Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area

Located 45 miles west of Salt Lake City, Cedar Mountain is a north-south trending range typical of the Great Basin. On the east side of the mountains the main ridge breaks into sheer cliffs. These mountains rise from a low point of 4,200 feet to 7,700 feet and offer outstanding views. The Wilderness is generally accessible year-round and offers open-country hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting, photography, and nature study amid rolling sagebrush-grassland benches, steep juniper woodland slopes, and rugged limestone outcrops. The arid high desert environment supports a diverse population of wildlife including mule deer, raptors, snakes, lizards, coyotes, badgers, and mountain lion. The lower benches of the mountains provide year-round habitat for antelope, and bighorn sheep occasionally pass through from surrounding ranges. Temperatures are typically around 100 in the summer and below freezing in the winter, and the Cedar Mountains receive about 15 inches of annual precipitation.