US 89 Utah Route

US 89 traverses portions of five states.  However, only a very small section of US 89 crosses the southeast corner of Idaho.  The other four states contain the vast majority of the spectacular scenery.
It's tough to pick which state has "the best" scenery.  Proponents of each state's charms could easily present  persuasive  points why their favorite state should be at the top of the Most Scenic List.

While Utah might not put on display scenes as spectacular as the Grand Tetons, Utah has some mighty attractive scenery from top to bottom.  No matter  where you look, there something to capture your imagination and attention!

US 89 comes into Utah just a few miles south of Little Hollywood (AKA: Kanab).  Great distant views of ZIon are seen on the way to Mt. Carmel Junction.  The Elk Heart Cliffs present a riveting tableau on the east flank of US 89 as it makes its way north through Long Valley to Panguitch.

Leaving Panguitch, US 89 winds its way between two massive volcanic fields as it passes through Butch Cassidy Country.  Big Rock Candy Mountain is a major attraction site along the way to the Sevier Valley which begins at Cove, Utah.

From Cove, old US 89 is still intact though Elsinore and Central to Richfield. The old road also remains to connect Richfield with Salina.  US 89 is easy to follow from Salina to Gunnison.

Just north of Gunnison, S 89 takes another one of its patented sharp turns to the right and heads northeast into the Wasatch Valley through Manti, Ephraim, Mt. Pleasant and Fairview.  This portion of US 89 to Thistle is the last of the Utah rural stretches of the highway.

After dropping down from Thistle to Spanish Fork, US 89 is firmly in the grasp of the sprawling metropolis that covers the east sides of Utah and Salt Lake Valleys.  From 1926 to 1932, US 89 ended at Spanish Fork.  The route from Spanish Fork to Canada was designated in 1932.

 Here's a glimse of US 89's complicated route through Salt Lake City circa 1940.

Once past Brigham City, US 89 takes an odd, out-of-the-way route to Logan before going up and over Logan Pass to Garden City on Bear Lake.  The Idaho state line lies just a few miles north.

We added close ups of Salt Lake City and Ogden.  It is our goal to find much better street maps tracing the precise route of US 89 through these cities.