Lodge Pole Campground from Google Street View

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Description:
Aspen and mixed conifer forest dominate the habitat here, with mountain meadows and various montane riparian habitat.  The campground has 55 camp sites as well as 2 group sites and can be reserved in advance.  It is ran by a concessionaire and closed int he winter.  A store and other facilities are on site as well.  Daniel's Creek "flows" down canyon from here creating wet meadows and some montane riparian habitat.  Several trails lead up into the hills and the surrounding habitat.  There are also numerous access points to the forest via nearby forest service roads.

Birding:
Birders typically don't trek here in the winter.  I'm not sure if there are feeders, but if there were, they could attract some good high elevation species in search of food.  Summer is the ideal time to visit to get away form the hot valleys and enjoy the mountains.  The summit is really a tourist destination for OHV users, but the surrounding forest provides plenty of birding opportunities.  Form June through September you will be able to find the species typical of the aspen habitat in the area like: RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, HOUSE WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, CHIPPING SPARROW, and WESTERN TANAGER. In the meadows and sage flats you can expect to see MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, SAGE THRASHER, VESPER SPARROW, and BREWER'S SPARROW.  If you make your way into the forest where there are pine you will come across PINE SISKIN, CASSIN'S FINCH, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.  The area is really great for birding and fairly typical of most similar habitat in the area.  If you  are looking to explore some place new, the side roads here might make a good day trip.

Directions:
From the intersection of Main and Center Streets in Heber, follow Main Street / US-40 south for 16.6 miles up Daniel's Canyon till you reach the campground on your right.

Daniel's Summit from Google Street View

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Description:
Daniel's Summit has become a popular winter destination for snowmobilers, with the Summit Lodge catering to this niche.  During the summer months OHV and horse riding is a popular activity replacing the winter sports here.  A restaurant and gift shop are available if you have any food or drink needs.  The Uintah National Forest can be accessed to the south and north here, while Lodge Pole Campground sits just down canyon.  Aspen and mixed conifer forest dominate the habitat here, with mountain meadows and various montane riparian habitat.  At the summit the lodge sits on the southwest side of the highway while a number of private residences sit to the northeast.   A wet pasture at the lodge is the extent of the other habitat here.  There is a forest service road accessible about 1/4 miles south that follows Hobble Creek to the west  behind where the lodge is.  The habitat here is shrubsteppe with forest rising off to the sides of the meadows and flats.  Various forest roads can be accessed from the area providing great opportunities to get away from the main road.  If you are headed to Strawberry Reservoir you will pass the summit--so it might be worth a short stop to check things out!

Birding:
Birders typically don't trek here in the winter.  I'm not sure if there are feeders, but if there were, they could attract some good high elevation species in search of food.  Summer is the ideal time to visit to get away form the hot valleys and enjoy the mountains.  The summit is really a tourist destination for OHV users, but the surrounding forest provides plenty of birding opportunities.  Form June through September you will be able to find the species typical of the aspen habitat in the area like: RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, HOUSE WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, CHIPPING SPARROW, and WESTERN TANAGER. In the meadows and sage flats you can expect to see MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, SAGE THRASHER, VESPER SPARROW, and BREWER'S SPARROW.  If you make your way into the forest where there are pine you will come across PINE SISKIN, CASSIN'S FINCH, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.  The area is really great for birding and fairly typical of most similar habitat in the area.  If you  are looking to explore some place new, the side roads here might make a good day trip.

Directions:
From the intersection of Main and Center Streets in Heber, follow Main Street / US-40 south for 17.4 miles up Daniel's Canyon till you reach the summit and lodge on your right.

Charleston City Park from Google Street View

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Description:
Charleston City Park is a small town park about 1/10 mile wide by 1/10 mile long.  It sits in the southwest corner of Charleston, just off the shore of Deer Creek Reservoir.  The park is mostly grass covered but there is a small playground on the west side.  Various deciduous and coniferous trees line the streets surrounding the park, while the east half is open space.  The entire perimeter can be walked in about 5 minutes, or birded well in under 10.

