Mount Timpanogos

Located along the southern end of the Wasatch Mountain range, Mount Timpanogos is the most popular mountain peak hike in the state of Utah, and routinely sees hundreds of hikers scaling the trails on any given summer Saturday. With great views up and down the Utah Valley, two convenient trailheads, and abundant wildlife, hikers get a little bit of everything!

Mount Timpanogos Hike Details

Distance – 14.8 miles roundtrip from Timpooneke trailhead, 13.6 miles roundtrip from Aspen Grove trailhead
Approximate hiking time – 8 to 10 hours
Elevation at the trailhead – 7360 feet at Timpooneke, 6889 feet at Aspen Grove trailhead
Elevation at Mount Timpanogos summit – 11,749 feet
Elevation gain – 4389 feet from Timpooneke, and 4860 feet from Aspen Grove trailhead
Difficulty – Strenuous
Trail –  dirt and rock, exclusively rock for the last mile
Amount of water recommended – 3 liters
Bathrooms – Located at both trailheads.
Season to hike – Late June to mid September, depends on the snowfall.
Permits – Entrance fee is $6 at the Ranger station
Pets allowed – Permitted

What to bring: Free Hike Packing Checklist

How to get there:

If coming from Salt Lake City, take I-15 south to the Alpine Highway/UT 92. (Exit 284) Head east on the Alpine Highway/UT 92. Stay on this road for 18 miles to the Timpooneke Campground. Turn right into the campground. Drive through the campground for 0.3 miles to arrive at the trailhead. This trailhead is the north route to the top of Mount Timpanogos and is slightly longer, but starts 471 feet higher than the Aspen Grove trailhead, which approaches from the south, so the gradient of the hike is less on the Timpooneke side.

To get to the Aspen Grove trailhead, get on Interstate 15 and take the Orem 8oo North off ramp, (Exit 272) and then turn left, (east) onto 800 North. Follow it for 3.7 miles to the mouth of Provo Canyon and as the road splits, take the left curve to go up the canyon. Stay on this road (US 189) for 7 miles. You will go through a short tunnel. Take the left a quarter of a mile after the tunnel. The road is UT 92, and you will follow this narrow road past the Sundance Ski Resort and past Aspen Grove, You will come to a ranger fee station at 4.6 miles from the turn off from US 189. There is a parking lot on the left just past the ranger fee station, park here. (See a Google Map for this hike at the end of this post)

Hitting the Timpooneke Trail!

Both trailheads will meet at the saddle of Mount Timpanogos. The Aspen Grove side has more waterfalls than the Timpooneke trailhead, however, wildlife sightings are said to be more common on the Timpooneke trail. There are four ways to make this hike. You can go up and back on the Timpooneke trail, up and back on the Aspen Grove trail, which are the most common. Another way to experience both trails would be to go up the Timpooneke trail and down the Aspen Grove trail, or up the Aspen Grove trail and down Timpooneke. All make for great hikes, but the later two options require you to park a car at each trailhead.

Most people only see the rugged, imposing western side of Mount Timpanogos that is visible from I-15, and not the thick woods and lush, colorful wildflowers that the hiker sees on the backside, or east side of Mount Timpanogos. I’ll first discuss the Timpooneke trail, then the Aspen Grove route.

For either trailhead, it’s a good idea to start early. Some hikers like to start around midnight and reach the Timpanogos saddle by sunrise, while most others leave early in the day. I would recommend starting your hike just before dawn. The earlier you leave, the more shade you’ll have during much of the hike. It also gives you a better opportunity to spot deer, elk, mountain goats, and moose. Black bears and mountain lions have also been spotted on occasion. Thousands of hikers walk the trails of “Timp” during the summer weekends, so come early to find parking and avoid the congestion.

As you leave the parking area, you’ll find yourself hiking through Douglas fir, and you’ll gently climb in elevation through what is called the Grand Staircase, which isn’t a bunch of little stairs, but prominent layers of rock that give the perception of a staircase. Small waterfalls and springs can be seen flowing along the trail, even during the summer. Mount Timpanogos holds snow for most of the year, especially on the backside, with the months of late July, August, and September being the most void of snow. Even with that, I once hiked Timp the first week of September and still passed two snow bridges 30 to 40 feet long. Don’t walk on or under snow bridges. One of the snow bridges we passed that was intact had actually collapsed when we came back down several hours later.

