The Uinta Mountains are one of the few mountain ranges in North America that run east to west rather than north to south. Within the Uinta Mountains are about 2000 lakes, and some 900-1000 are full of trout. Along with the San Juans in Colorado, the Uintas have more contiguous area above timberline than any other area in the Continental United States. This is a beautiful area with many lakes, meadows, wildflowers, and some rugged peaks. Solitude is usually easy to come by once you leave the popular fishing holes behind.

Mount Emmons is the 4th highest peak in Utah, after Kings Peak, South Kings Peak, and Gilbert Peak. Mount Emmons isn't really rugged, but it's a massive mountain and is recognizable for miles around. The peak is a 30 mile round trip hike from the nearest road. Those not familiar with the Uintas may be surprized to hear that Mount Emmons is still one (out of 19) of the closest 13'ers in Utah to any road.

Two other peaks will be breifly mentioned on this page. �South Mount Emmons� will also be mentioned on this page since it has 270 feet of prominence. The Dry Gulch Route (see the route page) passes over South Emmons. The same route also passes over another important peak of Flat Top Benchmark, a ranked 12'er.

One thing that makes Utah's 13'ers different, then say the Colorado 14'ers, is that the distances from the nearest roads are usually much greater for the Utah 13'ers. Gilbert is actually the closest 13'er in Utah to any road, but it is still 20 miles from the nearest road round-trip.

Utah's 12,000+ Foot Peaks With 200+ Feet Prominence

Utah's 12,000+ Foot Peaks With 300+ Feet Prominence

Mt. Emmons (2nd from the left) from the SW on May 31 2008.

Getting There

Uinta River Route:

First drive to the town of Roosevelt, which is along US Highway 40. From Roosevelt, turn north on State Highway 121. Follow State Highway 121 north to the small town of Neola. From Neola follow the road due north and eventually it curves into the Uinta River Canyon at a power plant. Continue along the main road while following the river all the way past the U-Bar Ranch and to the trailhead at the end of the road.

Swift Creek Route:

First drive to the town of Duchene, which is along US Highway 40. From Duchene, turn north onto State Highway 87. Follow State Highway 87 until it joins with State Highway 134 (this is where state Highway 87 heads due east instead of continuing north) between milepost 15 and 16. Follow State Highway 134 north to the little town of Mountain Home. Where State Highway 134 begins to head due east at Mountain Home, Continue north on the Moon Lake Road. After five miles, turn east on the Yellowstone River Road and to the Yellowstone River Power Plant. Continue along the Yellowstone River road to the trailhead at the end of the road, passing the Yellowstone River Dude Ranch and two campgrounds along the way.

Dry Gulch Trailhead:

From the Yellowstone River Power Plant mentioned above, drive north along the Yellowstone River Road to the first major road heading east (right). With a map in hand, follow this gravel road east to Dry Gulch. From Dry Gulch, turn left and follow the road north through Dry Gulch to its end.

North slopes of ridgeline north of Emmons (south of Painter Basin) from Upper Uinta River drainage (August 1995).

Routes Overview

The below information is meant to be an overview only, so for more details, see the route pages.

Uinta River Route

This is the easiest route to the summit of Mount Emmons. From the trailhead, follow the trail north along the Uinta River. After about 3 miles, you will reach a junction. You will turn left here and onto the Chain Lakes Trail. Follow the trail, steep in places to the Chain Lakes Basin. There are several possibilities for climbing Mount Emmons from the Chain Lakes Basin or the Atwood Lake Basin, but I believe the route described is the easiest. Leave the trail at 4th Chain Lake and follow the stream feeding the lake into the basin before Oke Doke Lake and two ponds. Get on the east ridge of Mount Emmons, which is located to the south of the ponds where ever convenient ad follow the ridge to the summit of Emmons. The route has 2450 feet of altitude gain over two miles from 4th Chain Lake. The total distance from trailhead to summit is about 23.5 miles round trip with 5640 feet elevation gain. It is possible to climb Mount Emmons from Lake Atwood, which is the next basin beyond the Chain Lakes, but this is a longer route. See the route page for more details.

