Little Sahara Recreation Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Little Sahara Recreation Area |
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| Little Sahara Sand Dunes | |
Little Sahara sand dunes, April 2003
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 Little Sahara Recreation Area
Location in Utah
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| Location | Juab County, Utah United States |
| Nearest city | Eureka, Utah |
| Area | 220 square miles (570 km2) |
| Governing body | Bureau of Land Management |
The Little Sahara Recreation Area is a super cool place in Utah, United States, filled with huge sand dunes, rolling hills, and flat areas with sagebrush. It's located in the western part of Utah, in Juab County.
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What is Little Sahara?
The Little Sahara Recreation Area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This is a part of the U.S. government that takes care of public lands. A special part of the area, about 9,000 acres, is called the Rockwell Natural Area. No vehicles are allowed here. This helps protect the desert plants and animals that live there.
The entire recreation area is in Juab County. However, the sandy area, which is about 220 square miles, stretches into Millard County too.
How the Sand Dunes Formed
The amazing sand dunes at Little Sahara are leftovers from a huge river. This river, called the Sevier River, flowed into an ancient lake named Lake Bonneville a very long time ago, between 12,500 and 20,000 years ago.
When Lake Bonneville dried up, strong winds picked up the sand from the old river delta. The wind then carried this sand to where the dunes are today. These dunes are still moving, shifting about 5 to 9 feet each year! The Sand Hills within the recreation area help slow down the moving sand.
The sand itself is mostly made of tiny quartz grains. It also has small amounts of other minerals like feldspar, biotite, calcite, garnet, and magnetite.
Fun Things to Do
Little Sahara is one of the most popular spots in Utah for riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). You can ride ATVs on 60,000 acres of sand dunes, trails, and flat areas.
Inside the Sand Hills, you'll find Sand Mountain. This is a huge, 700-foot tall wall of sand. It's a big challenge for experienced riders and powerful machines!
Besides ATV riding, visitors can also enjoy:
- Camping
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Photography
- Horseback riding
- Snowmobiling (in winter)
- Stargazing
- Trail running
- Sand surfing
- Sand skiing or snowboarding
- Paragliding
- Sand sledding
There are 255 campsites available in four different campgrounds. These sites have toilets and places to get drinking water. Many people also enjoy camping outside of the official campgrounds.
A visitor center is open from spring to fall, usually Thursday through Monday. The busiest times at Little Sahara are during holiday weekends in the spring and fall.
Wildlife of Little Sahara
The Little Sahara area is home to many animals typical of the Great Basin Desert. You might see:
- Mule deer
- Pronghorn antelope
- Different kinds of snakes
- Lizards
- Birds of prey, like hawks and eagles
Great horned owls often live among the juniper trees in the Rockwell Natural Area.
