VISTAS FOR DAYS

Skyline Trail offers some of the most panoramic views of the Tushars you can find. There are so many ways to enjoy this trail. Hikers can choose any length they would like to explore with this out and back trail. Backpackers can explore all of the trails with 23 miles of one-way views. This is also a perfect trail to bring horses on. The elevation crests at 11,100 feet, while the route skirts multiple 12,000-foot peaks.

The full Skyline can be done as a multi-day trek, but it also divides nicely into three nearly equidistant sections that make for good day hikes. The southern end of the trail is at Big Flat on FR 514. The route hugs the eastern edge of this high plateau, granting huge views of the Sevier River Valley through gaps in the aspen forest. The next road crossing is in 9 miles at Big John’s Flat, along FR 123/Paiute Trail 01.

From Big John’s Flat, it continues 7 miles north to Mud Lake at a spur road of FR 123. The route ducks into dense spruce-fir then out into open meadows on a rolling terrain, alternating dark and light, up and down.

Past Mud Lake the final section is about 8 miles. In this section, it tops a ridge with a vantage of Delano Peak and the surrounding summits before descending toward Blue Lake. From this idyllic glacial valley at the foot of rugged talus slopes, it punches upward again, climbing back to 11,000 feet at Bullion Pasture Trailhead along with FR 123.