Mount Timpanogos

Mount Timpanogos

Place Name: Utah County

Place Description: State: Utah
Date: 08/01/2022
Elevation: 11,749 Feet
Prominence: 5,269 Feet
Miles: 16.3
Elevation Gain: 4,710 Feet
Lists: Ultras of the Lower 48, Utah P2K

• Difficulty
• Solitude
• Kid Friendly
• Summit Views

Hiking In A Fairytale

Mount Timpanogos is a very popular trail near Provo, UT and it’s also one of the prettiest trails in the entire state. Because of this, you won’t be finding yourself alone out here. Don’t let the discourage you as this hike has it all and really feels like you are hiking in a fairytale.

Overall

3.1

Pros

• Great trail
• Absolutely beautiful
• Lot of wildlife and flowers

Cons

• Could be crowded on weekends
• Very exposed terrain
• Prone to storms

Looking for one of the prettiest trails in Utah? Look no further Mount Timpanogos! At 11,749 feet, Mount Timp is an impressive summit when viewed from the Provo area. Did I say it’s one of the prettiest trails in Utah? I meant the entire USA.

Loaded with wildlife, wildflowers, a lake, and waterfall, the Mount Timpanogos Trail is like hiking though a fairytale.

Getting There

Mount Timp has two major trailheads – Timpooneke and Aspen Gove. Both are regarded as being beautiful and they both meet at the saddle before ascending the summit.

Getting to the Timpooneke Trail is easy. Drive into American Fork Canyon on UT-92 and past the Timpanogos Caves National Monument. Follow the road to the sign for the Timpooneke Campground and turn right. This will lead up to the parking lot. Please note that parking fills up fast here. There are reports saying it can be full by 4 a.m. on the weekends.

Starting the trail at 3:45 a.m. Lots of city light coming from over the mountains.

The Trail

There is an awesome trail that leads all the way to the summit. Honestly, it would be almost impossible to lose the trail. Most people start the hike in the middle of the night so you will probably be heading up the early part of the trail in the dark. Although it’s easy to navigate, please be careful of wild animals. There have been reports of a cow moose with calf charging hikers.

The low part of the trail climbs along the creek through aspens and forest before topping out in a meadow and basin. The trail climbs through the willows up the side of a rocky slide area before climbing out of this basin into Timpanogos Basin.

Now is the best part. Timpanogos Basin. It’s a gorgeous place and was loaded with peaking wildflowers. Expect your pace to start slowing down, only because it’s so beautiful!

Morning sunlight on Mount Timpanogos.

Walking through the basin is a great feeling and stopping here would be a perfect day, however, the summit is beckoning just ahead.

Mount Timpanogos and flowers.

Climb out of the basin to the saddle and take in the views of Utah Lake and the cities below.

Looking south

From this point on, you ascend up the west side of the summit. This last section switchbacks up through the exposed terrain ad has a couple of easy class 2 sections. It’s very easy to navigate. Mountain goats are very common on these slopes.

Easy scramble section on the way up the summit.

The Summit

After the climb the summit hut comes into site and the views in all directions are beyond amazing.

Mount Timpanogos summit looking south

Views to the north towards North Timpanogos.

Emerald Lake looks gorgeous from above and is a nice side trip on the way down. Mount Timpanogos is one of the prettiest views you could ever hope to see. Mount Nebo is off to the south. and Flat Top Mountain is out to the west.

Looking east. Emerald Lake below.

View towards Mount Nebo.

The Final Word

After the summit, be sure to take a slight detour to Emerald Lake. It’s not far out of the way and is extremely beautiful. It was also loaded with mountain goats!

Emerald Lake

While hiking down the trail, you get to take in all of the views you miss in the dark. There is also a very short detour to check out Scout Falls cascading over a rock ledge.

Side excursion to Scout Falls

In conclusion, this is one amazing hike. Exepect to see lots of people, however, do not let that deter you. This trail was really like hiking through a fairytale. I can’t remember a prettier trail that I’ve ever gone for a hike on.

Make sure to check this one out if you are in this part of Utah, you will not be let down.