Mount Timpanogos Wilderness

Part of the Wasatch Mountain Range, situated between American Fork Canyon on the north and Provo Canyon on the south, the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness offers abundant rugged terrain embellished with waterfalls and summer wildflowers. Forget-me-nots, alpine buttercups, bluebells, and columbine bloom in the high alpine meadows, and there are outstanding glacial cirques and moraines. Below the tree line are forests of aspen, Douglas fir, subalpine fir, limber pine, Gambel oak, maple, and chokecherry. You'll have an excellent chance of spotting Rocky Mountain goats in the Emerald Lake area, as well as mule deer, elk, and moose. In early summer the rapidly melting snow can make stream crossings dangerously high. As that flowing water melts the snow and ice beneath winter-created avalanche piles it often creates snow bridges, which should not be explored or played on — they may suddenly collapse. There are about 17 miles of maintained trails accessible from two trailheads, Timpooneke and Mount Timpanogos, and both lead to the summit of Mount Timpanogos at 11,753 feet. The stretch between Timpooneke and Aspen Grove is 12 miles long and passes through the heart of the area. Because use is high on Saturdays and holidays from July through mid-September, parking may not be available at either trailhead; hiking Sunday through Friday during that period avoids the congestion. All of this Wilderness is in Utah and is managed by the Forest Service. Congress designated it in 1984.