The Manti–La Sal National Forest covers more than and is located in the central and southeastern parts of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and the extreme western part of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The forest is headquartered in

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

, with ranger district offices in Price,

Ferron Ferron (born Deborah Foisy on 1 June 1952) is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and poet. In addition to gaining fame as one of Canada's most respected songwriters, Ferron, who is openly lesbian, became one of the earliest and most influential ...

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...

and

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. The maximum elevation is

Mount Peale Mount Peale is the highest point in the La Sal Mountains of San Juan County, in the southeastern part of Utah, United States. It is also the highest point in Utah outside the Uinta Mountains. It is located about southeast of Moab. The summit i ...

in the La Sal Mountains, reaching above sea level. The

La Sal Mountains The La Sal Mountains or La Sal Range are a mountain range located in Grand and San Juan counties in the U.S. state of Utah, along the border with Colorado. The range rises above and southeast of Moab and north of the town of La Sal. This range ...

are the second highest mountain range in Utah after the Uintas. Parts of the forest are included in the

Bears Ears National Monument Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects of public land su ...

Location and history

The La Sal Mountain loop road leads from Castle Valley to

Geyser Pass Geyser Pass is a mountain pass in the La Sal Range of Utah. The pass is not named after a geyser, but for cattleman Al Geyser, who grazed his stock in the area in the 1880s. See also * List of mountain passes References

Mountain passes o ...

and back down to Moab. Scenic

Oowah Lake Oowah Lake is a small lake located in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, in Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to ...

can be found within the forest. In descending order of land area, the forest is located in parts of San Juan, Sanpete, Emery,

Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

, and Sevier counties in Utah, as well as Montrose, and

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

counties in Colorado (Only about 2.1% of the forest lies in Colorado). Forest headquarters is located in

Price, Utah Price is a city in the U.S. state of Utah and the county seat of Carbon County, Utah, Carbon County. The city is home to Utah State University Eastern, as well as the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. Price is located within short distances of both ...

. District offices are located in

, and Price. The forest was originally established as the Manti Forest Reserve by the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

on May 29, 1903, with . On July 1, 1915 Nebo National Forest was added, and La Sal National Forest on November 11, 1949. On August 28, 1950, the name became Manti–La Sal National Forest. On December 28, 2016, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

proclaimed the 1.35 million acre

, which includes most of the Monticello Ranger District on the forest and the

Dark Canyon Wilderness Dark Canyon Wilderness is a National Wilderness Preservation System, designated Wilderness Area in the heart of southeast Utah's canyon country, part of the Bears Ears National Monument. The wilderness is named for its high steep walls that narr ...

Recreation

Manti La Sal National Forest is very popular for recreation. The northern district on the Wasatch Plateau is well known for the Skyline Drive, an unpaved road tracing along the backbone of the plateau. There is also an extensive ATV trail system in the forest there. The Moab District in the La Sal Mountains contains a number of hiking trails, as well as views over the desert regions of

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their r ...

and

Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, a ...

. The Monticello District is home the Manti La Sal National Forest's only

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, the

, a vast, remote canyon area. The Manti–La Sal National Forest, a 1.4 million acre mountain range, occupies parts of central and southeastern Utah, as well as parts of Colorado. The La Sal Mountains are lush with lakes, pine, aspen and evergreen trees, wildlife, and recreation. An easy drive from Moab, the La Sal Mountains not only provide a stunning visual contrast to the red rock town, but also a climactic, and recreational contrast as well.

References

External links

Manti La Sal National Forest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manti-La Sal National Forest