Hiking the “Y” as it is known is nearly a rite of passage for students of the nearby Brigham Young University. On my first day in Utah, I climbed the to the Y with some friends who had spent the summer in Utah. I had just driven by myself for 24 hours straight from Texas to Utah. The elevation in Pearland, Texas is 42 feet above sea level. At the top of the Y it is 6,266 feet above sea level. Needless to say that I huffing and puffing at the top. While I don’t recommend for anyone to do that, I DO recommend hiking the Y at least once, and if you have the time and energy make it a day hike and hike to the top of Y Mountain.
The Y was first constructed in 1906
The idea for constructing a “Y” started in 1906, and originally the plan was to construct the letters “BYU” on the mountain, however, after the first day of work by students, only the Y was finished and the plans for the other letters were later abandoned. The Y is 380 feet tall and 130 feet wide, and is made out of large rocks covered by concrete.
Hiking to the Y Details
Distance – 2.4 miles roundtrip to the Y
Approximate hiking time – 1 to 2 hours to the Y
Elevation at the trailhead – 5164 feet
Elevation at the Y – 6266 feet
Elevation gain to the Y – 1102 feet
Difficulty – Moderate
Trail – dirt and loose gravel
Amount of water recommended – 1 liter
Bathrooms – Yes, at the trailhead
Season to hike – Year around
Permits – None
Pets allowed – Yes
What to bring – download our free hiking pack checklist
Hiking to the top of Y Mountain
Distance – 8 miles roundtrip
Approximate hiking time – 3 to 5 hours
Elevation at the trailhead – 5164 feet
Elevation at the summit of Y Mountain – 8568 feet
Elevation Gain – 3404 feet
Difficulty – Moderate
Amount of water recommended – 2 to 3 liters
Bathrooms – Yes, at the trailhead
Seasons to hike – Late Spring to late Fall
Permits – None
Pets allowed – Yes
How to get there:
From I-15, Exit University Parkway in Orem (Exit 269) and follow University Parkway east for 3.9 miles. You will cross State Street and pass University Mall, and shortly thereafter, University Parkway will curve south and go down a hill that takes you to Provo. At 3.9 miles, you’ll come to the intersection of University Parkway and University Avenue. Go straight through the stoplight. University Parkway then becomes 1650 North. Continue on this road east for 0.7 miles. At the stoplight and intersection with 900 East turn right. Head south for 0.8 miles to 820 North and turn left. Follow 820 North east and as it curves north it becomes Oakmont Lane for 0.7 miles where you will turn right onto Oak Cliff Drive. Take Oak Cliff Drive for 0.2 miles where you will turn right onto Terrace Drive. Follow Terrace Drive up to the Y Trailhead Parking lot. (See a Google Map for the hike at the end of this post)
Hitting the Trail!
As you leave the parking lot up to the wide trail that leads to the Y, chances are that you’ll not be alone, regardless of the time of day. Local residents and BYU students frequent this trail by the dozens. It’s a steady ascent the entire way up the wide trail, which consists of gravel and dirt. There are 12 switchbacks up to the top of the Y, and each switchback serves as a nice resting point for hikers. Some individuals even like to run up and down the trail for exercise, so be courteous and pay attention.
The trail up to the Y
Morning or late evening is the best time to hike to the Y as the temperatures will be the most comfortable. Since Y Mountain faces west, there is no relief from the sun during afternoon and evening hikes. The combination of no shade and the trail getting baked by the sun all day can make for a less than enjoyable experience for many.
View of the Y from the trail
The trail to the Y branches off to go to the bottom part of the Y, or you can continue for 3 more switchbacks to arrive at the top of the Y. Once at the top, you will enjoy better views of the city of Provo below, and Utah Lake in the distance. Running on the Y is not encouraged, as it is rather steep, can cause serious injury, and causes the paint on the Y to wear faster.
While the majority of the hikers on the trail stop at the top of the Y, just past the Y the trail narrows greatly and continues south, where it soon turns east and heads up Slide Canyon, which has Y Mountain to the north and Maple Mountain to the south. The trail becomes more rugged once it turns east and climbs up the canyon. The same trail that minutes before was shared with dozens of people, is now entirely yours.
Watch out for stinging nettle as it lines the trail leading up to the summit of Y Mountain
As you continue up Slide Canyon, pine trees will begin to cover the sides of the canyon, and you may find welcome shade during your ascent. After hiking up Slide Canyon for about a mile there will be a fork in the trail. Take the trail going to the left. There is also a sign on tree at the fork pointing the direction of the trail leading to Y Mountain. The trail that leads to the summit of Y Mountain can be choked with tall stinging nettle on both sides of the narrow trail so be on the lookout. One time while I was hiking up the trail, a group of young Scouts were coming down, and one of them had left the trail and unknowingly made contact with stinging nettle all over his arms and legs.
The incline of the ascent isn’t as steep as it was up to the Y, or up the Slide Canyon Trail. After about 20 to 30 minutes of hiking on the Y Mountain summit trail, the trees open up and there is a long wide meadow that the trail cuts down the middle. Several old fire rings can be spotted off the trail, as this could be a fine place to camp for the night.
