Beehive Peak: Utah's 'Red Pyramid'

                    Beehive Peak from the valley below.

                                             All photographs by Ravell Call

AS seen from the valley below, a prominent summit on the edge of central Utah's Pahvant Plateau looks like the state symbol — a beehive.

But while Beehive Peak, west of Aurora, could conceivably be a candidate for the state's official mountain, from another angle it summons up a different locale: Egypt.

From vantages 3,000 feet higher, on the plateau's rugged roads, Beehive Peak looks like a mysterious — possibly even man-made — red pyramid.

               Beehive Peak from the mountain ridge.

The peak, in Fishlake National Forest, is a prominent landmark for much of Sevier County, especially the communities of Aurora, Salina and Redmond. Its two faces make it one of Utah's most unusual mountains, though it isn't listed on the state highway map.

"It just stands out," says Bill Wright, a ranger with the forest's Fillmore District. "It's a nice red in color."

Max Reed, a ranger in the Fishlake National Forest, would agree. "It's really quite pretty when the sun hits it," he said.

"For me it's security," said Richard Wasden, a rancher who has cattle each summer in the Beehive Peak area. "You wake up and there it is." He uses it as a landmark to know where he is on the mountainous plateau.

The "distinctive pyramid of Beehive Peak" is how Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson describe it in their new book, "4WD Adventures Utah."

Although the Willow Creek Road/Piute ATV Trail, usually open late June through October, comes within about three miles of the mountain, there is no developed trail to the peak itself. Those interested in getting to it have to bushwack and maneuver through a maze of cow trails, ridgelines and scree to its base.

Once there, layers of a sheer "China wall" circle the summit. The rugged formation is also composed of a brittle sandstone material that makes it extremely difficult — as well as dangerous — to climb. Trees growing on the peak's sides make it appear climbable from a distance, but close-up the spot has a rugged Bryce-Canyon look.

                 Closeup view of Beehive Peak.

Still, daring hikers have conquered not only the protective walls but Beehive Peak itself.

Steve Camp, 42, of Salina is one them.

"I was surprised at how difficult it was," because of the steepness and the loose, brittle rock, he said. Camp found a crack in the natural walls around the summit's southwest side and reached the pyramid's base. He made his final approach up the peak on the northwest side. "There were some cliffs to shimmy up."

Camp has since met a few others who have reached the top, and they agree Camp's route is the best approach.

It's such a magnificent landmark that — having grown up in the area — he said he had to try to climb it. And he would like to so again.

The red rock that composes Beehive Peak is believed to be material shed from an ancient mountain range that preceded the Pahvant Range. Camp said nearby Red Canyon also contains interesting rock formations.

Beehive is overshadowed in height by four other peaks nearby — Jack's Peak (10,072 feet); White Pine Peak (10,215); Coffee Peak (10,005) and Willow Creek (9,765).

However, like some Egyptian monoliths, it is Beehive's shape that startles and attracts.

Also, "It's further east than the rest of the higher peaks," Wright said, and therefore more prominent to those in the valley below.

Surrounded by three deep canyons — Sweetwater, Red and North Cedar Ridge — Beehive Peak can also be spotted along the eastern end of U.S. 50, between Scipio and Salina, and along portions of U.S. 89 and I-70.

Closest access to the peak is the Willow Creek Road, a truck, four-wheel-drive or ATV dirt highway also known as U.S. Forest Road No. 102. Access is also possible from Richfield on a dirt road past the Redview Guard Station on Forest Road No. 96 that connects with the Willow Creek Road.

Mount Nebo is visible to the north from near and atop the Pahvant Plateau. Mary's Nipple is the most prominent peak to the east across the Sevier Valley. The Tushar Mountains can be spotted to the south. Fall leaves also make the Willow Canyon area a spectacular drive in autumn.

-By Lynn Arave and originally published the Deseret News, Oct. 18, 2002.

Contributing: Ray Boren, with photos by Ravell Call.