Trail Finder

A 607-foot two-tier waterfall reachable on flat pavement, which is why it is the most-visited natural feature in the county. Access has been free and staying free was an explicit argument for making it a state monument rather than a state park.

Season: The falls freeze into columns in a cold winter; Provo Canyon holds the highest concentration of ice climbing in the Salt Lake and Utah County area.

What these numbers describe: The paved Provo River Parkway walk from the falls-side parking area to the viewing area at the base. The steep dirt scramble above the pool is a different, harder proposition and is not what these numbers describe.

The paved spine of the valley's trail network, running from Utah Lake up through Provo Canyon. It is the reason Bridal Veil Falls can be reached by bike without a car.

Season: Plowed and usable in winter on the lower sections.

What these numbers describe: The full paved parkway end to end. Nobody walks all of it in one go; the number is there so the trail sorts with the long flat routes rather than the short ones.

Spring water surfacing through terraced pools, on boardwalk the whole way. The easiest genuinely scenic outing in the county for anyone who cannot manage uneven ground.

Season: Reached via the Alpine Loop, which closes for winter. Sits around 6,300 ft, so it runs cooler than the valley floor.

What these numbers describe: The interconnected boardwalk loops at the springs themselves, not the 6.5-mile drive in from the Alpine Loop turnoff.

The shortest real payoff in Utah County -- a waterfall dropping through a cobbled alcove, with stream crossings on plank bridges that small children treat as the point of the outing. There are two trails at the pullout and people start up the wrong one.

The disagreement: When the Nebo Loop gate closes for the season you park at the gate and walk the road in, commonly reported at around 1.3 miles each way, turning a half-mile stroll into roughly a 3.5-mile outing with real elevation added. The closure is snow-dependent at both ends and the dates move year to year.

Season: Nebo Loop closes for winter. The Pole Creek Fire in 2018 burned a large area on this side of the loop and standing dead timber is still visible.

What these numbers describe: Summer access, driving to the trailhead roughly seven miles up Payson Canyon. The winter version is a different hike entirely -- see the note.

A drive-to reservoir with a flat loop around it, good for a stroller-aged family or a paddleboard. Moose are common in the surrounding meadows.

The disagreement: Four different lakes share versions of this name: Silver Lake Flat Reservoir (drive-to), Silver Lake (alpine, above it), Silver Glance Lake (higher again), and an unrelated Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon an hour north, which is what most search results are actually about.

Season: Alpine Loop access closes for winter. The Forest Service lists 4x4 as recommended for the washboarded dirt road in.

What these numbers describe: The flat walking loop around the drive-to reservoir. This is NOT Silver Lake, the alpine lake above it, which is a separate and much harder entry in this directory.

The most family-friendly trail on the quiet half of the network, up a broad side canyon along a stream, crossing it repeatedly on wooden bridges. Thick maple and chokecherry low down giving way to aspen and pine.

The disagreement: Published distances run from about 3.5 to about 4.3 miles and gain is quoted anywhere from roughly 450 to just over 1,000 feet. That spread is not sloppiness: the loop can be extended or cut short at several junctions. Provo City separately lists a 5.8-mile continuation through to the Rock Canyon trail, which is a different trip.

Season: Shaded for most of its length, which matters more here than almost anywhere else in the valley -- the exposed foothill trails become unpleasant after about ten in the morning in July.

What these numbers describe: The standard family loop from Big Springs Park. The midpoint of the published spread is used for sorting because the canyon carries several roughly parallel paths and the outing is assembled from whichever you choose.

The most-hiked short waterfall in the county, and the trail more people in this valley have stood at the bottom of than any other. Narrow tread past the halfway point, shared with horses and bikes.

The disagreement: This trail carries two legitimate difficulty ratings and the guide explains why both are right. Filed under moderate here because the sustained grade catches out people who arrive expecting a stroll.

Season: Winter is the version most people never see. Microspikes from roughly November through March.

What these numbers describe: Kiwanis Park trailhead to the falls and back. Going further up the canyon past the falls is a longer and steeper trip.

The valley's best short waterfall hike, and one of its most heavily used trailheads -- the lot fills on summer Saturdays. Dogs are allowed on leash here, which is not true everywhere on this mountain.

The disagreement: Every source gives a different distance for this hike, and the guide opens by explaining why. The signs at the trailhead are the single most useful thing on that page -- the neighboring path is the twelve-mile Aspen Grove route up Timpanogos, and people start up it by mistake.

