Daggett County is one of Utah’s smaller counties, but with Flaming Gorge and verdant high altitude forests, it’s one of Utah’s most beautiful.
Ryan Kelly is the Tourism Director there. He described Daggett as a “do it yourself” kind of place, and wow, is he ever a “do it yourself” kind of guy! He knows Daggett County like the back of his hand. There isn’t a dirt road or fishing hole he doesn’t know about, and he shares so much of Daggett County with the world through his top-notch social media and video production. He has over 100k followers on his greenriverflyfisher Instagram account. Newly posted videos typically amass tens of thousands of views the first day. Many of his followers are people in far away places that become inspired to travel all the way to Daggett County to visit the places Ryan features.
There aren’t a lot of lodging options in Daggett, but the few they have are great. Our team spent the night at Dutch John Resort which has a variety of small cabins, each with its own bathroom. The resort is open year-round for those hardy ice fishers too!
Flaming Gorge Lodge is another great partner in Daggett. In addition to indoor lodging, they have RV and campground spaces. They also have a good sized restaurant which is very popular, and sometimes has a wait list.
Ryan and his wife Amber also made sure that we saw Red Canyon Lodge. They also have a variety of cabins and serve great food with indoor or outdoor seating, overlooking a meadow and pond. The lodge has been around for decades, but has newer owners who are refurbishing some of the older cabins as well as adding new cabins. The trees in and around their property are some of the biggest, greenest pines to be found anywhere in Utah, and a couple miles up the road is a most spectacular viewpoint atop rocky cliffs looking down into steep canyons with Flaming Gorge below. It’s the kind of vista that even the best photography can’t quite capture, so you’ll just have to go yourself!
It’s worth noting that Daggett County has some good VRBO options as well, which can be especially helpful when visitation is up, usually summer weekends.
The massive Flaming Gorge reservoir is partially in Daggett County, but extends for several miles to the north into Wyoming. Boating is a big draw, with Labor Day weekend possibly being the busiest time on the water. The fishing visitors are a bit more spread out during the year, and most are male. Ladies take note; Ryan says at peak times, the ratio of men to women in Daggett County might be as high as 7 guys for every gal.
Ryan is also working hard to expand trails for hiking and ATV use in Daggett County. Currently there are no places to rent ATV’s in the county, so people bring their own, or make the drive in from Vernal.
Daggett County is also beginning to host more events such as concerts. Local leaders are hopeful this will engage locals and visitors alike.
