Ensign Peak Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail with a 415 foot elevation change that is only a half a mile long (one way). The trail starts at a well maintained area with stairs leading up to a spot with informative plaques. From here, the trail begins a steady climb to the peak. The very first part of the trail is paved, but this quickly gives way to dirt. The path is easy to follow, and there are a number of available resting places on the way up marked by cement blocks that can be used as seats.

The trail itself is not particularly scenic at this time of year. However, the view of the valley from the top is fabulous. This is also a spot of historical importance. Only a couple days after Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young and several others hiked to the top of Ensign Peak to get a better look at the valley. At the top they engaged in pray and counseled together about plans for the new city.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

View of Downtown Salt Lake City from Ensign Peak

18 ft. High Monument at the Peak

Directions

This trail is found at the north end of Salt Lake County. To get there from the south, from I-15 take exit 309 for 600 North in Salt Lake City. Continue straight to Wall Street and turn right. From there, take the second left onto Zane Street, and then take a right on Columbus Street. Almost immediately, turn left onto 5th North. At the end of this street, turn left onto Capitol Blvd. Continue up the hill and turn left on Edgecomb Dr. As you continue straight, the road will change into Ensign Vista Dr. The trail head will be on the left across from the church.

If you are coming from the north, take exit 312 for Beck Street. Turn left onto Victory Road. Continue on Victory Road to 5th North, and turn left. Continue as explained above.

Curly Springs Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail has a 1479 foot elevation change and is about 5.3 miles long (round trip). The Curly Springs Trail is actually just the trail that crosses in front of Big Baldy. To get to this trail, you must first travel up Battle Creek Canyon or Dry Canyon. When doing this hike, we started up the Dry Canyon Trail and then went down Battle Creek, so the elevation graph and descriptions below reflects that route.

Line of trees on ridge near turnoff for the viewpoint

The trail up Dry Canyon starts with a good climb up some large dirt steps. The climb continues at about the same rate until the trail splits at around .7 miles up. Dry Canyon Trail continues up until it connects with the Timpanogos Perimeter Trail, and from there hikers can continue to the top of Big Baldy if desired. However, for the Curly Springs Trail, turn off at this split onto trail 051, which is the Curly Springs Trail. There are signs marking the trails clearly, so finding the turn off spot is not difficult. There are a number of turn offs leading to lower trails along the way, but if you stay on the main trail and follow the 051 markers you will stay on track.

You will find Curly Springs itself a little while after turning onto the trail (as marked by the blue flag on the map below). This is a good place to let your animals get a drink.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Maps

Right before the Curly Springs Trail turns and starts its descent into Battle Creek Canyon, there is a split in the trail. If you go off the main trail here you will head up to the top of the ridge where there are some great views of Rock Canyon, Mount Mahogany, Mount Timpanogos, Big Baldy, and Utah Valley. Going to this view point and back adds .5 miles to the trail. This slight detour is definitely worth the effort though, and the distance and elevation are included in the overall information for this trail.

Battle Creek near where trails connect -
this intersection used to be poorly marked

Most of the trail up to this point is open, but as descent starts into Battle Creek Canyon, the trail dips into a cooler wooded area. The trail then crosses Battle Creek itself and connects with the trail named after it. If you are completing this trail in the opposite direction, coming up Battle Creek and down Dry Canyon, the intersection used to be very difficult to find. However, it has since been improved with clear trail signs and markers.

Trail sign marking Battle Creek
intersection

Looking at Curly Springs Trail turn-off from
Battle Creek Trail

The Battle Creek Trail follows the creek down to the the mouth of the canyon. (If you were to head up it, this trail would also connect with the Timpanogos Perimeter Trail and the trail to the top of Big Baldy.) Be prepared to cross the creek several times on the way down. Some spots have bridges or other implements to help hikers cross, but other spots don't have much along those lines. This presents more difficulty in the spring during high run off than in the fall though.  About .8 miles down the trail you will find the 50 foot tall Battle Creek Waterfall (marked by a blue flag on the topographical map). From here is is about .6 more miles to the Battle Creek trail head.

This last portion of the trail makes a nice short hike in and of itself that is suitable for families. It is especially nice in the summer to take that little trek up to the waterfall and play in the water below.

These trails are open to animals. There are also some campsites available for backpackers along the way. Restrooms are available at the trail heads.