Season: Reached via UT-92 past the fee station. The Alpine Loop closes for winter.

What these numbers describe: The Aspen Grove trailhead out and back. The Sundance chairlift is an entirely different way in with different numbers.

The best view-to-effort ratio in Utah Valley, on a bench that is a literal ancient beach. No shade to speak of -- plan around the sun, not around the distance. Land management changes underneath you as you walk.

The disagreement: It is not one trail. It is a set of fragments on the ancient lake bench, which is why published stats for it contradict each other. No single distance or gain is given here because none would be true; the guide covers the segments individually.

Season: Effectively year-round on the bench, which is unusual here. Mud in spring thaw, and there is a winter wildlife-area caveat on one section.

A paved trail on top of a buried aqueduct, running the length of the north valley with no climbing at all. The default long, flat, wheels-friendly route in Utah County.

The disagreement: Published as 17, 18, 18.3, 20 and 20.8 miles by sources of comparable authority. The disagreement has a cause: the buried Provo River Aqueduct runs roughly 21 miles to the Point of the Mountain, and the trail sits on top of it for about 17 and stops in Lehi.

Season: Paved and flat the whole way.

What these numbers describe: The Mountainland Association of Governments description: 17 miles from 800 North in Orem to Timpanogos Highway in Lehi.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

Provo's best canyon hike and its most flexible one -- a limestone gorge that narrows and earns its name half a mile in, with the crowds stopping well before the mid-canyon. Restroom and drinking fountain at the trailhead. Also the county's best-known climbing.

The disagreement: The distance depends entirely on the segment, and the guide answers that honestly rather than picking one figure. Difficulty changes as you walk, and so do the rules -- leash law in the city park, Forest Service rules above it.

Season: Year-round. Two lots with roughly 71 marked spaces plus street overflow.

What these numbers describe: Trailhead at the end of N Temple Dr to the upper basin and back. The canyon works equally well as a thirty-minute walk to the narrows, which is what most visitors actually do.

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.

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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

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

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

What these numbers describe: 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.

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.

The disagreement: 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.

The third paved spine, and the one that turns a local network into a regional one: from the Murdock Trail's north end you can join it and keep going into Salt Lake County. Quieter than the other two, past wetlands and new subdivisions with a long view back to Timpanogos.

Season: Low, open and paved, with no canyon gate to close behind you.

What these numbers describe: The Utah County portion only. Our paved-trails guide describes it as roughly the first ten miles, from Inlet Park in Saratoga Springs through Lehi and Thanksgiving Point. The whole trail runs well over forty miles to Davis County, which is a different number describing a different walk.

The most popular hot springs near Provo: a canyon walk with several creek crossings, ending at pools that step down a hillside beside a waterfall. The soak itself costs nothing, but the trailhead sits inside a fee area, which is the distinction people miss until they are parked.

The disagreement: Our own guide carries both 4.6 miles and 'approximately 4.5' on the same page, the body and an FAQ disagreeing by a tenth of a mile. The filter sorts on 4.6 and the label prints both, because a tenth of a mile is not worth picking a winner over.

Season: Diamond Fork's road is gated seasonally and the closure moves with conditions rather than sitting on a fixed date. There is more than one gate on that road, and a winter attempt is a much longer trip on snow.

What these numbers describe: The out-and-back from the Fifth Water trailhead to the pools. Our guide also states the hike in as 2.3 miles, which is the same walk counted one way.

An alpine reservoir with a sandy beach, picnic grounds and calm water, reached on paved road up the North Fork. The canyon's lowest-effort, highest-reward stop. Our guide covers the 2016 sediment release and what the state's own health assessment concluded about getting in the water.

Season: At about 6,400 feet, spring arrives here weeks after it reaches the valley floor and the aspens turn earlier than they do in town.

What these numbers describe: The drive-to shoreline: the beach, the picnic ground and the walking around the water. Our guide publishes the reservoir's elevation at roughly 6,400 feet but no loop distance, so this row carries none. The leash flag is read from our dog-hikes guide, which covers Tibble Fork in the same section as Silver Lake Flat.

Battle Creek's longer, harder sibling two canyons north: a trail climbing a narrow canyon on a ledge, with a waterfall partway up and a cliff-edge stretch that thrills older kids and unnerves some adults. It connects on top with Battle Creek for a loop locals treat as a half-day.