Birding:
For a number of years there was a specific reason to travel to Charleston City park in the summer months--breeding COMMON GRACKLE seemed to be an easy get here. Otherwise the birding is typical of other sots in Heber Valley; MOURNING And EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE are rampant--WESTERN KINGBIRD, SAY'S PHOEBE, and  various species of SWALLOW might be seen in the summer months.  RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, AMERICAN ROBIN, and AMERICAN KESTREL are often present as well.  If passing by Deer Creek in the spring or summer, its probably worth a quick stop to see if the grackles are still using the pines in the southwest corner of the park.

Directions:
From the intersection of Main Street and 1200 South/US-189, head southwest on US-189 for 3.2 miles.  Turn right on to 3600 South and go .5 miles till you reach the park and parking lot on your right.

Provo River at River Road from Google Street View

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Description:
This spot is directly on the Provo River just North of Heber City near the intersection of Highway 40 and River Road.  Just East of the river on River Road, there is a gravel parking lot with restrooms.  There are also signs directing you to the fisherman access for the river.  There are no entrance fees, and this land that is open to the public. The land on either side of the river is marsh and wetlands, due to the Provo River Reclamation Project.  Tall trees line either side of the river creating a great riparian habitat, and beyond the marsh land are open fields that are mostly for agriculture.  This combination leads to a wide variety of birds being attracted to this spot and the immediately surrounding areas throughout the year.

Birding:
Directly along the river is an excellent place to view a number of interesting birds.  BELTED KINGFISHER are almost always perched in the trees at this location year round intently looking for fish in the river.  If you stay more than just a few minutes, you will be likely to see one swoop down in attempt to catch a fish.  Several songbirds commonly found near water also frequent the trees along the river. During the summer YELLOW WARBLER, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE can be found.  In the winter months WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and DARK-EYED JUNCO are found.  Year round SONG SPARROW are a common find. This portion of the river is loud, shallow, and fast moving.  As such, it is a perfect habitat for AMERICAN DIPPER, and they are seen here year round.  Take a good look near some of the large rocks that protrude from the river because they often use these rocks as a perch before diving into the water in pursuit of insects. Within approximately one hundred yards on either side of the river are platform nests where OSPREY generally return each summer.  There is at least one breeding pair to the East of the river near Highway 40, and another pair is also commonly found along River Road to the West of the river.

Directions:
From the Intersection of US-40 and River Road north of Heber, head west on River Road for .3 miles.  Turn left into the parking area and park here, following the directions to Fisherman's Access.

Thanks to Case Wade for this location submission.

Bald Knoll at Sunrise photo by Tim Avery

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Description:
Center Creek Canyon follows Center Creek out of Center Creek city on the east end of Heber to the summit of Bald Knoll.  Bald Knoll is one of the furthest south and west "peaks" over 10,000' in the Uinta Mountain Range.  With continuous strings of forest, and tree line a number of species typical of the High Uinta's can be found here at what is basically the extreme southwest of their range from this mountain group.  For birding purposes the canyon above Timber Lakes, following Lake Creek out of Heber is also included in this hot spot with the center point being about Bald Knoll.  The habitat is typical of the higher elevation sites consisting predominantly of coniferous forest, with a good mix of aspen.  The tree line can be found here around 10,000' so there are lots of open "tundra" sections comprising mostly of tall grasses, rock outcroppings, cliffs, and open meadows.  Numerous small springs, creeks, beaver ponds, and other man made holding ponds provide ample water sources.  To date I am the only birder to submit checklists from here, as it is a rather out of the way location, but unique in where it sits in relation to the other peaks in the Uinta range.

