Hiking Southern Utah: Gardner Peak
The Pine Valley Mountains are a pleasant oasis from the melt-your-face-off desert heat of southwestern Utah. Significantly cooler temperatures sustain a more alpine environment of fir, oak, pine, and aspen with a lush understory set amidst the granite outcroppings of the Pine Valley Lacolith. The Gardner Peak Trail is a welcome escape when lowland trails are too hot to hike in late spring and summer. The trail leads to a gorgeous rock garden full of strange rock formations before reaching the awe-inspiring panorama at the false summit.
Trail: Gardner Peak (shortened version)
Distance: Approx. six miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 860’
Directions: Turn right from St. George Blvd. onto Bluff street (which eventually becomes State Highway 18) and head north into the mountains for a total of 24.7 miles until you reach the junction with East Center Street in Central. Turn right onto East Center Street (which will in turn become the Pine Valley Highway) and follow it for a total of 8.3 miles until you reach the town of Pine Valley. Turn left onto East Main Street and continue for 1.8 miles to the entrance station to the Pine Valley Recreation Area, a beautiful park nestled in the folds of the Pine Valley Mountains. Driving a quarter-mile further leads to a junction with a short spur road on the left (FR 921). Turn onto this road, and park at the small pullout (elevation 6,640’) on the north side of the road.
The Hike: From the trailhead, the rocky false summit of Gardner Peak towers a little less than a thousand feet above the valley. However, the true summit of the mountain is the tree-covered dome to the east. The Gardner Peak trail continues beyond the false summit, but this portion of the trail is faint and often littered with fallen trees. Stopping at the clifftop view of the false summit is a better option, with the Pine Valley Recreation Area and the town of Pine Valley unfolding in a spectacular vista below.
The trail begins in a meadow heading northwest but quickly plunges into the trees and begins ascending the very toe of the mountain. For the next mile and a half or so, the winding, often steep trail is less than classic. This initial trail is lined with many loose rocks that make footing treacherous, the views are only occasionally outstanding, and it is a serious trudge to the saddle below the false summit. Yet, when the trail continues to the east and north sides of the mountain beyond the pass, it takes on a wholly different character that more than makes up for its shortcomings down below.
This second section of trail winds through a shadowy rock garden with huge boulders and towering trees. The temperature at this point is noticeably cooler, and the path wraps around from the north of the mountain to turn south towards the craggy rocks of the false summit. In a short distance, the trail enters a small but lovely meadow lined with aspen trees. In the fall, these same trees turn golden and add a splash of color to the hike. The path leads southeast through the glade and reenters the trees to again wind through granite boulders. Overall, the trail leads in an easterly direction, switchbacking until it tops out at a flatter area, where a checkerboard array of stone forms seem etched by a mad sculptor—carved into fins, question marks, and goblins. Head south across this plateau. Soon, the trail (at approximately three miles from the parking area) will stop short of the false summit and turn east towards the true summit of Gardner Peak. However, at this point, bushwhacking a short distance further south leads to the awesome views of this airy perch, ending on top of hundred-foot cliffs with the valley below a verdant carpet of emerald meadows, trees, and silver crags. And at over 8,500 feet, it is guaranteed to be significantly cooler than the desert below, providing a welcome respite from the debilitating summertime heat. Bushwhack back to the trail and reverse direction to return back to the carpark.
