Utah's Mt. Nebo Scenic Byway

Over a million people drive the Mt. Nebo Loop each year. Most simply drive the loop, but there are campgrounds (which can run out of reservations a year in advance) and dozens of gravel turnoffs lead to at-large camping all along the road. I saw many dozens of RVs utilizing them as well as a few tents, and numerous horse parties were also evident. ATVs are not allowed. I also came across may bikers -- mostly road bikes but also some mountain bikes -- all very hardy individuals able to tackle the thousands of feet of altitude gain, from around 5000 feet elevation at the at the start to 9345 feet at the summit. The 38-mile byway takes about 1½ hours to complete and is closed in the winter.



A short hike on a paved trail leads you to "Devil's Kitchen," which is billed as a miniature Bryce Canyon, and you can see the reason why in this photo of the hoodoos...



Below is a photo of Mt. Nebo's peaks. Mount Nebo is the southernmost and highest mountain in the Wasatch Range of Utah and was named after the biblical Mount Nebo overlooking Israel, which is said to be the place of Moses' death. This mountain is the centerpiece of the Mount Nebo Wilderness inside the Uinta National Forest.

The trail to the southern summit climbs 5,400 feet in under six miles of trail with no reliable source of water along the way. Most people who climb Mt. Nebo reach only the southern peak at 11,877 ft. where the trail stops, but the northern peak at 11,928 ft. is really the highest point but is about a mile away from its twin on a long knife-edge summit ridge.




A very young mule deer jumped onto the road just in front of me. Fortunately, I was only traveling at 20mph and was able to avoid hitting her. Since most of the road is open range, three times I came across cows along and on the roadway as seen here...



The Mount Nebo Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway, departs I-15 at Payson and climbs to over 9,000 feet before rejoining the interstate at Nephi.