Birding:
There really is no right or wrong way to bird this location, or exact spots to go.  One highlight here is the summit of Bald Knoll which can be hiked to as part of your birding.  Another option is to just drive Lake Creek and Center Creek in a loop out of Heber birding along the way.  There are various locations you can stop and hike in the woods looking for birds.  The area is mostly National Forest so open to you for exploration.  The road is closed during the winter, and mostly accessible from June through October.  The summer birding is going to be your typical high Uinta birding.  I have only been in the fall when the leaves are turning and the drive is a nice get away from the valleys.  The birding is fantastic this time of year and a lot of high elevation species are very active and easy to find.  Early in the morning and during the night NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL are encountered on most days.  GREAT HORNED OWL has also been heard.  RUFFED GROUSE are an easy find on the shrub covered hillsides near springs.  In 2014 I was surprised to also find DUSKY GROUSE here for the first time.  During the fall at height of the day when temperatures are up and bird activity is at a lull, the open sky line provides a great opportunity to hawk watch.  RED-TAILED HAWK are common while, NORTHERN HARRIER, GOLDEN EAGLE, SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER's HAWKS, and TURKEY VULTURES fill in as well.  NORTHERN GOSHAWK have been observed several times in the forest here and are occasionally heard calling.  One of the most notable birds found here is GRAY JAY.  There are several other sites where it has been reported nearby including one further south--but it is found with good consistency on and around Bald Knoll. This represents the extreme southwest range of this species in the mountains here. Other corvids including STELLER'S JAY and CLARK'S NUTCRACKER are also present, and even BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE at this high elevation. Mountain finches are in no short supply with CASSIN'S FINCH being common, and PINE GROSBEAK and RED CROSSBILL are found on most outings.  EVENING GROSBEAK has also been recorded here,and during fall migration large flocks of GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES have been observed along the ridge lines of Bald Knoll.  During the height of junco migration 1,000's of DARK-EYED JUNCO of varying sub-species are observed in the meadows here along with other sparrows including WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and GREEN TAILED-TOWHEE. Resident woodpeckers include both HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKERS, and more notably AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER which are relatively common at this site.  The species list here only numbers about 50 but the birding is fantastic and close to Salt Lake.  It is also wide open spaces where few people visit making it a great birding location!

Directions:
To reach this specific location a high clearance vehicle is recommended.  From the intersection of Main Street and Center Street in Heber, take Center street east.  Shortly after leaving town it will turn into Lake Creek Road.  Follow this 13 miles past Timber Creek. Here the road will turn into Forest Road FR096 for about a 1/2 mile before turning into FR083. Keep fol owing for 2.2 miles till you reach a junction.  Turn right staying on FR083 for another .5 miles. Here take a slight right onto FR094 which will wind over the tree line on a rocky not-well-maintained road.  Continue for 2.2 miles till you see a pull off on your right.  Pull in here and drive to the trees to park.  The trail continues west form here along a ridge line and continues to Bald Knoll to your northwest. You can also reach this area from Center Creek Canyon, but the Lake Creek Option provides birding through better habitat and a nicer road.

Strawberry Reservoir photo by Tim Avery

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Description:
Strawberry Reservoir is a large mountain reservoir, southeast of Heber City in the southwest edge of the Uinta Mountains.  The Reservoir is actually made up of two reservoirs, with Soldier Creek Reservoir being a smaller eastern arm of the lake.  The reservoir is surrounded on all sides by mid-elevation shrubsteppe, as well as patches of Aspen.  Some areas of mid-elevations conifer and mixed Aspen woodland are also accessible immediately from the reservoir.  There are day use fees to go into some of the marina areas, but in general most locations around the lake are open to the public.

Birding:
The reservoir is an important migration stopover for divers, waders, waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls, and terns.  You can check out a number of hots pots on the lake including: Chicken Creek Road, Haws Point, Strawberry Marina, West Strawberry Road, Renegade Point, and the Northeast side along US-40.  All of these areas generally have similar habitat and bird lists, but depending on weather conditions and viewing conditions these locations may have advantages over one another. The lake is generally ice free from April through November, and there are birds present all year when the water is open.  Spring and fall bring the most activity.  If more birders visited this area there would likely be more notable sightings, but the most notable bird from the lake was a SABINE'S GULL.  Rarer loons, grebes and waterfowl likely pass through in October and November as well as May.  The surrounding mountains have a number of high elevation specialties including AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, and RUFFED GROUSE.  GREATER SAGE-GROUSE can be seen in the surrounding shrubsteppe, while there is a small breeding population of PURPLE MARTIN in the area.

Directions:
From Heber City take US-40 south for 23 miles.  The reservoir will be on your right.  There are access points from the west, north, east sides.