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Naomi
Peak Trail
Distance:
6.4 miles (round trip)
Walking
time: 4 1/2 hours
Elevations:
1,920 ft. gain/loss
• Tony
Grove Trailhead (start): 8,060 ft.
• Naomi
Peak: 9,978 ft.
Trail:
Good trail most of the way
Season:
Midsummer through mid-fall. Parts of the trail are usually
covered with snow from November until the end of June.
For current conditions call the Logan Ranger District,
Wasatch-Cache National Forest, at (435) 755-3620.
Vicinity:
Near Logan
Naomi
Peak is the highest point in the Bear River Mountains
of northern Utah and southern Idaho. While the limestone
range is not very high it is extremely rugged, and the
views from the top of Naomi are outstanding. Many of the
most interesting peaks in the range can be seen from the
summit.
If you are hiking in late
July or August you will also be able to enjoy another
highlight of the Bear River Range: wildflowers. Nowhere
else in Utah will you see them in such staggering abundance.
A colorful profusion of geraniums, paintbrushes, columbines,
lupines, daisies, and mountain sunflowers stretch for
miles across the meadows north of Tony Grove Trailhead.
It is a shame that these meadows were not included in
the 1984 Utah Wilderness Bill that created the Mount Naomi
Wilderness Area. Snowmobile operators frequent the area
in the winter, and they lobbied successfully to have the
watershed east of the peak excluded from the bill. This
hike touches only briefly on the eastern boundary of the
wilderness area.
From
the trailhead at Tony Grove Lake the trail climbs gently
uphill for about 400 yards before coming to a forest service
signboard where it forks. Bear left here, as the trail
goes into a long turn to the west towards Naomi Peak.
The wildflower section of the trail continues for only
about 0.5 mile beyond the sign before the grade gets steeper
and the rocky soil becomes less supportive of ground cover.
As the trail ascends toward
the summit ridge you will climb onto two narrow benches,
each about 250 feet above the preceding one. The path
climbs out of the meadow and onto the first bench about
0.8 mile from the trailhead. Then after a brief respite
the route becomes steep again until the second bench is
attained 0.8 mile farther along. From the second bench
the trail makes its third and last steep climb up to the
summit ridge just north of the peak.
Once you reach the summit
ridge it will be necessary to leave the trail and strike
out along the top of the ridge for the last 0.2 mile to
the peak. The Mount Naomi Wilderness Area boundary line
also follows the ridge, and you will see a forest service
sign at the boundary just before the point where you must
leave the trail. It is an easy ten-minute scramble along
the summit ridge to the top of Naomi Peak. The peak is
only 140 feet higher than the pass, and there is no vegetation
to impede the way.
The view from the top of
Naomi Peak is striking. Smithfield Canyon, a deep gorge
through the mountains, dominates the view to the west.
The dome-shaped peak 1.5 miles to the northwest, on the
other side of Smithfield Canyon, is Cherry Peak. Cherry
Peak is easily accessible from the Cherry Creek Trail
which you can see about 400 feet below its summit. The
distinctive peak one mile east of Naomi Peak is Mount
Magog. White Pine Lake, lies just out of sight on the
north side of Magog.
High
Creek Lake.
If you still have energy
to spare after climbing Naomi, you might want to visit
the nearby High Creek Lake . This side trip will add 2.4
miles to the hike's total distance and about a thousand
feet to the elevation gain and loss. To get there just
continue west on the trail below Naomi as it cross the
summit ridge. After 0.9 mile the trail splits again with
the right fork leading to High Creek Lake and the left
fork leading to Cherry Creek. High Creek Lake is a small
but very scenic lake nestled against the steep western
side of the summit ridge. There are several groves of
large Engelmann spruce around the lake, and a few fine
camp sites along its southern shore.
Content provided by David
Day of utahtrails.com. Click here to order his book
Utah's
Favorite Hiking Trails.
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