State Route 276 is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in remote portions of San Juan County, eastern

Garfield County Garfield County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Garfield County, Colorado *Garfield County, Montana *Garfield County, Nebraska *Garfield County, Oklahoma * Garfield County, Utah *Garfield County, Washington Garfie ...

, and Kane County, in the southeast of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. The route is used as an access to

Lake Powell Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds of water when full, second in the United States to only the ...

, serving the small resort towns of Ticaboo and

Bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species Americas *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullf ...

. Historically, SR-276 crossed Lake Powell via the Charles Hall Ferry (originally called the John Atlantic Burr Toll Ferry), the only auto ferry in the state of Utah; however, the ferry is currently out of service due to low water levels. The entire route is part of the

Trail of the Ancients The Trail of the Ancients is a collection of National Scenic Byways located in the U.S. Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. These byways comprise: *The Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway in San Juan County, Utah; *The ...

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

. Lake Powell separates the route into two sections; the eastern section was numbered State Route 263 prior to the existence of the ferry.

Route description

Separated by the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, and

Glen Canyon Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by a length of the Colorado River, mostly in southeastern and south-central Utah, in the United States. Glen Canyon starts where Narrow Canyon ends, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Dirty ...

, SR-276 is in two sections. When water levels permit ferry operation, the two sections are connected via the Charles Hall Ferry, originally called the John Atlantic Burr Toll Ferry. The first section runs south-southwest, from the junction of SR-95 northeast of

Mount Hillers Mount Hillers is a summit in the Henry Mountains range, in Garfield County, Utah, in the United States. Its elevation is . It was named by Almon Harris Thompson for John Karl Hillers, a government photographer. Climate Spring and fall are the ...

to the Colorado River and

(also called Bullfrog Basin). The second section runs east-northeast for , from the marina and ferry at Halls Crossing, to rejoin State Route 95 near

Natural Bridges National Monument Natural Bridges National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about northwest of the Four Corners boundary of southeast Utah, in the western United States, at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, part of the Colorad ...

. The northern section of SR-276 passes through the tiny community of Ticaboo along the way. The state of Utah's administrative portion of the highway ends at the boundary of the

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (shortened to Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a national recreation area and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyo ...

(northern portion , southern portion 36 miles). The

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

maintains the road surface within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The ferry is the only auto ferry in the state of Utah, resulting in the

Utah Department of Transportation The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is an agency of the state government of Utah, United States; it is usually referred to by its initials UDOT (pronounced "you-dot"). UDOT is responsible for approximately 5,900 miles (9,495 kilomet ...

frequently having to hire contractors and employees from out of state to maintain and operate the ferry.

History

The State Road Commission designated SR-276 in 1965, linking SR-95 with the

Bullfrog Basin Bullfrog Basin is one of the National Park Service recreation sites of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area of Kane County, Utah, United States, adjoining Lake Powell. It encompasses Bullfrog Basin Airport , the Bullfrog Resort and Marina, t ...

portion of the new

. The original planned alignment followed an existing

unpaved A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

, beginning at the former alignment of SR-95 at Trachyte Junction (roughly ) and heading generally south to the junction of Shitamaring Creek and

Lost Spring Wash Lost or LOST may refer to getting lost, or to: Arts, entertainment, and media Television * ''Lost'' (TV series), a 2004 American drama series about people who become stranded on a mysterious island * ''Lost'' (2001 TV series), a short-lived Ameri ...

. The proposed road continued down Shitamaring Creek and

Hansen Creek Hansen may refer to: Places * Cape Hansen, Antarctica * Hansen, Idaho, town in the United States * Hansen, Nebraska, United States * Hansen, Wisconsin, town in the United States * Hansen Township, Ontario, Canada *Hansen, Germany, a small parish i ...

to the recreation boundary. However, when built in the late 1960s, the final route was east of the existing county road, only joining the initial proposal along Hansen Creek south of Ticaboo. , updated December 2007, accessed May 2008 State Route 263 was created by the state legislature in 1969, connecting the recreation area near Halls Crossing with SR-95 near

. This was an existing county road, only requiring minor realignments west of

Red House Spring Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

. Ferry service between Bullfrog Basin and Halls Crossing began in 1985,Mike Leary,

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

, Two Sides Clash Over Taming a Trail for Tourism, November 10, 1985 and that year SR-276 was extended to absorb SR-263 for continuity. , updated December 2007, accessed May 2008

Major intersections

References

External links

Ferry Schedule
Utah Department of Transportation

National Park Service
UDOT Video explaining the ferry
hosted by Youtube {{DEFAULTSORT:State Route 276 276 276 276 276