![]() Forest service was created under the Department of Agriculture and the Manti National Forest was created in the last minutes of the Roosevelt administration. “Teddy Roosevelt created the Manti Forest Reserve under the Department of Interior in 1903,” said Anderson. 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. Sanpete County towns began to experience heavy flooding as water poured down mountains now denuded of trees. Sawmills sprung up in nearly every canyon.īut all the timber harvesting would soon have consequences. Loggers could get 40 cents for a single tie, often more than a day’s wages. In 1879, as railroads in the area were being built, the wood used to make railroad ties became a cash crop. 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. ![]() 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. Manti-La Sal National Forest historian Carl Anderson knows well the story of this road, who spent a weekend near the top of Skyline Drive looking for illegal wild seed collectors in the forest. Hwy 96 is also paved and connects to Hwy 31 on the Skyline after passing Scofield Reservoir and Electric Lake. Hwy 31 through Fairview and Huntington Canyons is paved and provides year-round access to the central portion of the Skyline. ![]() Pleasant, Spring City, Ephraim, Orangeville, Manti, Sterling, Ferron and Mayfield, allowing riders to tour all or part of the road. Several roads ascend canyons and provide access to the Skyline Drive. There are access roads from Indianola, Tucker, Fairview, Huntington, Scofield, Mt. The first 27 miles (Tucker to the junction of Hwy 31) are graded and suitable for travel in any kind of vehicle. From the north, the road begins at Tucker, on U.S. Many of these are other trails that come up from the valleys in the west. There are various ways to get to Skyline Drive. The drive is especially beautiful in the fall when leaves begin to change. Deer, elk and other wildlife live in the glades and meadows. Views of Sanpete Valley, mile-deep canyons, lakes, alpine meadows and forests and surrounding valleys are spectacular. Wild flowers are plentiful in late spring, summer and early fall.
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