument.

Burnt Station to Ibapah (8.3 miles)
About 2 miles north of Burnt Station is a major junction. Go left at this junction and stay on the main road as it heads west to the paved road just north of Ibapah.