There might not be enough superlatives to describe the view from Primrose Overlook. However, being there at sunrise ads a whole new WOW factor!
I rolled out of bed around 3:30 this morning so I could get to the Horse Flat Trailhead by 4:30 am. I figured that would give me ample time to get to the overlook and watch the sun come up over the Heber Valley and light up Mt. Timpanogos and surround peaks.
The trail to Primrose Overlook isn’t even 2 miles long. It goes through gorgeous aspens and several large meadows. The hike is moderately steep in a few spots, but gains a little less than 900 vertical feet. In other words, it isn’t that long or difficult.
The start of the hike had me using a headlamp and the moon was just a sliver. So there wasn’t much light to dim the brilliant stars in the early morning sky. I got to the overlook just after 5:30 am. As the sun started lighting up the eastern sky it became a brilliant orange color.
Just before the sun finally breached the eastern horizon it lit up Timpanogos and neighboring peaks. As it got above the horizon the light slowly crept down the mountains and turned from an orange hue on the peaks and valley to a brighter light. That change in lighting brought out the bright green of the trees and the white of the waterfalls.
The trail below in the valley that takes hikers up to Timp is from a trailhead called Aspen Grove. The Aspen Grove side of the Timpanogos trail has waterfalls all along it and even from a distance I could hear them roaring! I have hiked that trail and some of the waterfalls I saw from above I don’t remember seeing from the trail.
Being the middle of June, the wildflowers were coming out all along the trail.
I was the only person at Primrose Overlook for at least 30 minutes. It was incredibly peaceful and I had plenty of time to appreciate the incredible beauty of the area.
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