While out on a day trip/drive, we stumbled across Ophir while exploring Highway 73.
Ophir is a former mining town. It appeared to be a semi-ghost town, with some abandoned structures, but its tiny main street also sports new-looking, clearly-inhabited houses. I also got the feeling that someone is trying to make Ophir a tourist destination. An outdoor pavilion has nice, new wooden picnic table with wagon wheels on each end. Old miners' cabins are being renovated. And I saw one sign that said tours are available on Saturdays. I would love to go back on a weekend to check that out.
Overall, I was very impressed with Ophir. It has lots of great little features just waiting to be discovered.
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| Mining remains along the road into town |
There are many places to see mining remains in Utah, but I have never seen such complete, easily accessed remains.
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| Just before the Welcome sign |
And instead of leaving all the remains scattered about, the good people of Ophir have put together small scenes like the above. Very fun!
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| This is right off the side of the road. We had a great time climbing on and around these mine cars. |
In addition to mining remains, there are other fun, quirky things about Ophir. I don't want to give everything away, but a few examples follow:
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| Random exterior shelves featuring carved animals...and a haunted mine?? |
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| Numbers in a strange order and tools for hands. Delightfully quirky :) |
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| This felt like the set of a Western. |
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| I especially like the boots. :) |
If you're looking to discover some of hidden Utah, Ophir is a great place to start. The town has a delightful personality with lots of great little quirks. Definitely a good place to go spend a couple hours.
