Mountainland

Located in American Fork Canyon, the Timpanogos Cave National Monument is a remarkable place to explore.  The cave is located at the end of a very steep, though paved 1.5-mile trail, which begins at the stairs on the eastern side of the visitor center and ranger station.

As a child I always envied the girl across the street who owned the battery-powered Barbie Jeep. Wearing her plastic heart-shaped sunglasses, she’d putter up and down on the sidewalks, trying a little too hard to not notice me and the other jealous girls in neighborhood with furrowed brows and green faces. My jealousy of other people’s “toys” still lingers into my adult life.

There is a bandit running loose in Heber Valley. If you come across him, just do what he says. But if he says to put all your money on the table, be sure to call for the sheriff. That’s what we were told during our meal with Rocky Mountain Outfitters, a chuck wagon dinner set among the scrub oak and pioneer cabins at Soldier Hollow near Midway.

Thanks to the snowmelt, spring and very early summer are the best times to hop into a raft and float our local rivers.  Our friend, Mark, spent his Saturday afternoon taking both my husband and me, in turns, on a 30-minute run of a 2-mile section of the Spanish Fork River.

Standing over 6 feet tall with a muscular, football player build, you’d never know that Jeremy Gines, owner of the Bamboo Hut Hawaii Grill, is an ultra marathoner. In fact, he still doesn’t consider himself an ultra marathoner even after running in the 3rd toughest 50-miler in the country — the Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run held on June 7.

Being from New Jersey, I find it hard to believe that after only 15 minutes of walking you can feel so far away from civilization. This thought hit me very shortly into my hike with Miles on the Round Valley Trail in Snyderville Basin. Very quickly after beginning the hike, we were in the middle of a valley with mountains surrounding us and no houses in sight. The air was crisp and we were enveloped in nature.

For author and adventure guide Greg Witt, Stewart Falls is the most beautiful waterfall in Utah County. “Bridal Veil Falls is taller and more visible, but I just love how Stewart Falls cascades down in this three-tier wedding cake effect, and [it is] certainly worth a visit any time of the year,” Witt said.

National Trails Day is an annual event during which organizations across the country set up service projects for the public to participate in to give back to the places — parks, rivers, trails, beaches — where we love to go for recreation. National Trails Day is the first Saturday every June, this year on June 7.