Mount Timpanogos via Aspen Grove

The Aspen Grove trail is shorter but a bit steeper than the Timpanooke Trail. This usually means that fewer people take this route, and on an extremely popular mountain like Timpanogos, that’s a good thing. The trail is 14 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 5,140 feet. 

The hike begins at the Aspen Grove parking lot and shares a trailhead with Stewart Falls. Take the trail heading west and after about a mile, the path begins to switch-back up a series of rocky terraces, each one with its own outstanding waterfall. After a long traverse, the trail returns to switch-backs and waterfalls with a steady incline. If you’re summitting in late July or early August, you will be greeted with a thick carpet of wildflowers when you gain the saddle and enter Timpanogos Basin. 

Enjoy a break at glacier-fed Emerald Lake and check out the rustic Timpanogos Shelter built in 1959. The path continues west staying above a cliff band and then meets up with the Timpanooke Trail where you will probably encounter other hikers. The last mile is a steep scramble to the summit. Be on the lookout for mountain goats that like to hang out at these altitudes.

If you’re early enough in the year, and you’re feeling extra adventurous, from the summit, follow the path heading south. It will take you to the top of the glacier above Emerald Lake. This is the fast way down! Be sure to stay in control as you glissade, people are injured here every year. 

Enjoy the hike to the bottom knowing you just conquered an 11,752 foot peak and lived to tell about it.