Francis, Utah

Mineral Fork is on the right side of the road about 5.8 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon next to a cell tower and a giant brown Forest Service gate. There is room on the side of the road to park your car and throw your gear on. Once on the trail, you'll do a few switchbacks up the side of the mount...

The trailhead (Forest Trail 047 - Pine Hollow Trail) starts across the street from a turnout about .5 miles above Mutual Dell in American Fork Canyon. This highly trafficked trail is used for just about every activity you can think of, meaning that you can even snowshoe this in the winter. It's a...

The White Pine Trailhead is up Little Cottonwood Canyon on the south side of the road just before you get to Snowbird Ski Resort. The parking lot fills up very quickly so an early start is recommended. The skin track starts in the southwest corner of the parking lot near the bathrooms. You will f...

To reach the north summit of Timpanogos you start out just like you would if you were going to the main summit. There are 2 different trail options to choose from; The Aspen Grove trail near Sundance Ski resort or the Timpanooke trail through American Fork Canyon. I will put the start point on th...

The Aspen Grove trail is shorter but a bit steeper than the Timpanooke Trail. This usually means that fewer people take this route, and on an extremely popular mountain like Timpanogos, that’s a good thing. The trail is 14 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 5,140 feet.  The hike begins at...

The canyon is closed during snowfall so this is only accessible between May-Nov usually. It is best during the fall when the leaves have changed color, but let's be honest, it's always great. Head up Provo Canyon and follow the signs to make a left going into Sundance. Follow the road past the sk...

The Timpooneke Campground sits at 7,400 ft. elevation with views of Mount Timpanogos and campsites surrounded by beautiful aspen, fir and spruce trees. The leaves in the fall put on a show you will not want to miss. Within the campground there are 9 equestrian sites, 1 large group site and 20 sta...

Starting at a little over 7,300 feet, the Timpooneke Trailhead offers a beautiful alpine setting for starting your hike. Several trails originate from the same parking lot so you will want to make sure you get on the correct trail. The parking lot can also get quite full on summer days as people ...

The wildflowers are normally at their peak from mid to end of July or the beginning of August. Depending on the amount of snow that year and how wet of a spring we had it could vary a little bit.  But anytime during the mid summer you will encounter amazing Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, and other co...

The Timpooneke trailhead is located in American Fork Canyon, next to the Timpooneke Campground. There is a $6 fee to enter the canyon, unless you have a National Park Pass with which you get in free. On the weekends, it may be difficult to find parking at the Timpooneke Campground, so arrive earl...

Arriving to Big Springs Hollow is relatively easy.  Drive up Provo Canyon and turn right onto South Fork Rd at Vivian Park.  As you pass Vivian Park, you'll continue for 3 miles on South Fork Rd until you reach Big Springs Park.  Continue up to the Upper level parking and the trailhead will be in...

Naturist Basin is a beautiful area in the High Uintas Wilderness with an abundance of mountains, lakes, meadows, and wildlife.  It is best hiked July-September. To get to the trailhead, drive up the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway until you reach the Highline Trailhead Campground, about 3 miles past Mi...

Hayden Peak is by all means the monarch mountain of the Mirror Lake Highway. By that, I mean that Hayden Peak is easily the most rugged and impressive peak that can be viewed from the road. Driving over Bald Mountain Pass towards Evanston, WY, this peak looks amazing. There are few mountains out ...

There isn't a trail to Cutthroat Lake so for a portion of the hike will be cross-country.  I highly recommend bringing a GPS but with intermediate route-finding skills you should be able to find your way.  We used the Gaia GPS app and this made the hike much easier.  The distance depends on the r...

Getting There From Evanston, take the Mirror Lake Highway 150 about 42 miles to the Ruth Lake trailhead and follow the easy hike up from the highway; just look for the signs directing you to Ruth Lake. The Trail/The Climbs Once on the trail, keep an eye out to your left and soon you'll see the cl...

The Uintas are a high elevation, pristine mountain wilderness located in Utah. This range receives over 400 inches of precipitation annually, and you can find water everywhere.  There are 400+ miles of streams, waterfalls, and more than 2,000 lakes!  One of the prettiest and most accessible of th...