Season: A valley-floor front-range trailhead like Battle Creek's two canyons south, so it is reachable all year. Our coverage does not describe winter conditions on the ledge section, and a cliff-edge stretch under snow is a different proposition from the same stretch in June.

What these numbers describe: The ledge trail climbing from the Grove Creek Drive trailhead. Our Battle Creek guide publishes around eight miles and well over two thousand feet for the GROVE CREEK AND BATTLE CREEK LOOP, which is both canyons joined on top, not this one on its own. That figure is why the difficulty here reads hard, and it is deliberately not printed as this row's distance. Fee and leash are read from our Pleasant Grove guide, which records the trailhead as family- and dog-friendly; no posted rule on the upper trail was verified for this row.

The byway's main stop and the one people spend actual time at. Payson up to the lakes and back is a comfortable couple of hours from Provo and still buys you the climb, the views and somewhere to eat lunch without committing to the full drive to Nephi.

Season: Reached from the Nebo Loop byway, which closes for winter and is not UDOT-maintained, so its status has to be checked separately from the Alpine Loop's. Our guide also records that individual sites inside the recreation area can be shut in a given season for maintenance or conditions.

What these numbers describe: The developed recreation area about twelve miles up from Payson: paved trails, improved picnic sites, camping and fishing. Our byway guide gives the DRIVE distance, never a trail distance, so this row carries none.

Red rock eroded into pinnacles and spires forming a small amphitheater in the middle of a green Wasatch canyon, reached by a short paved trail and an observation deck. The one stop on the byway that works with small children or with anyone who does not want a hike at all. Often called Utah Valley's Little Grand Canyon, which oversells the scale considerably.

Season: On the Nebo Loop byway, which closes for winter.

What these numbers describe: The paved path and observation deck at the pullout. Our byway guide describes this walk in minutes rather than in distance, so this row carries no mileage.

A paved loop around the pond in the middle of Salem, with a fishing dock, a swim area and the city's park facilities on its edge. Our paved-trails guide calls it the south county's most pleasant short walk. Salem was originally Pond Town and the pond is still the middle of everything.

Season: Valley floor in the middle of town, so nothing closes behind you.

What these numbers describe: The paved walking loop around the pond. Two of our guides describe it, the paved-trails guide and the south-valley guide, and neither publishes a distance, so this row carries none.

The valley's beginner singletrack: wide, well maintained and forested, in the same South Fork drainage as Big Springs Hollow. Our guide calls it the ideal first real mountain bike trail -- enough dirt to feel like an adventure without the technical features that put beginners off. It is shared use, so walkers meet bikes on it.

Season: Dirt in the South Fork of Provo Canyon, so it rides and walks in the snow-free months. This is an editorial estimate of the season, not a live condition -- the canyon conditions page is the live surface.

What these numbers describe: The round-trip singletrack our mountain-biking guide describes, from the trailhead about a mile past Big Springs Park. The guide publishes these figures as a ride and files the trail under its beginner heading; it does not publish a separate walking time, so the time here is this directory's estimate for the same distance on foot.

Six hundred feet of climbing packed into 2.2 miles, which is why our guide files it as intermediate despite the short length. It is a connector between two older loops rather than a destination, and its whole argument is the panorama at the top -- six named landmarks from one vantage. Short enough for a ride before work.

Season: Dirt singletrack at elevation, so it is a snow-free-months trail. Editorial estimate, not a live condition.

What these numbers describe: The loop as our mountain-biking guide measures it, filed under its intermediate heading. The guide does NOT name a trailhead or a city for this one -- it locates the trail only by the two loops it connects, Scott's Pond and the Boneyard. The area shown here is read from the panorama the guide describes (Timpanogos, Provo Peak, Cascade, Provo Canyon, Deer Creek and the Heber Valley from a single vantage), which puts it on high ground east of Provo. It is not a figure the source states.

A classic local loop in Provo Canyon with Timpanogos to the north and Cascade Mountain to the south, built around a marked race course. Six miles and eight hundred feet is a real ride rather than a spin, and the side trails off the marked course let regulars extend it without driving anywhere else.

Season: Dirt singletrack in Provo Canyon, ridden in the snow-free months. Editorial estimate, not a live condition.

What these numbers describe: The marked loop between the upper and lower mountain slopes in Provo Canyon, filed under our guide's intermediate heading. The guide notes side trails branching off the marked course for longer rides; those extensions have no published distance and are not what this number describes.