Sanpete County High Point Trip Report

South Tent Mountain

Date: July 28, 2002
Author: Edward Earl

From the southern outskirts of Ephraim on US-89, I turned east at a U.S. Forest Service sign that said "Ephraim Canyon". For the first few miles this road was paved, then it turned to dirt. After about 25 miles (I'm sorry, I didn't note the exact mileage), Skyline Drive veers in sharply from the right. Continue north at this point. After about another mile, the road forks. Take the left branch, which is Skyline Drive and continues north. After about another 4 miles is a junction on a ridge crest, where I made a sharp left turn. After another 2-3 miles, South Tent Mountain looms to the northeast. I parked at a junction by a cluster of trees where the road starts to get worse. Any street legal vehicle can make it to this point. A 4WD vehicle could get a little closer but not much.

I continued on foot down the right branch of the junction toward my objective. Where the road bottomed out, I hiked about 60 feet down an ATV trail to Earlize the peak to 1000 feet of gain. The first 500 feet up the southwest face of South Tent Mountain is a steep forested slope with rocks, scree, intermittent stream beds, and bad footing, but it is quite doable. Eventually it tops out at the saddle between North and South Tent Mountains. A simple stroll up the ridge line gains the summit from here.

The area can also be accessed from Castle Dale on the east side via UT-29, which turns to dirt just past Joes Valley Reservoir. I believe it is about 15 miles to the junction with Skyline Drive.