FR123 is a Wild Road to the Tushar Mountains

Located in the Tushar Mountains of south-central Utah, in Piute County, in USA, Forest Road 123 is a very challenging high mountain drive. It’s one of the highest roads of Utah topping out at 3.503m (11,492ft) above the sea level.

The road, also known and signed as Big John Flat road, is 25.42km (15.8 miles) long. Located within the Fishlake National Forest, the unpaved winding road is narrow and steep past Big john Flat and is not recommended for travel trailers. It runs north-south from the North Beaver Creek Road to the paved highway SR-173 near Elk Meadows Ski Resort and Puffer Lake. The road runs entirely above 2.600 meters above the sea level. Forest Road #123 is not plowed during the winter. Please stay on the trail, as both sides of the road over the top are closed year round to any motorized form of travel. The Tushars are the third-highest mountain range in Utah (behind the Uinta and the LaSal mountain ranges). The name “Tushar” comes from an ancient Indian or Hindu word meaning “snow”, something that the Tushar’s get a lot of.

The drive is pretty remote. No cell phone reception. 4WD, high clearance vehicle required. Risk of falling rocks. Along this scenic and twisty road keep looking for wildlife: turkeys, ground squirrels, chipmunks, deer and elk, just to name a few. The Tushars possess stunning vistas, palpable solitude and nearly unlimited opportunities for unconfined recreation.
Pic: Shane Bezzant