Mt. Nebo from Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of Nebo Bench summit - Mt Nebo UT
Description
Starting in 1933, the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the Mount Nebo loop road in Utah (and part of Juab) County, Utah. Today, it is forest road FR 015 and officially designated as the Mt. Nebo Scenic Byway by the US Transportation Department.
Mount Nebo is both the southern-most and highest peak in the Wasatch Mountains, at 11,929 feet. It is snow covered all winter and the Mt. Nebo road is closed for the winter season.
Mt. Nebo Loop Road travels from Payson to Nephi, climbing over the back of Mt. Nebo at more than 9,000 feet, with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. At the time, it was known as the Red Creek road and connected Salt Creek and Payson canyons (both of which no doubt had older dirt roads). In the gallery below, the photographs go from north to south along the road.
Mt. Nebo Loop Road is variously billed as 35, 37 or 38 miles long – probably depending on whether it is measured all the way into Nephi. The road passes through the Uinta National Forest and provides access to Mt. Nebo Wilderness.
The initial group of CCC ‘boys’ working on Red Creek Road in 1933 were housed at camp F-9 near the junction of highways 015 and 132, a few miles east of Nephi. Subsequently, more work on the Mt. Nebo loop road was done by CCC enrollees working out of camps F-3 (1934-36) and F-40 (1937-41) near Provo UT. All of these CCC teams worked under the direction of the US Forest Service.
It is not clear exactly when the road was finished, since several companies of CCC enrollees worked on the road, according to available records, but probably in 1936.
Subsequently, the CCC built campgrounds, trails and picnic areas along the Mt Nebo loop road (see linked site pages).
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Mt Nebo Scenic Byway map, US DoT - Mt Nebo UT
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Sign announcing Scenic Byway, near Payson - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of Payson - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of Payson - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, below Payson Lakes - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of Payson Lakes - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, near Nebo Bench summit - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo from Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of summit - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, heading south toward Salt Creek - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, heading south toward Salt Creek - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, south of Salt Creek Overlook - Mt Nebo UT
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Sign for Red Creek Flat along Mt Nebo Loop Road near Salt Creek - Mt Nebo UT
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Mt. Nebo Loop Road, in Salt Creek Cyn - Mt Nebo UT
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Road sign at intersection of Mt Nebo Loop Road and highway 048 - Mt Nebo UT
Source notes
Kenneth Baldridge, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Utah. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2019. p. 74.
"A Century of Stewardship: Civilian Conservation Corps on the Uinta National Forest" at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/uwcnf/learning/history-culture/?cid=stelprdb5052898
Utah SHPO CCC Database, 3-29-2021
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/intermountain/MtNebo/index.shtml
Project originally submitted by Joan Greer on July 14, 2021.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.
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