Utah's popular Skyline Drive was a hit with pioneers, too

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Many Utahns travel the rugged 87-mile dirt road from Salina to Spanish Fork Canyon known as Skyline Drive.

Yet, few know the history of how and why the road was built.

Manti-La Sal National Forest historian Carl Anderson isn't one of them. He knows well the story of this road, which stretches across Central Utah's Wasatch Plateau at elevations reaching 10,897 feet with access points from Sanpete County on the west and Emery County on the east.

According to Anderson, who recently spent a weekend near the top of Skyline Drive looking for illegal wild seed collectors on the forest, sections of the road have been in place since the 1880s when Sanpete County settlers began cutting timber in nearby mountains to build homes and churches. In fact, some of the tallest Engleman spruce trees were used as scaffolding during construction of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' temple in Manti.

In 1879, as railroads in the area were being built, the wood used to make railroad ties became a cash crop. Loggers could get 40 cents for a single tie, often more than a day's wages. Sawmills sprung up in nearly every canyon.

But all the timber harvesting would soon have consequences. Sanpete County towns began to experience heavy flooding as water poured down mountains now denuded of trees. There were major floods in Manti in 1899 and again in 1902.

Concerned officials from such towns as Manti went to Washington, D.C., and asked the government to take over management of lands on the Wasatch Plateau.

"Teddy Roosevelt created the Manti Forest Reserve under the Department of Interior in 1903," said Anderson. "In 1905, the U.S. Forest service was created under the Department of Agriculture and the Manti National Forest was created in the last minutes of the Roosevelt administration. In 1949, it was consolidated with the La Sal National Forest."

Even as late as the 1950s, terracing work still visible from the Skyline Drive was done on west-facing Sanpete County mountains to prevent erosion.

But it took the Civilian Conservation Corps to connect parts of the dirt trail into what is now Skyline Drive in the 1930s.

"It was mostly developed as a recreation trail," said Anderson. "Seely Creek was the site of the highest CCC camp in the nation. There is still evidence of old recreation camps and fire pits, but you need to know where to look."

According to http://www.go-utah.com" Target="_BLANK">http://www.go-utah.com, Skyline Drive ranks among the highest elevation roads in America and provides access to a number of forest camps, trout-filled reservoirs, and meadows filled with wildflowers.

There are access roads to the 87-mile long dirt track from Indianola, Tucker, Fairview, Huntington, Scofield, Mt. Pleasant, Spring City, Ephraim, Orangeville, Manti, Sterling, Ferron and Mayfield, allowing riders to tour all or part of the road.

It is particularly popular with hunters, who have established August camps to hunt big game such as mule deer in the area with archery equipment as well as ATV riders who can also access the popular Arapeen ATV Trail in places near the Skyline Drive.

The drive is especially beautiful in the fall when leaves begin to change.

"When the aspen leaves come on, you get greens, gold, yellow and orange," said Anderson. "It's a beautiful site."

The big decision for those who want to tour the Skyline Drive is what type of vehicle to use. Parts of the access roads, as well as the stretch in the northern part of Sanpete County, can be particularly rough and all but impassable when it rains or snows.

While some sedans and mini-vans are seen on the trail, many portions require a high-clearance two-wheel drive vehicle, while four-wheel drive vehicles are best in others. Drivers need to be on the lookout for ATV and dirt bike riders who commonly use the high mountain track.

wharton@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">wharton@sltrib.com