Skyline Drive and Gooseberry Creek

June 19-28, 2024

This is part one of a 12-day RV camping trip to Skyline Drive. My brother-in-law Mark and niece Ashley had been camped in the area since the weekend before, but Traci and I stayed home until our youngest son’s 21st birthday (boy, is that a phrase that makes me feel old). We stayed in town for Bradley’s birthday dinner and then the three of us drove up Huntington Canyon and met up with Mark and Ashley. We arrived around 8:00 PM and set up camp and then just went to bed early.

Wednesday evening at camp
Wednesday evening at camp


I worked remotely Thursday and Friday. On Thursday after work I drove to the South Skyline Drive turnoff and found that the gate was locked. Most of my hiking plans for the next couple of weeks were along South Skyline so that really interfered with those plans. North Skyline is a little over 9,000′ elevation, but South Skyline is well over 10,000′, and there are more trails in that area, so it was a huge bummer to see the gate locked. I walked down Skyline Drive a short distance and I thought I could see where a snow drift was blocking the road. I walked back to the highway along the crest of the ridge and there were a lot of snow drifts hanging on.

South Skyline Drive gate closed
South Skyline Drive gate closed

Large snow drift covering the road in the distance
Large snow drift covering the road in the distance

Candland Mountain
Candland Mountain

Watermelon snow
Watermelon snow

Moon through the trees
Moon through the trees


On Saturday I had to skip South Skyline Drive, and Mark and I hiked down Gooseberry Creek from UT-264. I brought Delta along but left Boulder at camp with Traci because she can’t hike very far at 11 years old. We hiked downstream until a side canyon came in from the north, then turned up to check it out. There were several sandstone overhangs but nothing much to see in any of them. In one place I stepped into a fox or coyote den, hitting my shin hard on the edge of the opening, and it still hurts now more than two weeks later as I write this. There were a couple of picturesque waterfalls along the spring-fed stream in the side canyon, but otherwise nothing much to see. We returned to Gooseberry Creek and continued downstream until the trail faded away into a bushwhack, then turned back and returned to to the truck.

Gooseberry Creek
Gooseberry Creek

Carpet of tiny white flowers
Carpet of tiny white flowers

Gooseberry Creek
Gooseberry Creek

Ferns in an overhang
Ferns in an overhang

Sandstone overhang
Sandstone overhang

Small waterfall
Small waterfall

Deep overhang
Deep overhang

Small waterfall
Small waterfall

Our turnaround point
Our turnaround point

Gooseberry Creek
Gooseberry Creek

Almost back to the truck
Almost back to the truck


On Sunday Mark and Ashley went home, and the rest of us drove a few miles to Beaver Dam Reservoir to cool off in the water.

Delta at Beaver Dam Reservoir
Delta at Beaver Dam Reservoir

Beaver Dam Reservoir outlet
Beaver Dam Reservoir outlet

Beaver Dam Reservoir
Beaver Dam Reservoir


I worked again on Monday and Tuesday, and after work on Tuesday I went for a hike directly from camp. I dropped into a side canyon off the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon and followed it down to its confluence with the Left Fork. I passed a Snotel station and then reached the Left Fork and turned up into it. The stream was running stronger here and there were more carvings in the aspen trees, most dating to the 1950s. I don’t think Highway 31 existed until the mid-1960s, so these guys were likely on horseback.

Larkspur blooms
Larkspur blooms

Our camp
Our camp

Water in upper Fairview Canyon
Water in upper Fairview Canyon

Possibly an old road
Possibly an old road

Snotel station
Snotel station

Snotel station
Snotel station

Broad valley at the junction with the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon
Broad valley at the junction with the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon

Shooting star
Shooting star

Creek in the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon
Creek in the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon

Left Fork of Fairview Canyon
Left Fork of Fairview Canyon

1953 Von Gull aspen carving
1953 Von Gull aspen carving

1956 aspen carving
1956 aspen carving

I continued up the Left Fork of Fairview Canyon to the very top, then looped back to camp. On top I saw more aspen carvings from the 50s, 30s, and even one from 1913. The larkspur was blooming like crazy, just huge fields of purple that were pleasing to walk through.

Left Fork of Fairview Canyon
Left Fork of Fairview Canyon

Fun guy
Fun guy

Larkspur
Larkspur

Larkspur
Larkspur

Glen Gull, August 30, 1954
Glen Gull, August 30, 1954

S\M 1934
S\M 1934

I have no idea what this says but it looks old
I have no idea what this says but it looks old

1913 aspen carving
1913 aspen carving


On Wednesday and Thursday it rained a lot. I’d never spent much time in this area and didn’t know that when the dirt got wet it was a sticky, muddy mess! Traci and I could avoid the mud easily, but we still had to take the dogs outside to go to the bathroom and that caused a lot of mud to get tracked into the trailer. Luckily we had plenty of cleaning supplies.

Heavy rain
Heavy rain


On Friday the rain was gone and things had dried out a bit. After work I went to Gooseberry Creek below Gooseberry Reservoir to check out the failed Mammoth Dam. I had read about the dam before but didn’t realize so much of it was left behind, including parts of the dam, the intake tower, and outlet tunnels.

Gooseberry Creek flowing into Gooseberry Reservoir
Gooseberry Creek flowing into Gooseberry Reservoir

Mammoth Dam
Mammoth Dam

Mammoth Dam
Mammoth Dam

Mammoth Dam
Mammoth Dam

Gooseberry Creek below Mammoth Dam
Gooseberry Creek below Mammoth Dam

Mammoth Dam outlet tunnels
Mammoth Dam outlet tunnels

Mammoth Dam
Mammoth Dam

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower

Mammoth Dam intake tower
Mammoth Dam intake tower


I also hiked well below Mammoth Dam, and along the Gooseberry Reservoir dam to the spillway. While driving out of the area I noticed a U.S. Forest Service sign along what the USGS calls Japanese Creek, but the sign said Charley Creek. I’m not sure why the Forest Service changed the name but I’ve been unable to find more information about the name.

Gaging Station survey marker
Gaging Station survey marker

Gooseberry Creek
Gooseberry Creek

Gooseberry Reservoir
Gooseberry Reservoir

Gooseberry Reservoir spillway
Caption

Charley Creek sign at Japanese Creek
Charley Creek sign at Japanese Creek


Later that evening we drove back to the South Skyline Drive gate and found it still closed and locked. I debated whether I would let that hamper my plans for another weekend…

Fairview Lakes
Fairview Lakes

L-R: Spanish Fork Peak, Mount Timpanogos, Provo Peak
L-R: Spanish Fork Peak, Mount Timpanogos, Provo Peak


Photo Gallery: Skyline Drive and Gooseberry Creek

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