Pony Express is in west-central Utah beginning about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. It travels between Lehi and Ibapah and follows UT 73 and Pony Express Road, which is marked with stone pillars. Utah Highway 73 is a two-lane paved road suitable for all vehicles. The rest of the byway is a gravel and dirt road requiring a two-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle. Periods of heavy rain can cause flash flooding and wash out sections of the road. Travelers in a motorhome or pulling a trailer should inquire with the BLM about current road conditions. The BLM has designated 133 miles, from Fairfield to Ibapah, a Back Country Byway.
Byway visitors will be retracing the path followed by the historic Pony Express Trail. This mail route lasted only eighteen months from April 1860 to October 1861. The trail was made obsolete when the first transcontinental telegraph system was completed. The byway travels across the arid desert landscape of the Great Salt Lake Desert. No gas is available between Faust and Ibapah.
Visitors may wish to begin their journey back in time at the Stage Coach Inn State Park. The adobe inn, built in 1858, was an overnight stop for riders of the Pony Express Trail. Nearby is Camp Floyd State Park, which was originally established in 1858 as a military post.
The Simpson Springs Station was one of the most dependable watering points in this desert region. A stone building has been restored and closely resembles the original that was built around 1860. A BLM campground is located just east of the station and has fourteen campsites. Boyd Station has only a rock wall remaining from the building that once housed the station keeper, a spare rider, and a blacksmith. Canyon Station was originally located northwest of the present site and consisted of a log house, a stable, and a dugout where meals were served.