Every trip to the west desert has surprised me with the unexpected gems hidden in its vast expanse. Desert Mountain turned out to be another gem of a weekend trip, overlooked by most. The mountain is several peaks that stand out as an island in vast flat plains that surround them. We visited to rock climb, which was good, but unexpectedly found the camping, hiking, rock art, and solitude to be even better than the climbing!

The peaks are granite, with a bit of basalt near the southern base. Like the Devils Playground in Emery County, the granite at Desert Moutain has eroded into interesting shapes, walls, and solution pockets. Our 3-year-old could not get enough of climbing on the boulders and into solution pockets she found. We also enjoyed climbing on a few of the routes at Desert Mountain, though some of the rock was quite flakey.

Good primitive camping abounds, as do opportunities to explore. Though a few cars passed through on the main road on our fall visit, this seems a seldom visited place and we felt like we had the whole area to ourselves. I describe, and recommend, a driving loop from North Pass south through the heart of the Desert Mountain area, then back up the west side.

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