Plenty to do in historic Piute

Along with access to the Piute Trail, hikers and bikers can also access the Great Western Trail from Circleville. One possible trip would be to hike or bike from town to Bryce.

One of the things that has made this county popular with bikers, hikers and ATV owners is the reasonably mild weather over the winter months. Daytime temperatures are often in the 50s and 60s.

Early-bird hikers and bikers enjoy traveling along the snowline. Then, in April and May, meadows open and wildflowers begin to show. The high country, upward of 12,800 feet in elevation, well above the treeline, typically opens up in July. From these high vistas people can see upward of 200 miles.

Wildlife viewing is another popular activity. The county is home to large numbers of bear, elk and deer. There are also cougars in the Dry Creek area, and it's not that uncommon for one to be spotted up among the rocks.

During the summer months, another popular activity is to raft on the Sevier River. Many rafters start upstream and end up in Marysvale.

What you don't know

Circleville was once the home of Robert LeRoy Parker. The ranch where he was raised, back in the late 1860s, is two miles south of town along U.S. 89.

And who is this Parker fellow? He became friends with an old rustler named Mike Cassidy and changed his name to Butch Cassidy. During the summer months the ranch is open to visitors.

Mining was and still is a popular attraction in this county.

Back in the boom days, approximately 240,000 ounces of gold were taken from the Tushar Range in the western part of the county.

A few years back, Bullion Canyon, which flows into Bullion Creek, experienced one of those 100-year floods. As a result, a new batch of minerals flowed down into the creek, said Mel Terry, with Piute Travel Council.

An increasing number of people have been visiting the creek and panning for what they call "black sand," which contains small traces of gold. The sand can be taken to a recovery plant, which, when enough is gathered, can produce a small ingot for the prospector.

Some of those prospecting for gold are having their finds made into jewelry.

The county also holds the world's largest alunite deposits and is the largest producer of primary type uranium ore in the United States

Because this area was once well-populated with miners, another popular pastime is to walk the land with a metal detector. According to some of the locals, all sorts of things have been found.

This is also a popular area with rockhounders. A rough count shows there are approximately 30 semiprecious stones that can be found in the area that rockhounders are having cut and polished.