Frying Pan Trail

The Trail
The Frying Pan Trail is 2.9 miles long on its own one way. However, as this trail acts as a connector between Cohab Canyon and the Cassidy Arch Trail, you must hike up one of these trails to reach it. This is a great trail to do by leaving a car on both ends or otherwise arranging a shuttle/pick up on one side. We recommend going up the Cassidy Arch Trail and then down to the west side of Cohab Canyon, which is the route reflected in the information below. Because you must include at least part of these trails in your hike anyway, the elevation graph and maps below include them. When taking this route, the entire trail (as shown in dark blue below) is a moderate 5.6 mile long hike (one way) with a 1032 foot elevation change. Keep in mind though that there is a fair amount of climbing up and down within the course of the trail.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The trail starts up from the west side of Grand Wash and follows the wash for about a quarter mile before turning off and climbing up the side of the canyon. This turn off is well marked with a large sign for Cassidy Arch. As hikers climb up, they will experience some nice views looking down into the Grand Wash and out to more distant points such as Ferns Nipple to the south.

View of Grand Wash from the Cassidy Arch Trail

In addition to doing the trail shown in blue above, hikers have the option of stopping by Cassidy Arch (by following the red trail shown above) before heading up the Frying Pan Trail. The junction between these two trails is about 1.4 miles from the trailhead. Going to Cassidy Arch adds about 0.8 mile total to the trip.

Cassidy Arch

After the Cassidy Arch junction, the trail continues to climb at a steady pace for about another mile. At the high point of the trail, there are some nice views of the surrounding areas.

View to the south with Ferns Nipple to the far right

After that, the trail sets out on a steady decent into Frying Pan Canyon over the course of nearly another mile. A number of interesting rock formations and nice views are found along the way.

After reaching the wash at the bottom of Frying Pan Canyon, there are some side trip options. One of these is to head east for about 0.1 mile to where the wash drops suddenly into some some water pockets. This trail is shown in teal on the maps above. Another option is to head the opposite direction deeper into the canyon as explained here (we ended up not having time for this).

Water pockets to the west of the trail

Looking east from the bottom of Frying Pan Canyon

After exploring whatever you desire in Frying Pan Canyon, return to the trail and head up the north slope of the canyon. As you come to the top of the ridge, you will find some intriguing rock formations.

From the ridge top, the path back down into Cohab Canyon to the west Cohab Canyon Trailhead is about 1.2 miles long. The path follows along a lot of slickrock and can hard to find immediately in a couple places. It is marked with rock cairns though, so keep your eye out for them.

After you reach the bottom of the canyon, you can either head east, which will exit the canyon near the Hickman Bridge Trailhead, or you can head west, which will exit the canyon near the Fruita Campground. Our understanding was that the west side of the canyon was more interesting, so we headed out in this direction.

A hoodoo in Cohab Canyon

Heavily pocketed walls in Cohab Canyon

Fruita Cliffs from just before the west mouth of Cohab Canyon

Parking closest to the trailhead on the west side of Cohab Canyon can be found near the Gifford House. The closest bathrooms from here are those available at the campground.

West Cohab Canyon Trailhead

Some fawns eagerly eating fallen pears in a field near the trailhead

Directions
This trail is located in Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne County, Utah near Torrey. To get there, take UT-24 to Capitol Reef. Turn off to head south at the Visitor's Center and continue along the "Scenic Drive" until reaching the turnoff for Grand Wash on the left. Go up this dirt road until reaching the parking area and trail head at the end.

Alternatively, you could start this trail from Cohab Canyon. To start from the west side of the canyon at the Cohab Canyon Trailhead, turn off UT-24 to head south at the Visitor's Center and continue along the "Scenic Drive" as explained above, but stop and park somewhere near the Gifford House. To start at the west end of Cohab Canyon (route not shown on maps above), continue along UT-24 to the Hickman Bridge Trailhead.

Cassidy Arch

The Trail
This moderate trail is about 1.8 miles long (one way) from the Grand Wash Trailhead with about a 600 foot elevation change.

Topographical Map (blue - to Cassidy Arch; green - Frying Pan Trail)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The trail starts up from the west side of Grand Wash and follows the wash for about a quarter mile before turning off and climbing up the side of the canyon. This turn off is well marked with a large sign.

Trailhead at west side of Grand Wash

Heading down the Grand Wash

 

There is a large sign at the turn off for Cassidy Arch

The trail climbs fairly steeply at first here, but it doesn't stay this steep for too long before leveling off some and then continuing the climb more gradually. As hikers climb, they will experience some nice views looking down into the Grand Wash and out to more distant points such as Ferns Nipple to the south.

Trail with view of Ferns Nipple

Grand Wash

After hiking 1.4 miles up, the trail will split. Continue left to go to Cassidy Arch. The trail to the right will take you along the Frying Pan Trail to Cohab Canyon. A sign labels this split.
 

Trail Split

Cassidy Arch becomes visible from the trail well before hikers reach it. The last section of this trail after this point is less clear in some spots but is generally well marked with rock cairns that can be followed without much difficulty.

Cassidy Arch from the trail

Cassidy Arch

 

There is also a canyon below the arch. For those seeking a technical route down, there are bolted hangers on the north side of the arch you can use to rappel down. From there you can continue rappelling your well down this canyon and back to the Grand Wash.

