Difficulty: Most Difficult ♦︎
Length: 16.7 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 5,100 feet
Dog Friendly: Yes
Trailhead coordinates (copy + paste): 40.4047, -111.6054
Directions: Turn off of US Highway 89 onto Alpine Loop Road. Continue for 5 miles, passing Sundance Resort, and then turn left into the parking lot. The trail starts here and is easy to follow all the way to the summit, with some signs along the way. Just make sure to follow the signs to Mount Timpanogos and not Stewart Falls, which shares the same parking lot. Note: you will need to bring $6 of cash to purchase a pass upon entering Aspen Grove.
The less traveled of two routes that lead to the 11,752-foot summit of Mount Timpanogos, the trail from Aspen Grove is a beautiful and rewarding one. Slightly longer and with more elevation gain than its counterpart the Timpooneke Trail, this path is my personal favorite. The trail begins in a grove of aspens as a partially-paved, crumbling path, and turns to dirt after a mile when it passes by a beautiful waterfall. From here, a series of long switchbacks lead to the top of the ridge, from where you can already see the summit shack. This section is long but not steep, so there is plenty of time to enjoy the view over the canyon below. Just past the top of the ridge you'll be rewarded with Emerald Lake, where some people choose to camp overnight. This route can easily be done as a day hike though, especially if you start early to beat the crowds and the heat (the trail is very exposed with almost no shade). After the lake, the trail passes through a huge rock field around the base of the mountain, leading a long way past the summit and around to the other side. A short and slippery path leads to the saddle, where you'll connect with hikers from the other trail. The last stretch to the summit winds up the backside of the mountain, overlooking Provo and Utah Lake, before concluding at the mountain's century-old summit shack.
