Alpine Pond Trail

Seasonal wildflowers decorate the meadows surrounding Alpine Pond on this short interpretive trail. 

Trail description

As one of two maintained trails in the monument, you are almost guaranteed to be sharing this trail with other hikers. Walk north from the parking lot through a lush field filled with fun-named flowers like showy goldeneye and Markagunt penstemon. Every year Cedar Breaks National Monument hosts the Wildflower Festival, usually during a few weeks in July, with activities and programs highlighting the beautiful blooms. Check iTunes for a free app available for download that can help you identify flowers along the trail.

The hike starts by paralleling UT 148, with the road in sight until you reach a junction a few hundred feet down the trail. You can hike the loop in either direction, taking the lower or upper trail first. Turning left on the Lower Trail brings you clockwise around Alpine Pond, which is the direction of this trail description.

Lower Trail

Following the trail left, you drop in elevation slightly and find that aspen and spruce trees obscure the road, while allowing glimpses of the Cedar Breaks natural amphitheater to your left. The hoodoos and spires that fill the basin look like children’s drippy sand castles glowing shades of copper, coral and crimson.

At a quarter-mile, you see a numbered post beside the path. These posts, 25 in total, are located at various points along the trail and correspond to information in the brochure provided at the trailhead or in the Alpine Pond Loop app that also may be available as a free download at iTunes. Either source provides interesting information to give you context for understanding the ecology and geology of the area.

Passing several more numbered posts, the trail crosses over a gully and starts a gradual climb up to Alpine Pond at about 0.7 mile. The trail curves left around the spring-fed Alpine Pond, and you cross a marshy area via a log bridge.

At three-quarters of a mile, a shortcut trail on the right cuts the Alpine Pond Loop in half and takes you to the return Upper Trail for a shortened hike. Continue straight ahead for the complete 2.4-mile round-trip trek.

After traveling through more flower fields and mixed conifer forest, you hike along a rocky slope until you reach a trail junction close to 1.2 miles. From here, another parking area is straight ahead, while the upper trail turns right, heading southwest towards the trailhead.

Upper Trail

Continue for another half-mile and pass Alpine Pond again, this time on your right. From this higher perspective along the Upper Trail, you get a better view of the pond and surrounding forest.

In the final stretch of the hike, you see orange-colored cliffs across a meadow towards the visitor center. The trail once again parallels UT 148, and the hum of passing cars joins the chorus of finches, warblers, and sparrows common throughout the monument. A stand of dead trees at about 2 miles shows the effects of a beetle epidemic, which is killing many of the spruce trees in the area.

At 2.3 miles, the loop is complete and you rejoin the path leading back to the trailhead. A short walk through the meadow brings you back to your vehicle.

Trail description

From Cedar City, Utah, take UT 14 east about 18 miles, and turn north on UT 148 towards Cedar Breaks and Panguitch Lake. The monument is 4 miles up the road. You pass through a green gate just before entering Cedar Breaks National Monument. Pull off to the left at the park visitor center to pay the entrance fee at the small kiosk, and continue driving north on UT 148 for another two miles. You pass the campground on your right and Sunset Point overlook on your left before arriving at the trailhead. Turn left into the parking lot for Chesman Overlook, one of two parking areas for the Alpine Pond trail. Wooden signs point to the right towards the trailhead. Here, you’ll find a metal post with interpretive trail guides for purchase that correspond to numbered posts along the trail.