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Hogsback Summit Winter Views

Looking across a wintery landscape to distant snow-covered mountains.

NPS Photo

Winter view of the Wasatch Mountains from Hogsback Summit, near Henefer, Utah, on the Donner Party route of the California Trail. (This photo was taken with a zoom lens; the mountains are more distant from this location than they appear here.)

The Donner Party reached this point on July 19, 1846, having been directed by Lansford W. Hastings to cut their own trail through these mountains. Here they had their first glimpse of what that would mean for them. They were 16 days working their way through this range to reach the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Their Wasatch crossing significantly delayed their entry into California's Sierra Nevada, where they became snowbound over the winter of 1846-1847. A year later, Brigham Young's advance group of Mormon Pioneers followed the Donner track through the Wasatch. Over the years, this route also was used by Fortyniners and others trying to reach California, as well as Mormon handcart companies, the military, the Overland Stage, and the Pony Express.

Learn more about this place

Read more and find more trail sites to visit:
National Historic Trails Auto Tour Route Interpretive Guide: Utah - Crossroads of the West

Views from Hogsback Summit

A view looking out onto a field of grass and a distant mountain range. A view looking out onto a field of grass and a distant mountain range.

Left image
Fall at the viewpoint.
Credit: NPS Photo

Right image
Winter at the viewpoint.
Credit: NPS Photo

About five miles from Henefer, Utah, on the approach to the Wasatch range, is the best place to view the mountains from the trail. Taken in winter, and fall, these images show how the view changes, as well as the actual distance of the mountains from the viewpoint, compared to a zoomed view. 

Tags

California National Historic Trail, Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, Pony Express National Historic Trail

Last updated: January 26, 2021