Spotlights
The Duck Creek Visitor Center (elev. 8600 ft.) is nestled in a beautiful grove of Spruce and Aspen trees. The visitor center is staffed by friendly volunteers eager to share their years of local experience. Information is available on hiking, biking, fishing, camping, off highway vehicles, and many other area attractions. Many interpertive items are available such as maps, post cards, wood cutting permits, nature books, clothing and Smoky Bear memorabilia.
The Duck Creek Visitor Center has an excellent staff to help find information for those who are visiting on the Dixie National Forest or nearby National Parks and Monuments.
The Work Center consisted of two residences, one office building, one Barn, a Gas house, and a warehouse. In 1933 the National Forest now know as the Dixie applied for a battalion of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to begin construction of buildings and structures on the Cedar City Ranger District in the then Sevier National Forest. The proposal was to construct a work center and campground at Duck Creek. The work center would serve as housing for the Ranger and summer employees. An office was built at the location so that the Ranger could run the District from within the Forest during the summer.
Local workers were hired to lead the battalion of CCC boys most of whom were from back east. The camp known as F-16 spent the summer months building the work center and the Duck Creek Campground to the north. Other work projects included range work, porcupine eradication, building the dike across Navajo Lake and road construction.
The Duck Creek Visitor’s Center occupies the Office building completed in 1933. It was constructed as a Plan 51 Office/storeroom. The station was considered central to important recreational areas such as Navajo Lake, Cedar Breaks, Duck Creek, Aspen Mirror Lake, Mammoth Creek and Strawberry Point.
In 1994 it was decided by the Cedar City District to turn this Office into a Visitors Center. The wall separating the two office spaces was removed to create a much larger room for interpretative displays. The interior of the building was covered in very dark wood paneling which was removed and the walls were returned to the lath and plaster walls of the 1930’s. During the winter of 1996 it was decided to remove the rug from the building and redo some of the woodwork within the building. As there was no heat in the building the three person team that scraped the rug, and under laying vinyl flooring off the tongue and groove fir flooring had very cool and frozen fingers. The floor features were rearranged to be able to meet needs of and visit with the variety of visitors that come in the summer and fall months.
Located on the highest point of the Cedar City Ranger District on the Dixie National Forest the Brianhead Lookout was built in 1934-35 by the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp F-16 stationed at Duck Creek.
A road had to be built to the location during construction this road is still in place and accessible by sedan. This road was built using a small caterpillar and horse drawn equipment to build. Rock was taken from onsite and from a large quarry at the bottom of the curve near the present day toilet facility. A second building was built on the peak concurrently to serve as a toilet. The foundation is still evident at the end of a trail below the overlook to the east.
The overlook was restored in the 1990's by the Southwest Service group of the Sierra Club. They re-tucked the buildings masonry and re-laid and stabilized the patio surrounding the building. The roof was repainted in the interior and brave souls went on the roof to replace shingles blown off in storms.
The Forest was in the process of providing recreational areas for the local public to come onto the forest to enjoy the beauty and resources. It was determined that building the overlook would serve several purposes beneficial to the National Forest. The first, being as a recreational overlook from which the Forest could interpret the surrounding areas. Plaques were made and placed within the building for the public to read about the area they were looking at. The second use was as an occasional fire lookout.
From the summit of Brian Head Peak, one can look out at Nevada’s Wheeler and Highland peaks, Arizona’s Mount Trumbull and Navajo Mountain, Beaver County’s Tushar Range and the Paunsagunt, Table Cliffs, and Aquarius plateaus. Then, turning west, little-known ranges with mysterious names such as the Never Summer Mountains and the Wah Wahs become visible.
|
