White Rocks Reservoir and Timber Mountain

Dixie National Forest, UT Pine Valley Mountains + Saint George Area

Trip stats

Distance
11.9 mi
Net Gain
2,600 ft
Time
4-6 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Loop
Peaks
1

Ratings out of 10

Effort
5/10
Personality
6/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
5.2/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

  1. Timber Mountain
    9,021′ elevation · 501′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

37.454670, -113.456430

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Jun 17, 2024 — Timber Mountain is an obscure peak on the northern slope of the Pine Valley Mountains, just south of Rencher Peak. I wasn't sure how brushy or affected by wildfire the peak would be, so I prepared to be disappointed and set my expectation that this hike would end at White Rocks Reservoir. From various summits over the last couple of days, I could see the cool geology surrounding the reservoir, so I thought this would be a nice consolation destination if I determined the summit wasn't worth the effort. I was also intrigued by the Summit Trail, which leads up to the eastern slope of Timber Mountain, so I planned to check that out if it was in good enough shape.

I parked at the Mill Flat Trailhead and started along the White Rocks Trail, which was initially just a dirt road closed to motor vehicles that hugged the fence of an adjacent ranch. The road then climbed steeply to higher terrain, where the hiking became mostly flat for a mile or so. The views at first weren't particularly inspiring, but the distant meadows and rolling hills surrounding this portion of the hike were pleasant enough.

The trail turned east and ascended more steeply up a very horse- and cattle-eroded trail up a gully, then north through more sagebrush meadows. I kept my eyes on the western slopes of Timber Mountain, deciding they looked reasonable enough to descend later, so I figured I'd wrap around the peak first via the Summit Trail.

I continued down to White Rocks Reservoir. Due to old tradition, ranchers can allow their cattle to graze in the wilderness, and they sure were grazing here. Clusters of them were everywhere watching me, so I hurried past the White Rocks Reservoir along the Summit Trail. This trail ascended through open slopes on an old roadbed for a short time before the trail became singletrack again and continued climbing south. Overall it was easy to follow, but I did lose the trail a couple of times amongst overgrown grasses or cattle-carved use trails. Still, I pressed on as the Summit Trail headed up a lovely grassy gully dotted with white boulders on the slopes.

I was very happy I chose to take the Summit Trail rather than go up Timber Mountain directly because I wouldn't have seen the beautiful views to the east once I reached the top of this gully at a saddle. It's a bummer this trail isn't in better condition because it's really niec, and I honestly had no idea green meadows and rock formations like this could exist in this part of Utah. Plus it was nice to see Big Point to the south, giving me a nice perspective of the range. I could have just headed west from the saddle over a false summit of Timber Mountain, but I instead chose to wrap around this lump because I was enjoying the landscape immensely.

I left the Summit Trail shortly after and contoured, with some light bushwhacking and minor Class 2 boulder obstacles along the way. I rounded a corner and dropped into a charming grassy clearing at the base of Timber Mountain. I hiked across this and started up the southeastern slope of Timber Mountain, which was quite steep and loose. In hindsight, it may have been easier for me to just take the ridge from the saddle because the slope angle seemed slightly less steep than my route, but the way I went was worthwhile.

I made my way to the summit, far less deadfall-hopping required than I expected, where I got excellent views of the surrounding burn scar and beyond. There was no indication anyone had been here recently. For my descent, I chose to head along the grassy northwest slope of Timber Mountain. It would have been trivial to come up this way and reduce the hike mileage significantly, but I really do recommend the loop I do because the Summit Trail is very pretty. Now at the base of Timber Mountain, I entered the forest and found a social trail leading to a small pond and ultimately back to the White Rocks Trail.

On my way back, I passed a rancher who informed me of his large herd of cattle and that I should probably leave the trail and find another way back. I confess I was pretty annoyed that I was basically asked to leave public land to accommodate commercial grazing, but I guess tradition is tradition or whatever.

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Photos

55 photos

  1. Along the White Rocks Trail, following a fence.
  2. Some bogs along the way.
  3. View back toward the ranch.
  4. Crossing White Rocks Draw.
  5. Junction with the Mill Canyon Trail
  6. View back as the White Rocks Trail climbs steeply along an old road.
  7. The White Rocks Trail becomes singletrack and heads along flat terrain.
  8. Easy walking for a while through a typical Utah landscape.
  9. Some views of the foothills.
  10. Ascending east now, up a gully.
  11. View back, some nice white rock formations on the hills.
  12. A shot back after ascending the gully.
  13. More tame walking toward the White Rocks Reservoir.
  14. Rencher Peak seen over there.
  15. Descending toward the White Rocks Reservoir.
  16. View back.
  17. Down toward White Rocks Reservoir.
  18. White Rocks Reservoir.
  19. Along the Summit Trail.
  20. View toward Rencher Peak.
  21. White Rocks Reservoir left, Rencher Peak right.
  22. Onward along the Summit Trail.
  23. The Summit Trail ascends toward the east side of Timber Mountain, the slopes of which are seen on the right.
  24. View back, White Rocks Reservoir on the left out of view.
  25. Some nice views along the Summit Trail.
  26. The Summit Trail enters this green gully.
  27. Ascending the grassy, green gully.
  28. View back down.
  29. Nearing the top of the gully. Timber Mountain is on the right.
  30. Top of the gully, view back.
  31. Gorgeous view from the top of the gully. I followed the Summit Trail for a bit longer before leaving it for Timber Mountain.
  32. Close-up toward Big Point.
  33. I left the trail and headed to the top right of this photo to reach Timber Mountain.
  34. View back after leaving the Summit Trail, wonderful meadows all over.
  35. Close-up east toward Kolob Canyons.
  36. There was some Class 2 and light brush. Timber Mountain seen ahead.
  37. I crossed this little clearing.
  38. Class 2 ascent on the east side of Timber Mountain.
  39. View back toward the clearing.
  40. Higher up on the steep slope, view back.
  41. Final ridge walk to Timber Mountain.
  42. View back at the nice green ridgeline.
  43. Summit of Timber Mountain, view northeast.
  44. Summit of Timber Mountain, view southwest.
  45. Close-up southwest from Timber Mountain's summit.
  46. View toward White Rocks Reservoir and Rencher Peak.
  47. Back along the ridgeline.
  48. I chose to head down Timber Mountain's northwestern slope.
  49. Farther down the slope.
  50. View back up, some Class 2 boulders along the way down.
  51. Descending into the forest.
  52. I found an old trail through thebrush.
  53. Some cool slickrock.
  54. View back up toward Timber Mountain.
  55. A small pond along the way back to the White Rocks Trail. There was a good trail from here.

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GPX track

White Rocks Reservoir and Timber Mountain GPX route and driving track

The complete GPX track is available to download, so you can load the route straight into your navigation app or device. The trip report, route info, photos and planning details stay free.

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