Whipple and Browns Point, from the village side

The Whipple Trail, number 31025, is about 11 miles out and back with roughly 2,300 feet of climb, rated difficult, open to hiking and horseback and closed to bikes and motors, with no fee. It enters the Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness within about half a mile of the trailhead and ends in Whipple Valley, where it meets the Summit Trail along the crest of the range.

Steeper, yes, and shorter. Trail apps put Browns Point at about 7.5 miles with roughly 3,448 feet of gain, topping out near 9,780 feet, against Whipple's longer and gentler 11 miles. That works out at close to a thousand feet of climb for every two miles of trail, a serious sustained gradient. People walking the loop generally go up one and down the other, and which way around is a real argument.

Not the ones that leave from the village. As of September 2026, Forest Order 0407-26-01 closes the Pine Valley Recreation Area and its trails from January 15, 2026 through January 15, 2027 while crews repair fire and flood damage, and the Whipple, Browns Point, Mill Canyon and Equestrian trails all begin inside that area. The order does not name the Forsyth Trail, and the Forest Service said in July 2026 that parts of it were open, so check first. Call the Pine Valley Ranger District on 435-652-3100 before setting out, because dates like this move.

The mountain itself. A laccolith is a body of magma that pushed sideways underground along a weak seam rather than erupting, lifting the rock above it into a dome that erosion later stripped to expose the intrusion. The Pine Valley laccolith is described as the largest in the United States and possibly the largest in the world, which is why this range is coarse grained intrusive rock rather than the layered sandstone that shapes the rest of Washington County.

10,365 feet, the high point of the Pine Valley Mountains. The Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness around it was designated in 1984 and runs to about 50,000 acres. The Summit Trail, number 31021, runs roughly eighteen miles along the crest, from the Paradise trailhead near Pinto in the north to its junction with the Forsyth and Blake-Gubler trails, with at least eight trails climbing to join it.

The Forsyth Trail, number 31012, is about 9 miles out and back, rated difficult, hiking and horseback only, no fee. It starts in Pine Valley and climbs the laccolith along the seasonal Forsyth Creek, crossing it repeatedly through aspen groves and meadow openings, and passes into the wilderness. From the top you can continue on the Summit Trail or descend by the Blake-Gubler Trail. It is also the drainage the 2025 fire is named after.

Not these. Whipple, Browns Point and Forsyth all enter the Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness, where bikes and other wheeled or motorized use are prohibited, so they are hiking and horseback only. That is a legal restriction, not a Forest Service preference. For riding on this side of the county, look instead to the Hurricane Cliffs network and Gooseberry Mesa, which our Hurricane pages cover trail by trail.

Roughly late spring to October in a normal year, and the shoulders are where people get caught out. Snow lingers on the upper sections into June and returns in October, and the trailheads sit near 6,900 feet while the crest is over ten thousand. Afternoon thunderstorms build over this range through late summer, so the plan is an early start and being off the top by early afternoon. Confirm the snowline rather than trusting a trip report from August.

No, and it is worth getting right. Pine Valley sits on the north and west of the range, and its trails are Whipple, Browns Point, Forsyth, Mill Canyon and the Equestrian Trail. New Harmony sits on the east side, and its own trailhead carries the Comanche Trail, number 31011, and the Anderson Valley Trail, number 31022. Both towns reach the same Summit Trail on the crest, and our New Harmony pages cover the east side trail by trail.