Swift Creek Route

From the trailhead at the Swift Creek Campground, follow the trail north. After just a short distance, you will reach a junction. Take a right here on the Swift Creek Trail. After Deer Lake, continue on the trail and after .75 miles, you will come to a junction. Turn right here on the trail posted for Timothy Lakes. Continue along the trail to another junction. Turn right again, staying on the trail posted for Timothy Lakes. East Timothy Lake is reached after 1.2 miles. There are several possible routes up Mount Emmons from the Timothy Lakes Basin. All are very steep. The route described here is just one possibility. From East Timothy Lakes, aim for the pass NW of Emmons and marked 12,567 on the topo map. One the base of the ridge is reached, scramble up the very steep boulder-strewn ridge to the pass and scramble along the ridge to the summit. The total distance from the lake to the summit is 2.75 miles with 2440 feet elevation gain, but the last part up to the pass is very steep.

The total distance from the trailhead to the summit is about 25 miles round trip with 5440 feet elevation gain. See the route page for more details.

Mount Emmons from South Emmons.

Dry Gulch Route

This route is very seldom used and the trails marked on the map bear no resemblance to reality. The area has several long faded trails and a few old logging roads, but no marked trails. To complicate things, sometime before 1997, a huge storm caused a blow-down of several of the trees around the area south and east of Bollie Lake, which obscured what old trails there were. The route description will be rather brief as you must be able to route-find on your own to follow the route. A GPS comes in very handy in the forest.

From the trailhead follow the old track to Heller Lake. Rather than trying to find any of the old trails marked on the map, we found it easier to route-find over into the drainage that is west of Jefferson Park. Just head up the drainage through the forest and meadows to its head and a minor saddle at 10,402 feet. From the saddle, follow a route west along the trail marked on the 7.5 minute Bollie Lake topo map. The trail is completely covered by fallen trees from a blow-down from a huge storm. Bollie Lake is reached after 1.8 miles from the minor saddle.
From the lake, head north to the ridge by any convenient route, and then along the rocky ridge to the Flat Top Benchmark (12,194 feet), where a large cairn is located. This is 2.2 miles from the lake. Mount Emmons summit is reached in another 6 miles along the ridge. You will climb over several highpoints along the way. The total round trip distance from Bollie Lake to the summit is about 16.4 miles, all without a trail and with much boulder-hopping.

The total round trip distance from the trailhead to the summit of Mount Emmons is about 31 miles. See the route page for more and important details.

Kings-Emmons Ridge

This is a spectacular ridge run. Using the same standards that are used for the Colorado 14�ers, this ridge route has no less than eight 13�ers. This is the highest continuous ridge in Utah, one of the highest in the United States, and certainly the highest in the United States outside Colorado.

Briefly put, you will climb Kings Peak from the Uinta River or Swift Creek and follow the ridge all the way to Mount Emmons, where you will descend either the Uinta River or Swift Creek routes back to your vehicle. The route usually takes 4-5 days. See the route page for much more detail.

Mt. Emmons (far left), July 2001, taken near base of Kings Pk.

Red Tape

No permits are required.

When To Climb

Mid-July through Mid-September is the normal hiking season. In winter the road is opened to within 4 miles of the Swift Creek Trailhead. This is the only practical way in for a winter climb.

Emmons as seen from Kings Peak in late March.

Time Needed for Climb

Climbing Mount Emmons from any of the described routes is a three day trip. The entire Kings-Emmons Ridge will take 4-5 days to complete for most people.

The Uinta Basin (east) side of Mount Emmons as seen from Leidy Peak. October 1, 2005.

Camping

There are campgrounds at both the Swift Creek and Uinta River Trailhead. No reservations are needed. There are also many informal campsites near Dry Gulch.

There are many backcountry campsites along the trails. Some of the best ones for a are mentioned in the route desciptions.

Fishing

All lakes mentioned in the route descriptions, and also the Uinta River and Swift Creeks have great fishing.

Mountain Conditions

Information regarding the conditions for climbing Mount Emmons can be obtained from Wasatch-Cache National Forest, 8236 Federal Bldg., 125 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84128, (801)524-3900.

Weather Forecast for Central Uinta Mountains

Here are some average highs and lows from the 13,123 foot elevation (4000 meters) in the Uintas (about the same altitude as the summit):

MONTH	HIGH	LOW
JAN	11	-4
FEB	13	-2
MAR	16	1
APR	24	8
MAY	32	15
JUN	42	22
JUL	52	29
AUG	50	28
SEP	42	21
OCT	31	12
NOV	19	5
DEC	14	0

External Links

Utah 12,000+ foot peak with 300+ feet prominence
Peak list

Images



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