Murdock Basin

Getting There:

Murdock Basin is in the Uinta National Forest off of the Mirror Lake Highway Road east of Kamas.  It is 75 miles from my house in the Salt Lake Valley.  To get there from the Salt Lake Valley, Take I-80 east, up Parleys Canyon.  At the Silver Creek Junction take Highway 40 south.  At the Keetly Junction (second Exit) go east on Highway 248 to Kamas.  At the stop light in Kamas turn left on Main Street.  Turn right at the next stop light on Center Street (Highway 150).  Travel east on Highway 150 for 21 miles.  You will see the Murdock Basin Turn off to the right.  The road is paved for the first 200 yards across the bridge over the Provo River.  The road then turns to dirt.  It is about 1.5 miles to the trail head parking.  Before the trail head there is a fork to the left that goes to Broadhead Meadows.  There is a restroom and plenty of parking at the trailhead.  Don’t take any trailers up the road past the trailhead or up the Broadhead Meadows road unless you know where you’re going.  Both roads get ruff and very rocky.

Watering Holes:

In Kamas there is a store, gas station and some eating places.  I would recommend the Kamas Cafe.

Camping:

There are many Forest Service Campgrounds on the Mirror Lake Highway.  On the Murdock Road Between the turn off from Highway 150 and the trailhead there are many primitive camping spots.  The forest service just closed 30 or more spots equivalent to a campground along the road where people had been camping for years on the old road bed 50 feet off the main road, there reason was to protect wildlife habitat.  Between that road and the next road must be at least 10 miles of wildlife habitat don’t see why that 50 feet along the road was hurting it.  There are also some primitive camping spots on both side of the Broadhead Meadows road for the first 200 yards.  These are the best spots I think.  Don’t turn onto that road unless you have walked up it and found a spot.  Don’t take a trailer up the Broadhead Meadows Road unless you know where you’re taking it.  This area is very popular on weekends, but you can usually find a camping spot.

Riding

There are two main riding areas in Murdock Basin, the Murdock Road east of the trailhead and the Broadhead Meadows area.  You can describe these trails with one word “ROCKY”. 

East from the trailhead on the Murdock Road you have a group of lakes with fish in them, which you can drive your ATV to within a few 100 feet of them.  There are also some dead end roads and two loop trails.  There are two ATV width trails River Run and Drop Off.  The road is very rocky but offers some beautiful vistas and lakes.  The last lake on the road has water lilies in it.  The road at the very end turns into the River Run trail and loops around and connects at about the Marshall Lake Turn off.  The other loop trail Drop Off comes out at the trailhead; it is steep and is a rock crawlers dream.

There is also a road down to the Duchesne River, where there is a beautiful waterfall and the start of the Duchesne Tunnel.  You can also fish the Duchesne River.  This road is also very rocky.

This is the turn off to the Broadhead Meadows which has two loop trails that are very rocky.  One is called Broadhead Loop and the other is Ritter Loop below.

There is also a road that connects to Highway 150 just below Trial Lake.  On the Ritter Loop you will go past Lost Lake which has fish in it.

  This trail also goes by some old saw mill areas and there are also some very rocky sections.  The Broadhead Loop Trail is very rocky and it like rock crawling for miles.  I have been on it once and probably will now go on it again.

Winter Riding

The Mirror Lake Highway 150 is groomed in the winter and is a snowmobile trial all the way to East Fork of the Bear.  The Mirror Lake highway is plowed to the Soapstone Basin.  There is a parking lot right on the Highway 150 and a restroom.  You can ride up the road but I wouldn’t get off the groomed trail without a shovel and a case of power bars.  Murdock Basin road is not groomed.

GPS

Murdock Basin Turnoff N40°37.064 W110°57.854 Altitude 8724.  Murdock Basin Trailhead N40°38.124 W110°56.448 Altitude 9301 Water Fall N40°37.320 W110°53.498 Altitude 8179 Pyramid Lake N40°39.318 W110°53.910 Altitude 9744 Broadhead Meadows turnoff of Murdock Road N40°38.127 W110°56.518 Altitude 9202 Broadhead Meadows loop turnoff N40°38.367 W110°55.983 Altitude 9531 Ritter Fork N40°38.605 W110°55.978 Altitude 9485 Lost Lake N40°40.435 W110°56.142 Altitude 9875 Broadhead Meadow road and Highway 150 below Trial Lake N40°39.766 W110°56.783 Altitude 9560 Turnoff to Lost Lake N40°39.572 W110°56.487 Altitude 9636