favorite places
Christmas Meadows
1Ì>7>Ã>ÌV
>V
i >Ì>ÀiÃÌ]1Ì>
Text & Photography By Stacy HowellLocation
Christmas Meadows is located about 4 miles off the Mirror Lake Highway
between Kamas, Utah, and Evanston, Wyoming, in the Uinta-Wasatch-
Cache National Forest. The dirt road, which can be a bit rugged, ends at the
secluded Christmas Meadows campground at an elevation of 8,800 feet.
The Stillwater Fork of the Bear River meanders through the meadow,
and on a windless day, you’re rewarded with a reflection of the 12,718-foot
Ostler Peak looming in the background. Visitors are required to purchase
a recreation pass to use the facilities along the Mirror Lake Highway.Weather
Mirror Lake Highway is a seasonal byway; it’s open through the fall until
the snow is too deep to plow. and then it opens again once the snow has
melted off the road. The dirt road to Christmas Meadows is passable from
June to September/October. and its accessibility is completely dependent
on that year’s snowfall. Summer and fall are good times to visit. Summer
brings wildflowers and mosquitos (which dwindle later in the season)
and rainstorms. Fall brings deeper colors to the meadow floor and the
occasional snowstorm.Photo Experience
Christmas Meadows is one of my favorite locations. It’s a serene little
valley with breathtaking views. When you’re facing Ostler Peak from
the meadow you’re facing south, so you get beautiful sidelight on the
peaks behind the meadow and deep shadows on the lower surrounding
mountains and the valley floor. I took this photo just before sunset in
October. When I first arrived on this fall afternoon, the breeze was ruf-
fling the water of the river, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I found
the spot that suited my eye and chilled out for a few hours, hoping it
would all come together, perhaps even a Shiras moose would wander
into the meadow. No such luck this time, but clouds started forming in
the distance and moved over the meadow. OPSee more of Stacy Howell’s work at howellnaturephotography.com.30 Outdoor Photographer outdoorphotographer.com