Alpine Pond Loop

Alpine Pond Loop is a short trail located in Cedar Breaks National Monument, one of the few trails available in the park. The views are not as good as the nearby Chessman Loop, but this is still a very pretty hike. The unique atmosphere of the trail comes from having a mix of alpine and desert terrain combined with heavier-than-normal precipitation. The steep cliffs of nearby Brian Head condense the rising air and create frequent storms year round. The loop doesn't have the best sights of the hoodoos, but it does have heavily wooded forests, a ton of wildflowers, deer, porcupine, hummingbird, the occasional bristlecone pine, and a large number of mushrooms. The trail overlaps with Chessman Loop on the far end, and you can combine the two to make a 4-mile round trip. The pond is not very deep, but it is a decent size, and you can see it from above on the upper loop. The yurt at the trailhead is a warming hut for snowmobilers and snowshoers that frequent the area in winter.