As you gain elevation, the trail will change from mostly dirt to all small rocks until you arrive at the giant basin which is covered with wildflowers in the late summer. You emerge from the forests below and in a beautiful clearing dozens of football fields wide. Mountain goats are commonly seen grazing in the meadow or up on the rocky ledges. At this point you’ve hiked five miles, and you can see the Aspen Grove trail coming in from the south.

Hitting the Aspen Grove Trail!

The first mile of the hike from the trailhead is paved, which leads to the first waterfall. At the waterfall, the pavement ends and the trail turns to the right and heads up the drainage. Right before a series of long switchbacks, you’ll come to Timpanogos Falls, a small, picturesque waterfall, that is a good place to snap a couple of pictures and catch your breath. A steeper part of the hike is next. This part of the trail is prone to snow/ice bridges in the spring and summer, and can be dangerous. (A snow/ice bridge is formed over a water source like a stream or river, but appears to be solid because one doesn’t know that water is running under it.) There have been fatalities, so be attentive and look for signs of a snow bridge to avoid crossing one if you can help it. Go around if possible.  At this point you are three miles into the hike. This section lasts for about one mile, where you will also find yourself crossing small stream runoffs from the snow melt.

As you continue your rapid elevation gain you’ll soon reach the crest of a ridge and the Timpanogos Shelter will be visible. This shelter was built back in 1959 by the Forest Service. It was used from 1959 to 1970 when there was an annual Timp Hike the last weekend of July. It was discontinued because thousands of hikers would hit the trails and was ruining the delicate mountain environment. There is nothing really in the shelter and should only be used in an emergency. Right next to shelter is Emerald Lake, which depending on how much snow fell the previous winter can determine how much of it is frozen. It is fed but the snow melt and is very cold. This also gives you the opportunity to see the snowfield that some hikers choose to slide down after reaching the summit. It can be dangerous and several people have been flown out by helicopter after suffering broke legs, etc, but is a fast way to descend from the summit. There is constant speculation whether this area is a glacier or a permanent snowfield. Studies have come back inconclusive, but the size of this snowfield/glacier waxes and wanes yearly depending on winter snowfall and summer temperatures. From here, follow the trail south as it crosses a steep cliff base to meet up with the Timpooneke trail at the Timp saddle. The next 0.9 miles is a rocky climb up to the summit.

Reaching the Summit

After crossing the relatively flat and open basin you can spot your final destination, and while it may look very imposing, it is well worth your effort after making it this far. As you work your way up to the saddle, which is at an elevation of 11,050 feet, you’ll find that many hikers stop here to rest and enjoy the first views of Utah Valley to the west before making the final leg of the hike, a 0.9 mile climb up the west face of Timp. On top of Mount Timpanogos is a summit hut, which is visible to the keen eye from down in the valley some 6000 feet above. Once at the summit, you’ll enjoy 360 degree views of Utah Valley and Utah Lake to the west, Lone Peak and American Fork Twin Peaks to the north, and the landscape east of Mount Timpanogos. The summit hut up top has been used by some hikers as a places to spend the night, but I guarantee it gets very chilly up there even during a summer night. There is a summit log book that you can sign, and you’ll see that hundreds of people sign the inside and outside of the hut with permanent markers. Be sure to take plenty of pictures in all directions. Mount Timpanogos gives excellent views of Box Elder Peak, Lone Peak, and several other 11,000+ foot peaks to the north. You may even find beggar chipmunks running around the rocks near the summit hut looking for a snack.

As you return, you’ll find the going much easier than going up, and you’ll have more energy and time to enjoy the scenery you just hiked through. Look around and you’ll probably spot mountain goats that frequent the backside of Mount Timpanogos. On one of my trips the mountain goats actually used the trail for a bit and were no more than 30 feet from us. They really didn’t seem to mind us, which was good, because we really couldn’t go anywhere, and their horns looked like they could ruin one’s weekend if they got agitated.

What to Bring:

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