Historic Road Creek Inn reopens as the Capitol Reef field station; now available for rental groups

Road Creek Inn, located near Capitol Reef National Park, Fishlake National Forest, Canyonlands National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, is an historic hotel in Loa that now serves as Southern Utah University’s Capitol Reef field station.

The hotel was completely renovated in 2012, with 15 guest rooms, large gathering areas and a full kitchen, Road Creek Inn is perfect for educational programs, family reunions, weddings, youth camps and conferences.

Now more than 100 years old, Road Creek Inn offers state-of-the-art amenities such as internet access, a sauna for relaxing after a day of hiking, in-room microwaves and refrigerators, standard king and queen rooms and two deluxe suites with three king-sized beds.

SUU’s Capitol Reef field station is now open to the community for rental and to SUU student groups. The facility is surrounded by several historic Mormon pioneer towns and buildings, national parks, lakes, Native American ruins and protected forest lands, and it’s a great environment for student clubs and large groups to get away to another of Utah’s phenomenal outdoor activities. St. George News

Developers transforming train ‘junkyard’ into ‘railroad suites’

People traveling through the south end of Mt. Pleasant will notice a collection of train cars just off Main Street west of the city park. In a year, the boxcars will be transformed and will be in use as motel suites. The plan began to take more shape last weekend as several of the 37-ton boxcars were lifted into place by a crane along a segment of railroad track that had been installed earlier as their new home.

Developers point to a similar project they’ve worked on for several years. They also developed Track 89, a railcar motel near Big Rock Candy Mountain in Marysvale Canyon south of Richfield. The project is a public-private partnership. Its location makes sense: adjacent to what is known as the old railroad depot, which features a historic caboose and historic station that has been repurposed as an information center and merchant shop.

The city contributed several thousands of dollars to the recent renovation of the depot station, which opened last June as Heartfelt Hobby and Craft. The store will be the registration and check-in facility for Track 89 North during the day. After-hours registration, as well as housecleaning service, will be provided through an arrangement with Horseshoe Mountain Lodge across the street. Sanpete Messenger

Railroad resort brings Sevier railroad past to life

The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad is being resurrected in an unusual way in the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area. Partners David Grow and George Jones of Environetics have built a caboose and railroad village at Big Rock Candy Mountain, north of Marysvale in Piute County.

After several years of planning, last year the pair opened the Track 89 Caboose Village Resort at Big Rock Candy Mountain with three railroad cars. This year, they have seven and next year they hope to have 10. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area recently awarded the project a $25,000 grant for landscaping and parking. In February they received a 50-year lease for the old Denver and Rio Grande Depot from the city of Mt. Pleasant to build a similar resort there. Sanpete Pyramid

Mt. Pleasant approves lease for railroad resort

The city council in Mt. Pleasant approved a 50-year lease of city property to Environetics for a railroad resort where the 1891 Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot now stands. Environetics wants to provide a place for people who don’t go to the mountains on their ATVs or snowmobiles, who just want comfortable and interesting accommodations. They plan to use 11 to 18 cars and cabooses placed on railroad track, all completely remodeled and renovated to very nice interiors with an antique flair. Sanpete Messenger

Sevier County hits record year for tourism

For the first time ever, Sevier County brought in more than $500,000 in transient room tax — marking a 15 percent increase from 2014. This means approximately $12 million was spent on hotel rooms in Sevier County in 2015, resulting in a 52 percent occupancy rate. Richfield Reaper

Family business brings organic eating to Spring City

Zona Barrio Grill, a new Mexican restaurant and steakhouse located in Spring City, focuses on cooking Mexican food made with organic, nonGMO ingredients and bearing the regional influence of Tucson and the surrounding Sonoran Desert.

Zona Artisan Foods is the owner’s primary business, launched initially to create quality organic Mexican foods to be sold nationally through the Green Polka Dot Box, a local online retailer of organic foods. Sanpete Messenger

Cindy’s Café opens in Mt. Pleasant

After an extensive remodeling and upgrading project that lasted most of a year, Cindy’s Café, formerly known as Casey’s City Lunch, recently opened its doors at 40 West Main, Mt. Pleasant. The café is open seven days per week. Daily Herald

Carl’s Jr. opens location in Salina

A Carl’s Jr. restaurant has opened in Salina at 1659 S. State St. The location is the 39th in Utah and offers charbroiled burgers, hand-scooped shakes, hand-breaded chicken tenders and made-from-scratch biscuits. Salt Lake Tribune

New merchants set up shop in Ephraim

Several retail businesses have started up on Ephraim Main Street since the beginning of summer. The stores include Nine—a women’s fashion boutique, Hometown Philly Cheesesteaks, Sip It Soda Shack, Pipe Dreams—a sports shop, and Alley Cat Bike Shop. Sanpete Messenger