Big Baldy Summit is a 6.9 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Pleasant Grove, Utah that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Know Before You Go. This trail accesses or travels through potential avalanche terrain. For more information and to read the daily avalanche forecast please visit: https://utahavalanchecenter.org Hike from Dry Canyon to the summit of Big Baldy.
This was a fun trail and the views of Timp were fantastic. Once you get up to the top, you have a beautiful panorama of the valley and all the surrounding mountains. Took me about 4 hours round trip. Very steep at times but plenty of places to stop and enjoy the views. I barely saw anyone else on the trail, which was nice. The gate up to the parking area is closed, but I parked on the street right at the gate and didn’t have any issues. Many others were doing the same. Also, be prepared for sloppy trail conditions. The first half was 50/50 on mud and ice, then a good snow pack once you hit the saddle.
Hiked to the summit on Jan 15, 2021. Trail was packed all the way to the summit. Will need some spikes/crampons after the first 1.5 miles. The summit ridge just past the baldy saddle is not nearly as packed as the rest of the trail but still easy to follow. Didn't need snowshoes but if you step off the trail you'll sink into about a foot+ of snow. The summit ridge is windy and much colder than the rest of the trail, so be prepared for that. Been on the Baldy summit many times, but this was my first time in winter. Loved it.
Beautiful views from summit. Steadily steep. Get past the cliffs and the amount of trail users goes way down. Will go again.
Very smoky today. Indeed the descent is long and quite steep which is tough on the muscles. Worse than going up. I forgot to switch off my all trails. It’s not really 20 miles.
Not an easy hike as it’s consistently uphill and at times gravely and steep (suggest sturdy hiking boots and poles - to avoid slipping especially on the downhill - because the weather has been so dry), but ultimately worth it because of the views higher up and at the saddle and summit, and the fall colors right now in full brilliance. Took us 4 hours roundtrip.
the view is great. this is a difficult hike, easier with poles. it is steep coming down on gravel at times. the app lost gps, as you can see by the "short cut" returning. it's 7 miles that took us 5 hours. did find a nice place for a picnic just off the peak in some trees. glad to have done it, won't do it again.
Weekday midday meant for hardly any people out for my first Big Baldy summit. Great trail, and great weather!
Beautiful views of Timp on the backside and amazing view of the valley at the summit. We followed the suggestions to avoid the steep portion of the loop and hiked in and out on the backside. It was still steep, would suggest hiking poles for those who struggle keeping their footing on the way down.
So awesome! Took us just over 3 hours not including the 20 minutes at the top. My watch clocked 7.2 miles. So beautiful! On and off hills and flat until 1.5 where it’s a pretty good climb until 2.6ish at the beautiful meadow. The views of the mountains you normally see in the area are amazing and a different angle than you’re used to. We started at 6:30 so the whole way up was without sun but the whole was back was sunny. Slippery downhill. Would recommend!
This hike is a BEAST. Amazing views at the top, but you've gotta earn it. did Squaw Peak the week before this hike and Big Baldy makes Squaw Peak look like a piece of cake. The first 3.4 miles of this hike is pure uphill. No breaks. Once you hit the ridge it flattens for a few minutes and then you have one more steep hill to the summit. Going down isn't the most fun either due to how steep the entire hike is. Bring lots of water and don't hike this on an empty stomach. This baby is a WORKOUT. Giving a 4 because while it was nice to knock this hike off my list, the ROI for the view (while still amazing) isn't the same as something like Squaw Peak.
First third of the trail is pretty steep, the middle part levels out to a steady incline and the last part up to the saddle before heading to the summit is quite steep. Nice views at the top. I prefer to continue hiking down the back side of Dry Canyon trail to Battle Creek or Grove Creek.