Hiking In Heber Valley

From lake to shining lake, there are tons of hiking trails to explore in the Heber Valley area. In fact, there are over 400 miles of trails to choose from. Hike around Jordanelle or Deer Creek Reservoir, the Dutch Hollow trail system or head up towards Guardsman Pass for trails that will really WOW you.

Wasatch Mountain State Park

A 22,000-acre preserve created in 1961 just for funsies — hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding and golf. Like we said. Funsies.

WOW

This trail wasn’t named after Owen Wilson. It stands for Wasatch-Over-Wasatch, but you're gonna be saying “wow” the whole way down! It’s accessible from the upper portion of Wasatch Mountain State Park near Guardsman Pass. It’s about 9 miles of foliage and fun and maybe even a moose sighting.

Deer Creek Trail

Start at Stringtown Road for this trail that goes right along Deer Creek Reservoir. You can make it as short or as long as you'd like, but if you go all the way to the trailhead at the south of the reservoir, you’ll be looking at about a 14-mile round-trip hike. You’ll also be near the tracks for the Heber Creeper — aka the Heber Valley Railroad. Toot Toot!

Cascade Springs

Take the Cascade Springs Interpretive Trail for a paved but scenic loop that’s just under a mile long. This is one of the ultimate trails to spot some wildlife. Deer, otters, beaver, turkey and other birds are common sightings. Locals only tip — don’t look the turkeys in the eye! They’ll gobble gobble you right up!

Dutch Hollow Trail System

On the east side of Wasatch Mountain State Park you’ll find the Dutch Hollow area. A web of trails crisscross above the north end of Heber Valley, with trails you can climb to overlook Park City. Some trails get deep into the brush, with spooky names like 1,000 Turns, Flatline and Boneyard — probably because they’re totally easy trails that won’t hurt your lungs with definitely no ghosts at all. Right, guys?

Jordanelle State Park

This place is a massive outdoor recreation center. Jordanelle State Park has boating and kayaking and beachside picnic tables, cabins and lakeside trail systems.

Jordanelle Perimeter Trail

This is a 30-mile out-and-back trail that surrounds Jordanelle Reservoir. You’re not likely to see other hikers on this trail, probably because it’s 30 whole miles, but the views are worth it!

Provo River, Middle

This portion of the Provo River Trail takes you along the Provo River. It’s 1.8 miles of mellow and gorgeous meandering and is a great trail for kiddos and dogs — just keep them on leash! Ahem, the dogs, that is.

Coyote Canyon Loop

Just south of Jordanelle Reservoir, the Coyote Canyon Loop is 20 miles of rugged terrain that overlooks the reservoir and Heber Valley. There are lots of connector trails with names like Wile E. Canyon, Chop’d Coyote and Mordor. Uhhh, what the heck happened on these trails? Has anyone seen Bugs Bunny? Or Frodo?

Southern Heber Valley

On the bottom end of Heber Valley, there are a couple unique trails. One is for sitting (or so you’d think) and one is technically unnamed but goes by its elevation.

Chair Hill

This mildly marked trail only lets you sit at the top. Gotcha! It’s about 2 miles and 780 feet of elevation gain. And someone climbed that and was like, “That was steep as all heck and now I need to sit down.” So they made a pile of rocks to sit on. But the view of Deer Creek Reservoir from the top is sublime!

Peak 8193

That’s its name. Why? That’s how high the peak is. Why do people hike it? To suffer. It’s 8.7 miles out-and-back and over 2,400 feet of elevation gain and justly labeled as a hard trail. Don’t forget your water, sunscreen and a journal — just in case you come up with a better name for the trail and need to write it down.

Those 400 miles of trails had to lead somewhere, right? Well, Heber Valley knows where all those trails go, and it’s usually down the path to Funville.