Don't worry. It's only been 2 years (to the day) since I last posted. My mom, hubs, and I went on a beautiful hike today. It was free fee day in all of the National Forests, so we wanted to pick a hike that would normally cost to gain access. American Fork Canyon is a beautiful canyon that I haven't been able to hike in before. My husband and I had our engagement pictures taken at Tibble Creek Reservoir. So gorgeous!
I am 6 months pregnant, so I needed to choose a hike that was fairly easy and not too long. We started later in the day that intended, but it was still nice and there were shady patches along the way.
Distance: 2.5 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Trailhead: Timpanooke Trailhead, American Fork Canyon
Best time of year: May-June
Note: It is shady in areas, but wear sunscreen and make sure to have plenty of water. We went around 1:00 pm and it got very hot and had sunburns by the time we were done.
Finding the trailhead was very easy. If you are coming from I-15, follow these directions:
1. Take Exit 284, UT-92/Timpanogos Highway.
2. Head East, toward Highland/Alpine.
3. This road will take you straight in to American Fork Canyon. After the entry gate, continue on this road for approximately 7 miles. You will come to a stop sign. Turn right toward the Timpanooke Trailhead. Less then .5 miles after turning, you will see the parking lot on the left side.
From the parking lot, you will see the restrooms and information stands. The trail is directly behind the information stands. Once you are on the trail, you will see a wooden sign. Go to the right...
... then you will shortly reach this sign and follow the trail to the left, just past the volunteer ranger station.
The view from the parking lot. The
summit of Mount Timpanogos is there
in the distance. We are not quite that Here we go! Ready to conquer
ambitious today. Here we go. We are the mountain.
You can barely see the falls in the distance. This is about .5 miles in to the hike, based on a pregnant woman's estimate.
Hi Mom! Looking good.
Hi Hubsband! Hike on!
There were so many beautiful flowers on the way. I don't know many of them, but I do know that first one is a dandelion. It was very pretty, and kind of a joke, to take a picture of it. The pink ones are sweet pea, then columbine, and I think the reddish-orange one is Indian Paintbrush. So beautiful!
Notice the log and stones blocking the path? If you follow the trail beyond this obstruction, it takes you to the bottom of the falls. We found out later that if you go to the right, instead of past the log, you will make it to the higher falls, to the right of the big section. We were already on our way down and too tired by the time we found this out, but next time, want to head up there too. (I took this picture without warning him.)
View from the falls.
We made it and had lunch sitting on the rocks. To get over to this area, there are a bunch of large rocks to climb over. This is probably difficult for little kids, but still manageable. We saw a few younger kids, maybe 3-4 years old climbing with their parents' help. And there were parents carrying kids on their backs. It works.
We were lucky to see the falls so full and flowing, because there has been so much rain the last few weeks. The prime time to hike here is probably May to beginning June. The falls dry to a trickle as summer comes on strong.
Disclaimer: We are not professional hikers by any means and the information in this blog is our opinions and information we gathered from our experience and research of other websites.
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