West Canyon Road is an approximately four-mile dirt service road located in Snow Canyon State Park. West Canyon Road follows Snow Canyon from the Whiptail Trail to the northern State Park boundary and intersects numerous trailheads. West Canyon Road was the original main road through Snow Canyon after it was designated as a Utah State Park in 1957 and opened to the public in 1962. Part 1; the history of West Canyon Road Snow Canyon is located in the Red Mountains north of the city of Ivins in Washington County, Utah. Snow Canyon is one of many sandstone canyons located in the Red Mountains. Part of the extinct Santa Clara Volcano punctured the Red Mountains via lava tubes. From approximately the year 200 to 1,250 the area around Snow Canyon was inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans. Mormon pioneers established Santa Clara south of Snow Canyon in 1854. Local legend has it that the settlers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for m...
Dayton is located in Lyon County and is the second oldest community in Nevada having been founded near mining claims in Gold Canyon circa 1850. The community of Dayton historically has been part of the California Trail, Pony Express and Pioneer Route of the Lincoln Highway. Since November 1926 the community has been served by US Route 50. Originally US Route 50 passed through Dayton along what is now Old US Route 50, Pike Street, Main Street, River Street and Daney Canyon. Modernization of US Route 50 would begin during the early 1930s when Daney Canyon was bypassed and would continue into the 1940s Federal Aid Program era when the downtown bypass was developed. This blog will serve as history of US Route 50 in Dayton and exploration of the original alignment in the community. US Route 50 can be seen below bypassing downtown Dayton on the 1956 United States Geological Survey map. Part 1; the history of US Route 50 in Dayton Dayton is the second ...