Scenic vistas abound for drivers and hikers

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Oct 1, 2003 | by Lynn Arave Deseret Morning News

The Wasatch Mountains abound in outdoor treasures -- campgrounds, ski resorts, hiking trails, scenic drives and reservoirs and lakes.

In scenic drives alone, there's the 32-mile Nebo Loop paved road, a scenic byway, plus the Alpine Loop from American Fork to Provo canyons and Logan Canyon's 41-mile scenic byway. Ogden Canyon and Mill Creek Canyon are two other often overlooked but stunning drives. Autumn brings colors to the hillsides, too.

Highlighting all the points of interest in the Wasatch Mountains would require a book. Here's just a sampling of some of the more obscure spots that are often overlooked.

Ben Lomond Peak -- The 9,712-foot peak north of Ogden is majestic and inspired the founder of Paramount Pictures to create his mountain landmark logo. Willard Peak at 9,763 feet is not Weber County's highest but its most picturesque.

Chinatown -- On private land, east of Croydon, this mini-Cedar Breaks formation proves the Wasatch Mountains have a little bit of southern Utah's redrock country. Nearby Devil's Slide, another eyepopper, is readily visible along I-84, as is Devil's Gate, a few miles east of the mouth of Weber Canyon.

Francis Peak -- Not directly accessible as it was before 9/11, a dirt road tops out at 9,300 feet here and leads to campgrounds, the Smith Creek Lakes and many other backcountry delights.

Logan Canyon -- Well-known on its own, but side trips here include the Wind Cave, Logan Cave, Jardine Juniper (Utah's oldest living thing), Tea Pot Rock, Lions Head formation, Old Ephraim's Grave, the rugged Gog and Magog Peaks and much more.

Mount Nebo -- Actually a triple-peak summit; the north peak is tallest at 11,928 feet. The South Nebo, where the hiking trail ends, is 11,877 feet above sea level.

Soda Point, Idaho -- At the north end of the Wasatch, volcanic rock gives way for the Bear River to do a 180-degree loop southward toward the Great Salt Lake.

Twin Peaks -- There are at least three sets of these namesakes in the Wasatch Mountains. The tallest are not the Twins just east of Sandy but rather the Twin Peaks south of Snowbird at 11,489 feet.

Willard Spires -- One of the best visual delights in the Wasatch are three rocky spires that tower above Willard. The next time you're on I-15 by Willard Bay, look eastward to enjoy these spectacular formations, or better yet, a Willard Basin hiking path passes right above them.

Wasatch gems at a glance

Hiking trails -- Hundreds of them: most notably, trail to Timpanogos Peak (commonly described as "the best hike in Utah"), the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and Ensign Peak trail (first hike in Utah).

National Monuments -- One: Timpanogos Cave National Monument.

Scenic byways (paved roads) -- Seven: Bear Lake, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Ogden River, Logan Canyon, Nebo Loop and Provo Canyon.

Scenic backways (usually nonpaved roads) -- Eight: Bountiful/ Farmington Loop, Trappers Loop Road, Willard Peak Road, Hardware Ranch Road, Alpine Scenic Loop, Cascade Springs, Guardsman Pass Road and Pioneer Memorial Backway.

Ski resorts -- Twelve: Beaver Mountain, Snowbasin, Nordic Valley, Powder Mountain, Snowbird, Brighton, Alta, Solitude, Deer Valley, The Canyons, Park City and Sundance.

State parks -- Seven: Bear Lake, Deer Creek Reservoir, East Canyon Reservoir, Jordanelle Reservoir, Lost Creek Reservoir, Rockport Reservoir and Wasatch Mountain State Park. (Total number depends on how you define the Wasatch's boundaries.)

Wilderness areas -- Seven: Mount Nebo, Mount Timpanogos, Lone Peak, Mount Olympus, Twin Peaks, Wellsville and Mount Naomi (Cache County).

E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com