Hiking Crater Island - Silver Island Mountains

Overview

Wed

57° | 44°

Thu

60° | 40°

Fri

61° | 37°

Sat

62° | 38°

Sun

60° | 42°

( Rated 4.0 / 1 Ratings )

6 Todo Lists / 0 Ticks

RATING: Roadside Attractions and Easy/Moderate Hikes

LENGTH: 4-6 hours (Northern Loop 5.4 miles, Highpoint 2 miles)

MAPS: LUCIN 4 SW, UT; LUCIN 4 NW, UT; CRATER ISLAND, UT

SEASON: Late Fall, Winter, and Early Spring (Hot other times of the year)

GEAR: Standard Hiking Gear

WATER: None. Bring all you need.

Wed

57° | 44°

Thu

60° | 40°

Fri

61° | 37°

Sat

62° | 38°

Sun

60° | 42°

Morning light on the mudflats looking south at Crater Island.

North of the main Silver Island Mountains is the remote Crater Island. The island is an area of stark hills surrounded by mudflats on three sides, with a peninsula connecting the island to the main Silver Island Mountains. This is a very infrequently visited area. Did I mention it is a remote area? A great place to go if you want to get away from the world and don't mind miles and miles of dirt road.

When I visited Crater Island, I was intrigued by several small blobs out in the mudflats just north of the island and wanted to visit the northern tip of the island and also these outcroppings. Wandering the mudflats and island has a very an "other worldly" feel. A few rabbit tracks and a howling coyote in the early morning hours were the only signs of life I saw on my visit.

The area is open terrain with many ridgelines and small summits to visit and wander. The island saw mining activity in the early 1900s, and even now (2022), exploratory core sampling is actively being done on the island, though the driller I talked to indicated not much had been found so far.

In my wanderings of the area, two hikes stuck out and are described below. Be sure when venturing out this far you have plenty of extra fuel, water, food, a spare tire, etc... The roads beyond where core drilling was occurring showed very little signs of use. If you broke down out here, it would be a very long way to help.

The Pilot Range and Northern Crater Island highpoint from the granite blobs in the mudflats.

Getting There

Reaching Crater Island starts from the northern end of the Silver Island Scenic Byway. To reach the northern end of the scenic byway:

Go north off I-80 at exit 4. The exit is a few miles east of Wendover, UT, and about 115 miles west of Salt Lake City.

Once off the freeway, reset your odometer on the north side of the freeway and head north toward Bonneville Salt Flats.
1.2 miles - left onto a paved road.
1.95 miles - Right onto a dirt road. This is the Silver Island Mountain Byway/Eastside. Stay on this main dirt road as it travels north along the base of the Silver Island range. After 32.6 miles, Donner-Reed Pass is reached with a sign on the left. Just past this is the Crater Island access road at 32.85 miles. Reset your odometer as you turn right onto the Crater Island road.

Silver Island Scenic Byway - 32.85 miles - Crater Island side road on the right. 12T 266129E 4543641N / 41°00'38"N 113°46'52"W

1.1 miles - Minor side road on the left. Stay straight. 12T 266581E 4545336N / 41°01'33"N 113°46'35"W

2.0 miles - Side road on the left that goes up to an old mining area. Just after this side road is a side road on the right that goes to an old mining area and onto the mud flats. This is an excellent place for primitive camping. 12T 266981E 4546703N / 41°02'18"N 113°46'20"W

2.3 miles - Side road on the left that goes to the same mining area as the previous left. 12T 267199E 4547086N / 41°02'30"N 113°46'11"W

3.4 miles - Side road on the left that goes up to a large old mining area. Stay straight. 12T 268075E 4548444N / 41°03'15"N 113°45'35"W

6.1 miles - Highpoint Trailhead with a parking area on the right before the road rounds a bend and descends. 12T 269155E 4551956N / 41°05'10"N 113°44'54"W

6.75 miles - Side road on the right to a mine. Stay left. The road gets a bit worse from here. 12T 268817E 4552773N / 41°05'36"N 113°45'09"W

8.7 miles - Flat area at the top of a hill. There are mining remains in this area and it makes a good primitive campsite. The road descends steeply beyond here and passes a few more mining remains as it heads to the mud flats. 12T 268313E 4555294N / 41°06'57"N 113°45'34"W

9.5 miles - Road ends as it nears the mudflats. 12T 267390E 4556117N / 41°07'23"N 113°46'15"W

Crater Island highpoint from near the trailhead.

Route Description

Northern Island Hike
This was my favorite hike on the island. From the last pass, hike down to the mudflats. After rains and in wet seasons, the mudflats might be difficult even for walking. In the winter and drier times, the mudflats have a nice firm feel and are fast walking. I headed north on the mudflat, around the northern point of Crater Island, and to the 3 rock blobs. These are piles of granite boulders and large rocks. From there, going back across the mudflats and hiking up the highest summit on the north part of the island gives excellent views of the mudflats and Pilot Range to the west. Easy cross country hiking south leads back to the trailhead in a nice loop.

Highpoint Hike
Being a bit of a peak bagger, I couldn't resist visiting the high point of the island. It is a short hike but is steep and a little loose in spots. From the trailhead, the peak is the high point to the west. Head toward it, crossing the first ridge before reaching the base of the peak. Work up the peak using good route finding. There are sections of steep and loose rock, but with a little route finding, this is pretty easy going. Return the same way from the summit. There was not a register that I could find on my visit, but a couple of large cairns and some rebar marked the summit. I wish there was a register, I would be interested to know how often it gets visited.