Hike Loafer Mountain and Santaquin Peak
Payson Canyon trailhead Free Late spring into fall
Loafer Mountain is the mass Elk Ridge sits under, and reaching its high country is the best thing to do out here. Loafer tops out at 10,687 feet, high enough to hold snow into summer and to catch weather the valley never sees. The pointed summit most of the valley actually looks up at is Santaquin Peak, a couple of feet lower along the same ridge, and there is a genuine trap in the names worth knowing before you drive out.
The catch is that the signed Loafer Mountain Trail does not start in Elk Ridge and does not finish on Loafer. It leaves from up Payson Canyon on the Nebo Loop and tops out on Santaquin Peak, so plenty of hikers finish the route, look across at something higher, and only work out afterward what they climbed. Loafer's true summit carries no trail at all. From an Elk Ridge address the day begins with a drive down off the bench and around into the canyon, because there is no signed public way onto the mountain from the town itself.
That is the summary. The two summit numbers, the mileage, the off trail finish and why the mountain is both the view and, in a fire year, the hazard, are all laid out on the town's own Loafer Mountain page. Read it before you commit to a summit day.
The details
Getting there
Drop down Elk Ridge Drive into Salem and on to Payson, then turn up Payson Canyon onto the Nebo Loop; the signed trailhead sits near the Payson Lakes turnoff. There is no route from the top streets of Elk Ridge, so ignore any map hint that suggests one and start from the canyon.
Before you go
- The trailhead is only as reachable as the Nebo Loop, which gates with the first real snow, so check the road before the trail.
- It is a long, high day with the upper half above 9,000 feet and no water on the ridge; start early and carry your own.
- Afternoon storms build over this ridge earlier than the valley suggests; plan to be off the top by early afternoon.
- The full two summit story, and the off trail finish to Loafer's true high point, is on the Loafer Mountain page.
Drive the Nebo Loop and swim at Payson Lakes
Up Payson Canyon Free to drive Late spring into fall
The single biggest day out from Elk Ridge is not in Elk Ridge. The Nebo Loop is a National Scenic Byway that climbs the back of the same mountains the town is pinned to, and it starts one canyon over, up Payson Canyon. From the bench you reach it the same way you reach the Loafer trailhead, by dropping into Payson and turning up the canyon, and from there the road climbs into alpine country most of the valley never bothers to find.
The stop worth making partway up is Payson Lakes, a set of clear mountain lakes with a loop trail, a swim area and paddling in the warm months. It is the easy version of a Nebo Loop day: no summit, no early start, just a drive and a swim at elevation. In autumn the whole road turns to color, and in winter the byway closes to cars and becomes snowmobile and snowshoe country instead.
Because the entire south end of the valley shares this road, Moving Utah writes it once, as the Nebo Loop page, with the mileage and the seasonal gate spelled out, and Payson Lakes has its own deep page with the fee card. This entry just points you up the canyon from Elk Ridge.
The details
Getting there
Down off the bench into Payson, then up Payson Canyon; the byway and the Payson Lakes turnoff are both signed once you are in the canyon. The road is paved the whole way to the lakes, but it is a mountain road, so it wants an unhurried pace and a full tank before you leave town.
Before you go
- The gate is the whole story: no snow, no drive. The upper miles can stay closed well past Memorial Day after a heavy winter.
- The lake water stays cold; it is a bracing swim even in July, and the shallows warm faster than the middle.
- Early autumn is the sleeper season here, cooler air and turning leaves before the road closes.
- The mileage, the other stops and the fee card live on the Nebo Loop and Payson Lakes pages.
Take an evening on the bench for the view and the deer
The upper streets Free Year round, best at dusk
The most Elk Ridge thing to do costs nothing and is not on any map. Because the town is built up the slope, a few hundred feet above the Payson and Salem floor, the upper streets look out over the whole south end of Utah Valley. At golden hour the valley fills with light to the west, the ridgelines go orange behind you, and on a clear night the town's own dark sky standards leave enough stars to matter.
