Where are all the red rocks and the shear red canyon walls? Where did all these pine and aspen trees come from? This can’t really be Utah - can it?

While the south east portion of Utah, Moab area in particular, may be a rock-crawlers Mecca, Utah is a state of vastly varied terrain with much more to offer than just the red rock canyons we are all accustomed to reading about. This trail run through American Fork Canyon was done on an early September Saturday, and yes, that is snow in the pictures. Measured "as the crow flies", the entrance to American Fork Canyon is a mere ten miles from the Provo/Orem area, and only about twenty-five miles from the Salt Lake City area.

The canyons in the Wasatch Mountains are numerous and offer unparalleled beauty. Unfortunately most are closed to motorized vehicles. American Fork Canyon is one of the last canyons left open, and it has four-wheeling opportunities to satisfy almost anyone. The canyon is a very popular weekend destination for many people. Whether you are just out for a picnic, or wanting to go fishing, hiking, camping, or four wheeling, this seems to be the place to be on summer weekends.

To get there, turn off of Interstate 15 at exit 287 and head east. Already you can see the narrow slot of a canyon that splits the 11,000-foot peaks to the north and south. After about seven miles you’ll reach the new tollbooth at the canyon entrance. After paying the day use fee, which helps to keep this canyon open to the public, and go another 4.5 miles. At that point turn left at the sign that points toward Tibble Fork Reservoir.

Once at Tibble Fork Reservoir you will have several options depending on your four-wheeling appetite. For the easier route, stay on the pavement for another mile, at which point you turn right onto the dirt road to Silver Lake. Three more miles and you’ll be at Silver Lake Flat - a popular fishing and canoeing destination. Continue across the creek that feeds Silver Lake and the fun begins on a 3 rated (my opinion) trail that ends seven miles later at about 11,000 feet of elevation. Unfortunately, shortly after crossing the creek there is a recent - and very serious - washout in the road that is bound to close this road very soon unless it receives major repairs soon. It was very unsettling driving around this almost twenty-foot shear vertical drop-off, while on a side slope that has the vehicle leaning right toward the edge! We were relieved to make it by intact. This is not recommended for wide vehicles!

Continuing on our way, the trail travels through thick Aspen forests as it climbs switchback after switchback working it’s way to the top of the canyon. It passes several abandoned mines with old mining equipment left scattered all over the hillside - relics from a bygone era.

When the trail finally ends at about 11,000, you can continue on foot for another 500 vertical feet to the summit of American Fork Twin Peaks. The panoramic view from there is astounding - as is the cold wind! You can look straight down on Snowbird and Alta ski resorts, or west to the Salt Lake Valley and west desert. Look to the north, south, and east, and you’ll find yourself nearly surrounded by 12,000-foot peaks! Bring a jacket!

Backing up a few miles - back to Tibble Fork - you have the more difficult trail option of turning right on the dirt road that is right at the reservoir. This road has many possible side trips that lead to many beautiful places such as Mary Ellen Gulch, Forest Lake, and Pittsburg Lake, but the most popular destination for four-wheelers is a side canyon called Mineral Basin. The left turn into Mineral Basin is clearly marked with a sign, and is just over 5 miles from the beginning of the dirt road at Tibble Fork Reservoir. After you make the turn into Mineral Basin, the trail quickly becomes very rocky and moderately steep. Overall, I would rate this trail a 3.5.

The difficulty level varies quite a bit depending on when the last time a "road crew" came through in their stock - and not very capable - SUV’s. These people toss (or winch) all the big rocks out of the trail, and fill in all the holes with smaller rocks. Luckily this group can’t make it on some of the areas more difficult runs, like the Pittsburg Lake trail, even with a little rock tossing.

The main Mineral Basin trail is not only extremely scenic, but if you are driving a stock, or semi-stock truck, you will find this trail to be a pretty good workout as well. We have seen numerous stock vehicles on this trail, many with inexperienced drivers behind the wheel that were getting all the four-wheeling they could handle. I would never recommend four-wheeling alone, but if you are going to do it, this is the place. Because of the popularity of this area you won’t likely be alone for long.

The trail has five or six main obstacles that are all unnamed (as far as I know). The first one is a rock garden about twenty five yards long. On this day most of the rocks had been thrown to the edge of the trail, so our group took twenty minutes or so to "rebuild" the trail. By the time we were done we had a nice challenge in front us that everyone enjoyed. Further along, the trail presents many steep climbs on loose rocky surfaces, some side hill, and several places that will really test your suspension articulation and leave you spinning two tires in mid air if you have no lockers. There are even several "waterfall" type obstacles that can definitely get your attention.

The trail ends in a large open alpine meadow surrounded by nearly 12,000-foot peaks, the perfect place for a lunch break before starting the trip back down. Regardless of the time of year, expect to see snow near the top. Even as early in the year as June you may be blazing tracks through large drifts blocking the trail.

The side trip to Pittsburg Lake is a steep climb up the east side of Mineral Basin canyon to a beautiful lake. The right turn off from the main Mineral Basin road to Pittsburg Lake is at a confusing intersection almost exactly one mile from the beginning of the Mineral Basin road. What makes this intersection a little vague is the number of campsites in the area and all the roads that interconnect them.

Looking up towards the lake from the bottom of Mineral Basin canyon, you would never imagine that there could possibly be a lake up there (or a road for that matter!), the canyon walls are just too steep! But there is a lake, and a road, and both are likely to be remembered for a while!

The trail barely travels a few hundred yards before you are faced with "The Wall". This obstacle is usually as far as most people get. In fact, if you have no lockers of any kind, even getting to The Wall will involve a lot of what seems to be a hopeless search for traction. The Wall is an almost vertical wall of rock over two feet tall that blocks the trail completely. However, the left side of The Wall can now be driven around fairly easy thanks to some judicial use of dynamite (at least that’s the rumor). Once past the wall it is only a mile or so to the lake, but it is a long steep, loose, and rocky climb. You will almost certainly need some type of limited slip or locker to make this climb. The trail is so loose and rocky that even with lockers forward progress seems almost impossible at times.

I’ve been to Pittsburg Lake five or six times over the last few years, and each time was a completely different experience. My first time The Wall was completely intact - and a very difficult challenge to cross. Once up the wall, the rest of the trail was still a questionable climb even with a rear ARB and a front TrueTrac.

The second time The Wall was really chewed up and I got high centered on it very badly - couldn’t go up or down. After winching myself up the wall, about a hundred yards later I came to a rock in the middle of the road that was too large to drive over. I nudged it with my tires until it was moved into line with the driver’s side tires. From this angle I thought I could cross it. However, after getting the front tire over it I found myself high centered on the rocker panel - and my rockers are 26 inches high! It took a while to get off of that rock. With no place to turn around, I backed down. The rest of the people in our group had seen enough for one day.

The last time I did this trail, The Wall had been made much easier, and the rest of the climb didn’t seem too bad either. Although I still had to use at least one ARB (I have two now) to make it without shredding the tires on the sharp broken rocks.