Heading up Dry Canyon

Looking up Dry Canyon Trail toward Timpanogos at the trail split

View of Timpanogos and Big Baldy from the view point

Battle Creek Fall

Directions

This trail is found in Utah County. If you are starting from Dry Canyon (as we did), from I-15, take Exit 273 for Lindon/1600 N Orem. Head east on 1600 North until you reach 400 West. Turn left on 400 West, then turn right on 2000 North/200 South. Continue up the hill to the to the top of 2000 North, then turn left onto Dry Canyon Dr. Follow the road up to the parking lot where you will find the trail head. GPS Coordinates: N40° 20.498' W111° 40.601'

If you are trying to reach the Battle Creek Canyon trail head, from I-15, take Exit 275 for Pleasant Grove/Lindon. Head roughly east on Pleasant Grove Blvd. to State Street and turn right. From State Street, turn left onto 200 S/Battle Creek Dr. Continue straight up this road until you reach the park at the end. The trail starts from the park. GPS Coordinates: N40° 21.786' W111° 42.046'

Dutch Hollow Trails

The Trails

These easy to moderate trails are found in Midway, UT. We hiked along the Overlook, Sage, Aqueduct, and Cottontail Trails. Unfortunately, we lost our GPS data, and therefore are unable to post that information here. However, for maps of the area and descriptions of various sections, go here.

These trails are especially popular for mountain bikers, but they are also commonly used for hiking and horseback riding. They are part of the Wasatch Mountain State Park.

While we do not have the elevation profiles or other information for these trails, we do have some pictures of the area. It is particularly beautiful area during the fall. The Overlook Trail especially offers some nice panoramic views of the valley and surrounding mountains. There are also some wooden benches along the trail that provide convenient places to rest and/or just enjoy the scenery.

Directions

These trails are located in Wasatch County in Midway, Utah. If you are coming from Utah Valley or from anywhere south of Utah Valley, take I-15 to Exit 272 for 800 North in Orem. At the end of 800 North, stay left and follow the signs onto Provo Canyon Road. Continue through the canyon and past the reservoir to 3600 West/Charleston Road. This road will be on your left. Turn onto it and head straight north until you reach Midway. Then turn right onto Main Street. Next, turn left onto River Road. Continue along River Rd. until you come to Dutch Canyon Rd. on the left. The first part of this road is paved, and then it turns into a dirt road. You can park in a paved area and walk to the trail head, or you can drive up the dirt road to another parking area at the trail head.

If you are coming from the Salt Lake area, or somewhere north of that, take I-15 to East I-80. From there, take Exit 146 for US-40 towards Vernal/Heber. Continue for about 13.3 miles, then turn right onto River Rd. After a couple  more miles, turn right onto Dutch Canyon Rd. and continue to the trail head.

Vermillion Castle Trail

The Trail

This is a moderate 0.8 mile (one way) trail with a 517 foot elevation change. However, although the trail averages moderate, all the climbing for this trail takes place along the switchbacks during the first half, and this section of the trail would probably classify as difficult.

There are a number of interesting rock formations along the trail. A small wind cave is located along the swtichbacks, and as hikers approach the top, there are a number of ridges formed out of conglomerate rock. There are even some wild looking hoodoos formed from the conglomerate rock. Soon after the hoodoos the trail levels out a great deal with only very gentle elevation changes until you reach the end of the trail. Enjoy the interesting white sandstone rocks and the twisted trees as you continue along and finally reach the Vermillion Castle rock formations that mark the trail's end.

On the maps below, a little detour is shown in green that lead to a lookout spot.

There is also a picnic and camping area just before the Vermillion Castle trail head if you turn off for the Noah's Ark trail head. There are nice restrooms here with flush toilets, however, the water at this spot is not potable.

Topographical Map (green=side path to lookout)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth (green=side path to lookout)

Vermillion Castle

View of Noah's Ark with white sandstone rocks in foreground

Hoodoos

 

Directions

This hike is located in Iron County near Cedar City and Parowan. If
you are approaching Parowan from the north, take exit 78 off of I-15 and turn left onto Main Street. Continue to UT-143/Canyon Rd. and turn right. About 3.6 miles down this road, turn left onto Yankee Meadow Road/Bowery Creek Road/1st Left Hand Road. The trail head is a little over two miles up this road on the left side.

