The Aspen Grove Trail is the shortest and the most commonly used trail to the summit of Mt. Timpanogos. It is a fairly steep trail, with many switchbacks, and is about 8.3 miles one way.
To get to the trailhead, take exit 275 off I-15 and head east into Provo Canyon. Follow this road through major construction until you get to the Sundance turnoff. This is about 5-6 miles from the mouth of the canyon. Turn up this road and follow it past Sundance, on up to Aspen Grove. Go through Aspen Grove until you drop off a short hill and come to a new Forest Service Tollbooth. The Forest Service is charging everyone $3.00 to use the area beyond. Give them the $3.00 and drive through, then make a quick left into the Timpanogos Trailhead parking area. This is the trailhead.
You will be at the mouth of a large gulch which turns to the left on up the mountain. The trail follows this gulch all the way up. Observe:
The gulch that the trail passes through
A nice ski jump along the lower part of the trail.
You can park in this parking area, and just walk up one of the trails going up towards the gulch. Soon you will come to a sign that has a trail log on it. Sign this and continue up the trail. It will become paved for a ways, and deteriorate. All you have to do is stay on the trail. It goes all the way to Emerald Lake. Now, there are some lakes before you get to Emerald Lake called Hidden Lakes. You will know you are at Emerald Lake when you see the white shelter and the glacier off to the left. The summit is directly above you on top of the cliff. This is called the summit ridge. Many people camp at the shelter and attempt the summit in the morning.
To get to the summit, follow the trail off to the right or north of the cliff and stay near the cliff, don't drop down into the basin. Head for the obvious saddle directly ahead of you on the summit ridge. The last hundred feet up to the saddle are very steep, so be careful. Now you are on the Timp Saddle and it is probably windy as heck. Turn to the left or south, and follow the trail up to a cliffy area called The Stairs. Just follow the stairs up, and keep following the trail. After you come out of the Stairs, look up and see the summit. You will see what is known as the Summit Hut. That is your objective. After basking in your glory and signing the summit log book, keep following the trail to the left or south. The trail will split once, so take the lower or right hand fork. If you take the upper fork, you will end up climbing down a cliff. soon you will come to another saddle called the Glacier Saddle. This is aptly named, due to the large glacier sliding down to the left towards Emerald Lake. Most people slide down this on their butt. You will probably get wet, so bring a change of clothes. Now that you're down at the Lake, just follow the trail back down to Aspen Grove.
