Beaver Dam Slope photo by Tim Avery

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Description:
The Beaver Dam Slope encompasses the majority of the Mojave Desert in southwest Utah.  The slope stretches about 12 miles in a general west to east direct with the west end being a few miles further north than the east end.  Borders by the Beaver Dam Mountains to the north and the Beaver Dam Wash to the south, the slope is composed of entirely Joshua Tree forest and dry desert.  Other birding sites like Zella Tank, Welcome Springs, the Beaver Dam Wash, and Lytle Ranch are all accessed via the Beaver Dam Slope and Lytle Ranch Road.

Birding:
Birding can be done by car and by foot, 12 months out of the year.  The summer months are less productive as the temperatures are very hot.  Spring, is perhaps the best birding on the slope when the chorus of breeding birds fills the clean desert air.  Being the Mojave Desert a number of species barely reach into Utah here, but the habitat also provides some of the best viewing available for a number of other birds that occur further north into Utah. GREATER ROADRUNNER, Northern Mockingbird, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, CACTUS WREN, and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER are present year round.  In the spring and summer SCOTT'S ORIOLE, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER can be found here.  During the winter and early spring flocks of sparrows roam the slope and can often include SAGEBRUSH, BLACK-CHINNED, and BREWER'S SPARROWS.  Several noteworthy sightings have occurred on the slope, including several sightings of GILDED FLICKER.  Historically BENDIRE'S THRASHER have been reliable here but as of recent years they have been harder to find.

Directions:
From St. George take Bluff Street north to Sunset Blvd.  Turn left and take Sunset through Santa Clara where it turns into Old Highway 91.  Continue for about 19 miles on Old Highway 91 until you reach some cliffs on the left side of the road.  At the end of the cliffs on the opposite side of the road to your right is Lytle Ranch Road.  Lytle Ranch Road cuts across the Beaver Dam Slope for about 11 miles to Lytle Ranch Preserve.  There are various off shoots down and up slope form the main road.