The trail will take you to the top of the west side of the top of Y Mountain. Many hikers think that this is the true summit of Y Mountain, when it is actually found on the northeast side of Y Mountain. The meadow that you walked up divides the two summits, and there is not a marked trail to reach the east and true summit of Y Mountain, but it is not difficult to walk over to it from the west side of Y Mountain, maybe 10 minutes. While the west side of Y Mountain has great views of Provo, surrounding cities, and of Utah Lake, the author finds the east summit has spectacular views of the mountains directed south, east, and north of Y Mountain, especially of Squaw Peak, just to the north.
View of Mount Timpanogos from Y Mountain
You’ll enjoy great views of Cascade Mountain, Provo Peak, Shingle Mill Peak, and Freedom Peak in the east. I would definitely recommend going to both summits since the views are so different. Urban views on one, and mountain views on the other. The best of both worlds! After snapping pictures on both summits of Y Mountain, you’ll just retrace your steps back down to Slide Canyon, then back down past the Y. By the time you return to the parking lot, you will have hiked 8 miles and gained more than 3404 feet of elevation!
From left to right: Shingle Mill Peak, Freedom Peak, East Provo Peak, and Provo Peak. Lion Head is in the foreground
What to Bring on this Hike:
(Click on an item below for more information)
Here’s a printable hiking checklist you can download for free. It includes all the essentials for your hiking adventures this season.
(This is looking at Squaw Peak, just north and across Rock Canyon from Y Mountain)
Enjoy the hike!
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8 Comments
I love the info for this hike! I hiked to the west summit yesterday, and didn’t even know about the east summit (I was just following the trail). There were definitely great views and wonderful scenery.
I forgot to say that this round-trip hike took us (3 middle-aged ladies) just under 7 hours (we were at the top for about an hour). On the up while still on the Slide Canyon part of the trail, there was Bear Meadow with a large rock that we ate a snack at. Right there is a spur trail to Maple Flats (which we didn’t do this time). A little past the meadow the Y Summit Trail takes off to the left and Slide Canyon continues straight. The Y Summit Trail is just as steep (if not more steep) than the trail going up to the Y, at least until you get to the clearing which took us way more than 20 minutes. Coming back down that part was the only part of the trail where we thought it might be easier to slide down on our butts than to try to walk. On the way up, it took us an hour and a half to hike from the turn-off to the summit.
Just wondering – you mentioned that you saw scouts coming down and some fire-rings at the meadow, is it ok to take a scout group there to camp? Are there any permits or anything needed for that?
I’m still looking into your question, I don’t want you to think I forgot about you. I’m trying to find out what restrictions are there. As you know, the presence of fire rings doesn’t mean it’s legal to camp there. Props for checking first. I’ll get back to you on that.
I would like to take a group of boy scouts up to Maple Flats to camp the night, and then descend down into and through Rock Canyon the next day. Do you know if there is a trail that runs this route? It seems like it ought to be possible, but I’m having a hard time locating information on such a trail. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Peter, there is a way to get from Maple Flats to Rock Canyon but it’s a long hike that will require hiking along the a portion of Squaw Peak Road. I’m guessing that you’ll start from the “Y” trailhead? When you leave Maple Flats, you’ll walk back to the trail (Trail 62) that will take you to “Y” trailhead. Instead of heading west you can go east and that trail (Trail 62) will take you up and to and over the saddle between Lion Head and Peak 8,753. You’ll then descend to the dirt Squaw Peak Road. (Where you come out onto Squaw Peak road iss actually the trailhead to hike Provo Peak.) Head north on the road for about 3.5 miles. The Dry Fork trail (Trail 60) intersects the dirt Squaw Peak road. Head west on Trail 60 and it will take you through Rock Canyon Campground and then down to Rock Canyon, but that would make for a very long day, especially if you’re backpacking with scouts.
The Pleasant Grove Ranger station should have maps with the trail numbers on them for you to find Trail 62 and Trail 60 easier. I’d recommend a GPS just to be safe. Hope this helps!
I hope this is not too late but actually there is a shorter trail to Rock Canyon. If you start at the “y” trail head you will go to Bear flat (about 2.5 miles). Some people camp here and others head south out to Maple flats. No matter where you camp continue on the trail approximately .5 miles up Slide Canyon (do not take the “Y” mountain turn after Bear Flat) and you will come to another large open area where the trail continues south towards Slate Canyon (don’t keep going). As you enter the meadow you will see a small area on your left where people have camped with whats left of a fire ring. Turn left and go through the “camp site”. As you go north past the camp site the trail has a number of switchbacks and you drop down into the First Right Hand Fork of Rock Canyon. According to an old sign (I tried to prop it up but it is laying on the ground as of 7/11/15) it is 1.9 miles to the main trail of Rock Canyon. the 1.9 miles is overgrown in a few places and is steep in some areas but a safe trail. both bear and moose are in this 1.9 miles because it does not see a lot of traffic. About another 1.5 miles to Rock canyon Trail head. I have done the hike many times. It is a great quick hike. It is about 7 miles from trailhead to trailhead.
This is great! Thank you for this additional information!