Sep 04, 2018 — This route traverses Mt. Nebo from south to north, including Mt. Nebo South Peak, Mt. Nebo Middle Peak, Mt. Nebo, and North Peak. It starts from the Monument Trailhead and goes south on the sometimes hard to follow Nebo Bench Trail before heading up to the traverse itself. In hindsight, I'd recommend doing the peaks first and returning on the Nebo Bench Trail because 1. it seemed easier to follow the Nebo Bench Trail from south to north versus the way I went, and 2. you can bail back the way you came if there's rain coming if you do the peaks first and return on the Nebo Bench Trail. Regardless, I'll describe the route based on the way I did it, clockwise.
I initially wasn't sure about this route because many sources read the Nebo Bench Trail is basically a bushwhack, but it wasn't. From the Monument Trailhead, follow the trail until you see the Mt. Nebo Wilderness sign, where cattle destroyed the trail for sure, and keep to the right of the sign for the true trail. There are a couple of spots where the trail splits (likely because of the cattle), but I only had to backtrack once because I chose the incorrect trail. Eventually, you'll be on a singletrack that is obvious for the first 2/3 of the Nebo Bench Trail, no bushwhacking or weird alternate social trails. However, the trail does start to fade and I lost it a couple of times. My advice is if you're truly bushwhacking or feel like what you're walking on isn't a real trail, it probably isn't, so backtrack and figure it out. There shouldn't be any real bushwhacking - just some slightly hard to follow spots. Toward the end of the Nebo Bench Trail, the trail does completely disappear, but there are occasional cairns through the meadow and the NFS added some nice little markers that stick out of the ground. I just went straight up to the ridge rather than locate the official trail to get up to South Nebo Peak (see map).
From the ridge, follow a well-beaten trail across all three Nebo peaks (South, Middle, and Mt. Nebo). There are a couple of sections that I suppose are Class 3, but really they're just hard Class 2: annoying scree or some minor exposure on a ridge, but a social trail leads the way pretty obviously. There are two spots to note, really. The first is on the way up to Middle Nebo from South Nebo, where you'll see a black and jagged ridge and the trail keeps to the west before ascending a scree slope. I recommend hugging the solid rock and using that to ascend rather than trying to go up the scree. The second spot is on the way up to Mt. Nebo, where the ridgeline gets very technical, but a social trail leads up the east side safely to the summit. From Mt. Nebo, head down on a nice trail all the way to the North Peak Trailhead, where you can follow a dirt road back to the Monument Trailhead. You can bag North Peak on the way by heading up the south ridge, or by following the official trail and backtracking slightly to gain the summit.
This is a great loop to bag all the sub peaks of Mt. Nebo without having to backtrack.
After doing the traverse, I wanted to check out a little point of interest called Devil's Kitchen. It's a short walk to an overlook worth checking out if you're anywhere along the Nebo Scenic Loop. It's nicknamed "mini bryce canyon" because of the red hoodoo conglomerate rock. You can access this cute, short 0.2 round trip walk here (39.8049562, -111.688774).
Please consider helping me out if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all site fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing these trip reports is unpaid. You can also hire me as a web developer. I really appreciate it!
If you find my site helpful, please help me replace my many broken cameras, fund my website fees (hosting, APIs, security), or just support my countless hours of work. I pay for all expenses myself, and all trip reports I post are unpaid and unsponsored, so any support is really appreciated!
If using PayPal, please select their option for "Sending to a friend" so they don't take out fees, thank you.
My site is free to use, but consider sending me a few bucks to help keep it running. Thanks in advance!