There is a vault toilet at the trailhead, but we found it to be locked even though we were there during peak season. Therefore, I wouldn't count on being able to access it.

Directions
This trail is located in Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne County, Utah near Torrey. To get there, take UT-24 to Capitol Reef. Turn off to head south at the Visitor's Center and continue along the "Scenic Drive" until reaching the turnoff for Grand Wash on the left. Go up this dirt road until reaching the parking area and trail head at the end.

Y Mountain Summit Trail

The Trail
This difficult trail is about 3.5 miles long (one way) with a 3406 foot elevation change. There is also a much shorter and quite popular option along this route of hiking just to the white letter Y on the side of the mountain, which is about 1.2 miles to the top, with just over a 1000 foot elevation change.

Topographical Map (blue=trail to summit; red=maple flat trail
green=dead end trail)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The beginning of this trail is very well maintained. It is wide and well used as it goes up to the Y. Signs along the way detail little facts about plants and animals in the area and details about the history of the Y. This part of the trail is not particularly interesting. All the interest comes from views of the valley below. While the trail is shaded first thing in the morning due to the fact that it falls on the west side of the mountain, it gets full sun the rest of the day. There is a picnic area half way up the letter Y itself, and there is a section of trail going just above the top of the Y with benches to rest on while enjoying the view.

View looking south from top of the Y

View looking west from top of the Y

 If the Y was your goal, you can hike back down from here. However, if you want to continue to the top, take the narrower trail that continues upward just south of the Y.

The trail heads across the face of the mountain before reaching some interesting rocks, including a unique one that sticks out and is apparently sometimes referred to as "Mouse Rock." After this point, The trail turns east to head up Slide Canyon.

Approaching "Mouse Rock"

Looking up Slide Canyon

Soon after passing "Mouse Rock", there is a short turn off to an outcropping rock that overlooks Slide Canyon and Utah Valley beyond. This rock is about 1.6 miles up from the beginning of the trail.

View of Slide Canyon from outcropping rock

View of "Mouse Rock" from
outcropping rock

The trail continues to climb up slide canyon another 0.8 mile (2.4 miles from the trailhead), at which point it comes to Bear Flat. This meadow offers a good camping spot to backpackers. The brush here is quite tall during the summer, and at this point you will start to see stinging nettle along the trail. The dense brush here and in other places along the trail has stinging nettle in its mix, so wearing pants while hiking is recommended. Right after reaching the meadow, there is a trail that breaks off to the south past a camping spot. A portion of this trail is shown in red in the topographical map above, and it leads to Maple Flat. For anyone interested in getting to the top of Maple Mountain (the mountain just south of Y Mountain), this is the trail you take. It does not go all the way to the top, but you can find information on the route to the top here.

Bear Flat - during summer this meadow is full of tall
wildflowers like lupines and mint. There is also a good amount
of stinging nettle growing here

Camping spot at Bear Flat

Soon after leaving Bear Flat, hikers will come to a split in the trail. Continuing straight will take you farther up Slide Canyon. To go to the top of Y Mountain, turn off to the left. This turn is marked by some carvings on the trunk of an Aspen at this intersection.

The "Y" with the arrow marks the way
to follow to summit Y Mountain.
The newly carved "P" for
Provo Peak continues straight.

The trail's already rigorous incline increases to an even more arduous assent as the trail heads through a forested area and then opens up again into a steep meadow. If you look behind you as you climb up this meadow, you will see Provo Peak off in the distance.

Provo Peak to the back left

This meadow is once again full of tall stinging nettle and other chest high plants. After crossing the meadow, you will reach the ridge and start to catch glimpses of the view from the top.

View of Mount Timpanogos and Squaw Peak from the ridge

Continue just a bit farther and the views of the valley open up more from the top.

View from the top looking south

View from the top looking northwest

Technically, this trail does not go to the true summit of Y Mountain, which is the peak to the northeast of where this trail ends. This other peak is just a bit higher than the peak closer to the valley. We wondered if there was a less used trail to this peak too, but couldn't find one. We tried following a faint trail heading roughly toward the highest peak at the ridge (in green on the maps above), but found that this trail disappeared as it approached more trees. Being unsure if this was the best way to continue up to the other peak, and being short on time, we decided to not continue. It appeared to us that this route to the top looked pretty rough at best, and there are probably better approaches. However, they also probably involve making your way through the dense tangle of tall brush in the meadow without the aid of a trail.

This trail is open to leashed pets. There are bathrooms at the trailhead.

Directions
This trail is located in Utah County in Provo. To get there, from I-15 take Exit 265 for Center Street in Provo. Turn left onto 500 East and then turn right onto 500 North. Next turn left onto 700 East and then right onto 700 North. At 1200 East, turn left, then take the next right onto 820 North. This road will curve around, becoming Oakmont Ln. Turn right on Oakcliff Dr. and then right again onto Terrace Dr. Turn left again when the road turns (going straight will take you into a parking area), and continue up the road, which will pass another parking area, curve around and then straighten out before arriving at the trailhead parking area. GPS Coordinates: N40 14.697 W111 37.638