If you are coming from the south, take exit 75 off of I-15 and turn right onto 200 South. Turn right onto UT-143/Canyon Rd. and continue about 3.1 miles until you reach Yankee Meadow Road/Bowery Creek Road/1st Left Hand Road Continue as explained above.

God's Rock Trail

The Trail

This is an easy 1 mile (one way) trail with an elevation change of only about 85 ft. The trail starts from Loop E at the Blackhawk Campground. Soon after the trail head you pass through a gate (marked by green flag on the map below - don't forget to close it behind you). As you continue along, the trees gradually open up revealing views of the surrounding mountains. The trail ends at the top of a hill with nice panoramic views. We didn't get all the way to the top of the hill, so the information given about trail length and elevation change is only valid for the portion of the trail we traveled. The rest of the trail is shown in green as a rough estimation of the rest of the trail on the maps below.

The trail was a little difficult to follow in some places since it was rather overgrown in areas. A few trails seemed to break off from it heading west that are also a bit difficult to follow.

This trail is open to horses. The blue flag marks a watering trough in the middle of Soap Flat.

Topographical Map (green=estimation of continuation of trail)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Maps (green=estimation of continuation of trail)

Mount Nebo

 

Directions

This trail is found along the Nebo Loop in Utah County. If you are coming from the north, take exit 250 for Payson off of I-15. Turn left onto 3200 West, which turns into Main Street. Follow Main Street to 800 South and turn left. Take the first right onto South Canyon Road. When the road ends, turn right again onto Nebo Loop Rd. Continue on this road up the canyon for about 13 or 14 miles until you see signs for Blackhawk. Turn left onto Blackhawk Campground Rd. and follow the signs to Loop E. If you don't have a campsite in the area, there is a parking lot at the front of the loop with a $6.00 fee to park there for the day. The trail starts on the east side of the loop at about N39 53.368 W111 37.464.
 

If you are coming from the south, it is better to take exit 248 off of I-15, turn right onto 800 South, and continue straight until you reach South Canyon Road.

Lake Angela by way of the Pacific Crest Trail

The Trail

This trail is an easy 3.2 mile (one way) stretch of

Lake Angela

the Pacific Crest Trail with a 276 foot elevation change. The trail is lined with tall evergreen trees, splashed with colorful wildflowers, and scattered with smooth granite boulders. It sports fantastic views of the surrounding peaks and of Donner Lake. The first part of the trail is very shady and there are several muddy ponds in which catfish can be seen. Parts of the trail may be muddy or covered with snow. The ponds and a marsh area make ideal mosquito breeding grounds, so wearing bug repellent is a good idea.

As the trail continues, it becomes more open and rocky. The trail drops a little before rising again. After reaching the summit and starting down, Donner Pass Road and the train tracks are visible to the south. If you continue along the trail, you will eventually reach Donner Pass Road. To get to Lake Angela, we turned off the trail soon after we reached the summit. We heard rumors of a trail that turns off to the lake from the Pacific Crest Trail before this point, but we couldn't find it. Instead, after the first switchback or two on the way down, we headed over the ridge and toward the power lines immediately west of the trail (turn off point marked on the map with a green dot: N39 19.425 W120 19.311). After crossing over the ridge, we could see the lake below. We made our way through some brush and followed what appeared to be odd pieces of various disconnected trails down to the lake. Angela Lake itself is beautifully clear and blue.

Azalea Lake and Flora Lake are not visible from the Pacific Crest Trail, but probably would not be hard to find with a map and/or GPS. There is supposed to be a turn off from the Pacific Crest Trail at N39 20.24469 W120 19.85254 (marked with a red triangle in the map below) for a trail that goes past all the lakes, and this route is also shorter than following the Pacific Crest Trail. However, it is not obvious or easy to find, and we missed that trail as well.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Maps

One of the Mud Ponds

View of Donner Lake from the Pacific Crest Trail

Lake Angela

Directions

From I-80, take exit 176 for Castle Peak/Boreal Ridge Rd. (about a 45 minute drive from Reno). After exiting, turn south. At Bunny Hill Dr., turn left and continue to the parking lot at the end of the road. The trail head is well marked with a plaque detailing the Pacific Crest Trail and some other trails in the area.