The other half of the evening is the deer. Elk Ridge carries a large resident herd on the same benches that gave the town its name, from the days when elk wintered here, and at dawn and dusk they graze the open lots and yards in plain view. It is genuinely part of daily life up here. Just know that it comes with a rule and a hazard: city ordinance prohibits feeding deer, elk, moose and turkeys, and the town logs several deer and vehicle collisions a month, so the upper roads are a place to drive slowly.
What the bench asks of a household, in water, driving and services, and why the view comes with a mountainside address, is the subject of the living above the valley page. For a visitor, it is simply the best free hour in town.
The details
Getting there
Any of the higher streets off Elk Ridge Drive climbs toward the forest boundary and the long view west. This is a residential town with no formal overlook or parking, so keep to the public streets, park courteously, and treat the yards and the wildlife as someone's front garden, because they are.
Before you go
- Feeding deer, elk, moose and turkeys is prohibited by city ordinance; watching from a distance is the whole idea.
- Drive the upper roads slowly at dawn and dusk; deer step into the street without warning.
- There is nowhere in town to buy a coffee for the view, so bring what you want with you.
- Clear, moonless nights are the ones for stars, helped by the city's commitment to dark sky lighting.
Spend an hour at Shuler Park
80 E Park Drive Free Year round, 6am to 9pm
Shuler Park is the town's one gathering place, and in a city with no commercial center that makes it matter more than its size suggests. It sits at 80 East Park Drive, central to town, and it holds a playground, picnic sites, a pavilion, and tennis, basketball and sand volleyball courts. It is where the neighborhood turns out for a summer evening, and where the city stages the events it does hold.
The name is a piece of local history hiding in plain sight. It honors the Shuler family, whose Goosenest Ranch covered this slope long before there was a town, and whose land was platted and sold off into the subdivision that eventually became Elk Ridge. So the park you picnic in carries the name of the ranch that came first.
How that ranch turned into a city, from a cattle spread to Salem Hills to Elk Ridge, is the story on the Goosenest page. The park itself is simply a good, quiet stop, and the pavilion can be reserved through the city office if you want it for a gathering.
The details
Getting there
The park is off Park Drive near the middle of town, an easy few minutes from any Elk Ridge street, with its own parking lot. It pairs naturally with the bench view: the courts and playground in the afternoon, then the higher streets for the sunset.
Before you go
- Park hours run 6 in the morning to 9 at night, the same as the pavilion.
- To reserve the pavilion for a group, book it ahead through the Elk Ridge city office.
- There is no concession or store at the park, so pack a picnic and water before you come up.
- The annual Elk Ridge City Celebration centers on the town's public spaces; check the city site for this year's dates.
Play the nearest round at Gladstan Golf Course
Next door in Payson Public green fees Golf season
The nearest golf to an Elk Ridge address is not in Elk Ridge either, but it is genuinely close. Gladstan is an eighteen hole course in the Payson foothills, owned and run by Payson City, at 1 Gladstan Drive. From the west end of Elk Ridge you reach it by dropping down Goosenest Drive, the old ranch road, into east Payson, which puts it about ten minutes from the bench and closer than anything else with a first tee.
It is a foothill course, which means elevation change, mountain views and a back nine that climbs, and it plays to several sets of tees so it suits a range of games. Being city owned, it runs on public green fees rather than a membership, and tee times and current conditions come from the course pro shop.
Because the course belongs to the town next door, the full scorecard, the yardage and the clubhouse details live on Payson's own things to do list rather than here. From Elk Ridge, the useful fact is just how near it is.
The details
Getting there
From the west side of Elk Ridge, Goosenest Drive drops off the bench into east Payson and past the course; it is the same road that gives the west end of town its name. Coming from Salem or the freeway, follow the signs to the Payson foothills instead.
Before you go
- This is Payson's course, not an Elk Ridge amenity; fees and tee times are set by Payson City.
- Call the pro shop ahead on a weekend or holiday, when a nearby, well priced public course fills up.
- The season runs on the weather, so the shoulder months open and close with the cold.
- The full scorecard and clubhouse details are on Payson's things to do list.
