Locations
WPA Ponds are located in Sanpete County, Utah and are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest.
I believe as of 2020 the forest road 1243 is now marked for 60" ATV use only. I took my truck down FR-1243 several years back and ended up breaking a shock and ball joint. My truck has nearly 350k miles and I didn't think I was going to make it out of there. The road is covered in huge rocks. There are several trees growing close to the road that will knock your mirrors off. Some of the tight turns combined with rocks and trees will give you nightmares. Taking a 4 wheeler or hiking in will be your best bet. I will go over a better route to access it.
From Sanpete County take Mayfield Canyon. Continue on forest road 0022 for about 11 miles. You will pass the turn off to Six Mile Canyon, continue on forest road 0022 as it wraps around. Just after the bend there will be a turn off onto forest road 1170. If you get to 12 mile flat you have gone to far and will need to turn around. Take forest road 1170 for a little over a mile then you will come to a fork. If you're in a truck you need to turn left and take FR-0024 towards shinglemill and Deep Lake. Watch for a sign to Deep Lake, then go north past the lake to W P A Ponds. If you have a four wheeler and want to take the rougher more scenic route, when FR-1170 forks take a right. This will dump you on FR-1243, and you see immediately why you didn't want to take a truck through there. After 2 miles on FR 1243 you will see Bee Tree on the east of the road. The W P A Ponds will be another 1.5 miles down the road.
Fish Species
There are two ponds that make up WPA Ponds. The upper pond is stocked with rainbow trout, and the lower pond is stocked with brook trout. Cooley Creek flows between the two, so the fish could mix.
Nearby Areas to Fish
Bee Tree and the Log Ponds are located to the north and Deep Lake is located to the south. If you hike west from Deep Lake and follow the creek you will hit West Deep Lake Pond. If you go further south past Deep Lake, you will run into Shingle Mill Reservoir. There is a four wheeler only trail (FR-66) you can take to Emerald lake.
