Exploring Utah’s Uranium Country

Jens Brown
Oct 27
3 min read

Updated: Oct 29

Utah BDR Day 6 – Exploring Utah’s Uranium Country: Yellow Cat Mine to Sego Ghost Town

Day 6 of the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route leaves the redrock canyons behind and climbs into the wide-open desert north of the Colorado River. From Dewey Bridge to Big Hole Wash, this section follows old mining roads through Utah’s uranium country — a land shaped by Cold War ambition, isolated towns, and the long scars of geology and history.

Watch the Video

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:Exploring Utah’s Uranium Country – Yellow Cat Mine

to Sego Ghost Town (Utah BDR Day 6)

Owl Draw Road to Yellow Cat Mine

After crossing the Colorado, the route turns off pavement and follows Owl Draw Road (UT 344) into a stretch of red desert scattered with relics of early mining. The road rolls gently through shallow hills and slickrock benches before reaching the Yellow Cat Mining District — one of Utah’s most productive uranium fields during the 1950s boom.

Old ore hoppers and machinery still sit against the skyline. The surrounding Poison Strip earned its name from arsenic-rich soil that once killed grazing sheep. South of the main site lie the Parco and Little Eva Mines, now quiet and on private land.

Across the Desert and the Book Cliffs Climb

North of Yellow Cat, the Utah BDR stretches across a 12-mile straightaway — a ruler-flat desert track that leads to the base of the Book Cliffs.

It crosses beneath Interstate 70, over the remains of the old Cisco Highway, and begins a slow, winding climb through benches of shale and sandstone.

This section is brutally dusty. The powder is so fine it hangs in the air for minutes, masking the trail ahead. Chase lights stay on as we climb, and by the time we reach the upper benches, every rig, tire, and piece of gear is coated in gray.

Sego Ghost Town and the Canyon Petroglyphs

The climb ends in Sego Canyon, where the remains of Sego Ghost Town rest at the canyon’s mouth. Founded in the early 1900s, Sego was a coal-mining camp that peaked during the 1920s and faded out by the 1950s. Stone walls, mine shafts, and weathered timbers still mark the site, tucked between steep cliffs.

A few miles south sits Thompson Springs, the first fuel stop since Moab, and nearby, the Sego Canyon Petroglyphs — some of Utah’s finest examples of Barrier Canyon–style pictographs alongside Fremont and Ute carvings. The layers of art here tell a story thousands of years older than the mines below.

Green River and Big Hole Wash

Beyond Sego, the trail heads west again, crossing under the interstate and following desert tracks toward Green River, a small agricultural town known for its annual Melon Festival. From there, the Utah BDR turns northwest along Cottonwood Wash Road, passing the remnants of Smith Cabin — a weathered ranch site with standing timbers and broken corral posts.

The day ends near Big Hole Wash, a broad open plain framed by distant cliffs. It’s one of those quiet camps that defines the Utah BDR — wide, still, and miles from anywhere.

Trip Details

Route: Dewey Bridge → Owl Draw Rd (UT 344) → Yellow Cat Mine → Poison Strip → Sego Ghost Town → Thompson Springs → Sego Petroglyphs → Green River → Smith Cabin → Cottonwood Wash → Big Hole Wash
Distance: ~135 miles
Terrain: Graded dirt, mild rock steps, long straightaways, heavy dust, winding climbs
Highlights: Yellow Cat Mine, Poison Strip, Sego Ghost Town, Sego Canyon Petroglyphs, Book Cliffs, Green River
Camping: BLM land near Big Hole Wash
Caution: Unmarked mine shafts near Yellow Cat, private property near Parco Mine, long fuel stretch between Moab and Thompson Springs