Horse Canyon Road looking west photo by Tim Avery

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Description:
Horse Canyon Road passes through descent shrubsteppe and a great patch of juniper woodland and is easily accessible from US-191 via the Horse Canyon Road Rest Stop turn off.  The dirt road is graded and easy to drive out to Horse Canyon and back--its about 10 miles round trip.  I prefer to bird it as part of the loop starting on SR-123 to the north coming out of Wellington and birding the Sage Flats, the East Carbon WTP, Sunnyside Park, and the foothills and junipers along SR-124 before heading back to US-191 on Horse Canyon Road.  You shouldn't see a ton of vehicles out here and can bird along the road, or even in the habitat off road or via side roads.  With a backdrop of the Book Cliffs to the east and a good patch of trees here, it might be worth a check if passing by to do a little exploring.

Birding:
Keeping this one short--the junipers along the road are the reason to visit this site.  Since it can be included as part of the loop mentioned above, its worth a few minutes stop to look around.  JUNIPER TITMOUSE and BEWICK'S WREN can be found here, while in the breeding season MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, CHIPPING SPARROW, and a host of other species are possible.  Since this location has generally not been birded in the past the actual species distribution knowledge here is limited.  I suspect SCOTT'S ORIOLE, GRAY VIREO, GRAY FLYCATCHER, and PINYON JAY among other may be found.   During migration 100's of DARK-EYED JUNCO might be seen passing through the habitat which despite being dry is surrounded by barren desert making it the lesser of two evils.

Directions:
The most direct way to get here is from the on ramp at Exit 243 on US-191/6 in Price head south on US-191 for 24.4 miles till you reach a turn on your left for Horse Canyon Road.  Turn here and you are on Horse Canyon Road for 4.9 miles till it intersects with SR-124. Alternatively if you are driving the loop from US-191 out to East Carbon and back you will hit Horse Canyon Road after driving 7.9 miles along the foothills on SR-124 from East Carbon.