Hard Hikes Near Provo

Timpanogos Cave Trail · American Fork Canyon

~3 mi round trip  ·  1,092 ft  ·  3-4 hrs with the tour  ·  Ticketed  ·  Dogs: not allowed

A steep paved climb to a cave entrance, and the only hike on this list where the trail is a prerequisite for a timed ticket rather than the destination itself. Dogs are not permitted on the trail.

What that number describes: The paved 1.5-mile trail from the visitor center to the cave entrance at 6,730 ft, and back. The Park Service describes it as strenuous.

Season: Seasonal operation and the cave tour is ticketed and timed. The hike up is the qualifying event -- you have to be at the entrance for your slot.

Y Mountain Trail · Provo

~2.2-2.4 mi round trip  ·  ~1,100 ft  ·  1.5-2 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The short, steep, relentless climb to the letter above campus -- 1,100 feet in about a mile. The small trailhead lot fills fast. Portable restroom at the trailhead, no water.

What that number describes: The trailhead at the end of E 820 N up to the Y and back. Continuing past the Y toward the ridge is a longer trip.

Where sources disagree: About 1.1 miles each way, but published round trips run 2.2 to 2.4 miles depending on whether the measurement stops at the base or the top of the Y.

Season: Exposed and hot in summer; go at sunrise. Usable in winter with traction.

Silver Lake (alpine) · American Fork Canyon

~4.5 mi round trip  ·  ~1,200-1,450 ft  ·  3-4 hrs  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: on leash

An alpine lake at around 9,000 feet under White Baldy and the Pfeifferhorn, and one of the genuinely spectacular places in the range. Easy walking through aspen for the first half, rockier and steeper for the second.

What that number describes: From the north side of Silver Lake Flat Reservoir, about 2.2 miles one way into the Lone Peak Wilderness. Distinct from the flat loop around the reservoir itself.

Where sources disagree: Gain is in the range of 1,200 to 1,450 feet depending on whose track you believe. And the name is shared by four different lakes -- see the Silver Lake Flat entry.

How this one sorts: the figure used for ordering is the midpoint of the published range shown above, not a published number in its own right.

Season: Alpine Loop access closes for winter. The stream crossing runs high in early season, and the Forest Service posts changing conditions for this site through the season.

Kyhv Peak · Provo

~4.5 mi round trip  ·  ~2,800 ft  ·  3-4 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The peak on the skyline directly above Provo, renamed in 2022 and still widely listed under the old name. Steep and sustained, with the whole valley below you the entire way up.

What that number describes: The figures this site's own hiking roundup publishes for the peak itself. The ROAD of the same name is a separate feature and its length is quoted from 4.4 to 28 miles depending on which section is being measured.

Where sources disagree: Four different features carried the retired name, and the guide sorts out all of them: the peak, the road, the overlook and the trail. The US Board on Geographic Names renamed the peak Kyhv Peak in September 2022; the old name still appears on some maps, apps and older signage.

Where these figures come from: this guide — the dedicated Kyhv Peak page does not publish them.

Season: Kyhv Peak Road closes in winter, which removes the short approaches entirely.

Dry Canyon · Lindon & Orem

~5.7 mi round trip  ·  ~2,900 ft  ·  2-4 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The most convenient hard workout in the north valley: a sustained climb up the west face below Timpanogos with the whole valley opening behind you. Orem's 2000 North and Lindon's 200 South are the same road, which is why directions to it name two different cities and both are right.

What that number describes: The common out-and-back day-hike version from the paved lot at the end of Dry Canyon Drive. Forest Service trail #049 continues far past this for miles, which is why some trip reports sound like a different hike.

Where sources disagree: Trail #049 runs 0.6 miles to the Curly Springs junction, another 1.9 to Little Baldy, a quarter mile more to the Big Baldy saddle, then north 2.2 miles to the Battle Creek trail and a final 0.8 to the Timpooneke Road. Reports describing that connector are not describing the day hike.

Season: Largely exposed -- go early. The name is only mostly accurate; in wet years there is water in the creek.

Slate Canyon · South Provo

3.7 mi one way (7.4 mi out and back)  ·  ~3,300 ft for the full canyon  ·  Half day  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The quiet one, mostly because it does not lead anywhere obvious -- no waterfall, no lake, no summit at a reasonable distance. A steady climb up an old road bed through oak, then pine, then aspen and meadow. Carries reliable springs, which is unusual on this side of the valley.

What that number describes: Slate Canyon Trail #061 out and back: the Forest Service describes it heading east for 2.7 miles then climbing north for another mile to meet Slide Canyon Trail #062.

Where sources disagree: Quoted at 3.7, 7.5, 7.7 and 9 miles depending on which endpoint and which direction is being measured. The dedicated guide covers all four figures and where each comes from.

Season: Starts from the valley floor, so it is reachable when the canyon roads are closed -- which is exactly why south-side locals use it for conditioning.

Mount Timpanogos · American Fork Canyon / Aspen Grove

~14-16.7 mi round trip  ·  ~4,400-5,600 ft  ·  8-12 hrs  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: on leash

The valley's defining objective and the one people most often underestimate. Timpooneke is gradual and basin-to-basin and usually busier; Aspen Grove is steeper and passes the waterfalls and Emerald Lake.

What that number describes: Timpooneke from a ~7,360 ft trailhead: ~14-15 miles and ~4,400-4,700 ft. Aspen Grove starts lower at ~6,900 ft and runs ~14-16.7 miles with ~4,900-5,600 ft, steeper, with waterfalls and the lake.

Where sources disagree: Two trailheads, two genuinely different mountains' worth of numbers, and the guide tabulates them side by side rather than averaging them into one misleading figure.

Season: A snow-free window that is shorter than most people assume, and the Alpine Loop closes for winter.

Provo Peak · East of Provo

~3 mi RT high trailhead, ~13 mi RT from the valley  ·  ~6,800 ft from the valley  ·  10-12 hrs from the valley  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

At 11,068 feet, the mountain filling the skyline directly east of the city. The west ridge is a climber's path more than a graded trail, with real exposure near the top.

What that number describes: The Slate Canyon approach from the valley floor, which is the version most people can actually start from. From the west ridge trailhead at the top of Kyhv Peak Road it is about 1.5 miles up and roughly three miles round trip. NOTE: the dedicated Provo Peak guide publishes no distance or gain figure at all -- these numbers are read from this site's lesser-known-hikes guide, named in figuresFrom.

Where sources disagree: The clearest segment problem on the list: a three-mile round trip or a thirteen-mile round trip depending entirely on which trailhead you use. Same summit, entirely different day. Be certain which one a trip report is describing before you use its timing.

Where these figures come from: this guide — the dedicated Provo Peak page does not publish them.

Season: Kyhv Peak Road closes in winter. Once it does the short route is gone and the mountain has to be climbed from the valley floor, which is a serious winter objective rather than an afternoon.

Mount Nebo · South Utah County

Long -- varies by trailhead  ·  Varies by trailhead  ·  Full day  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The highest peak in the Wasatch Range, at the far south end of the county, and a genuinely full day from any trailhead. The Nebo Bench trail runs the east slopes at around 9,000 feet through basins that carry serious wildflowers at the right time of year.

Where sources disagree: Even the summit height is contested: 11,877, 11,928 and 11,933 feet are all defensible, because two of them are the south summit and two are different survey data. The Forest Service's own wilderness, ranger-district and byway pages all use 11,877, which is the south summit on the old survey.

Season: Reached from the Nebo Loop byway, roughly 24 miles from Payson to the signed Nebo Bench turning. The byway closes for winter.