Maple Canyon

Maple Canyon

(aka Mapleton Canyon, Left Fork Maple Canyon Trailhead)

Pretty little canyon that doesn't get a lot of traffic, has a nice out and back trail with beautiful stream crossings and log bridges.











Location: Mapleton
Distance from Provo: 25 Minutes
Length of hike: It's out and Back so as long or short as you like- there's nice log stream crossings within the first mile
Cool Stuff: Lots of Scrub Maple and Box Elder Trees. Not a lot of people. Fall colors,

Salem Lakes/ Salem Pond/ Knoll Park

Salem Lake

Location: Salem
Distance from Provo: 22 Minutes
Length of "hike": 1/2 mile walk around the lake
Cool Stuff to do: Fishing, feeding the ducks, walking over bridges, checking out the wetlands, playing in the water, playing on the playground at Knoll Park.

Another pretty little Sunday stroll, Salem Lake is a gem that's closer to Provo than you think, quiet and peaceful, and a great place for an afternoon picnic, a family outing, or to drop a line and try to catch some fish.

 

Why did the Crawdad cross the road?

West Mountain Drive

We discovered this little gem on a Conference Sunday when we were out for a drive-It's a great way to get another viewpoint of Utah County and doesn't require any walking.

This map shows that the road is only 4.3 miles, but because it's dirt it will take you longer than 18 minutes, I think it took us about 30 minutes each way.  The road is gravel, but well graded as it services the antennas and reflectors on top of West Mountain and I would have no problem taking just about any car up it as long as it can go uphill. 

You can drive to the summit of West mountain, overlook the whole south end of the valley, stroll around among the reflectors and transponders and in general just get somewhere cool without any physical effort

It all starts when you turn off before Lincoln Beach on Lincoln Beach Road, here:

And here's the view from the top!