Fun Places | West Mountain Peak Overlook
Hype:
West Mountain is a mountain at the south end of Utah Lake. It's highest point is at 6,912 feet, but because it is disconnected from the nearby mountain ranges, West Mountain has high prominence and offers excellent views of Utah lake and south Utah County. West Mountain road, which leads to the north summit, begins directly northeast of the north summit. It is a winding road, which may or may not be in good condition, depending on the season. Those wishing to access the mountain are suggested to use four wheel drive vehicles. The summit has several radio towers and an observatory.
Time:
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
| Jan |
| Feb |
| Mar |
| Apr |
| May |
| Jun |
| Jul |
| Aug |
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| Dec |
Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Mountain_(Utah_County,_Utah)
Navigate to 40.090276, -111.821554.
Park near the radio towers and walk a few feet to the edge of the ridge.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Marci Parker,
There was a big solar storm, and the northern lights were visible on Friday night. A bunch of other people said it was awesome. We didn't stay up to see it because we didn't know about it, but there was a possibility of seeing them again on Saturday night. So at 10:00, Savannah, Tara, Ondy, Marci, and I carpooled up to West Mountain to see if we could see the norther lights. It was quite stormy when we got there, so we couldn't see anything. Ondy and I both took naps while the others watched Wish. Finally around 1:00 a.m. the storm blew over and we could see the sky. But unfortunately we weren't able to see the northern lights from Utah. It was still a fun adventure though.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye,
For family night, we grabbed some fast food and headed over to West Mountain and explored around a bit.
We stopped at the Cave of the Chocolate Drop first. Everyone but Tara dropped into the entrance pit, but only Savannah could fit down the crack in the floor. She wriggled down a ways until she got to a dropoff that was too big for her to safely climb down on her own then she came back up. We were amazed by how much air was blowing through the cave and by how hot and humid it was.
After the cave, we walked down the hill to a prospect. The prospect doesn't have a name as far as we know, but it shows up on the USGS topo maps. We found some cool crystals on the wall of the mine, so after we took some pictures inside the prospect, we dug around in the tailing pile for a while. We found a bunch of small crystals and geodes and had fun rockhounding a bit. Immediately to the side of the tailing pile, we found a bunch of limestone rocks with a high concentration of fossils in them, so that was exciting too.
Next we drove up to the peak of West Mountain and looked out over the valley. It was windy and starting to get chilly, so we didn't stay too long.
On the way back down the mountain, we saw a small cave on the side of the hill next to a shooting range, so we stopped to explore it. There was a sign about protecting rock art, so we explored around a bit and found several petroglyphs on the boulders and several more small saves or alcoves.
Viewpoint, Overlooks, Vistas
Mountains
Lakes and Reservoirs
Marked Trails
No Restrooms
Road Access is Dirt - Low Clearance
Access Road is 2WD Accessible
Wildflowers and Vegitation
Wildlife and Birding
