Hike Square Top Mountain and Jackson Peak Loop Square Top Mountain BLM, UT

May 16, 2021 — Square Top Mountain and Jackson Peak are visible on the lumpy skyline north of St. George. After hiking Lost Peak a few days ago, I saw their large forms in the distance and couldn't help myself but go back. From the Gunlock Reservoir, Google will get you to here (37.30556, -113.84856), where a turn-off heads north onto a good dirt road. I was able to drive to the trailhead listed above, but passenger cars could make it here (37.31671, -113.85605), adding about a mile and a half to the hike. From where I parked the road gets more rough, but I knew I'd be leaving the road anyway so I didn't deal with driving farther.

My first objective was Square Top Mountain, the taller of the two peaks. The southern slopes looked steep, but that seemed to be the best option for ascending the peak. The road I was walking along leads to the northeast side of the peak, but ends a thousand feet from the saddle, otherwise I likely would have just continued along the road. However, the brush past the end of the road's end looked brutal while the southern slopes of Square Top seemed relatively clear of brush. After hiking north along the dirt road for a bit, I decided to leave and continue cross-country along a spur ridge that looked to be the most obvious option. This worked out well, leading me to the base of Square Top Mountain with only a few short spurts of light brush to zig-zag around.

I started up the Class 2 slope, the occasional Class 2+ move on sandstone outcrops adding some light spice to the ascent. You can likely avoid any scrambling and just stick with the steep Class 2 slope, but there will be some loose rock to contend with and brush to dodge. Overall it wasn't a bad time to reach the summit ridge of Square Top Mountain, just steep and pretty slow-moving. I continued west along the ridge to the high point on pleasant terrain, then returned and continued northeast along the ridge to its end. The ridge was definitely the highlight of this hike, nice views and a low amount of brush keeping me smiling for a little while. From the northeast end of the ridge I could see the remains of a plane crash just below the summit of Square Top Mountain.

My next goal was Jackson Peak, a mile to the east, but it was separated from me by a 1000 foot drop to the saddle shared by the two peaks, followed by 900 feet of ascent. I spent the next few minutes quickly descending (and slipping and falling a few times) from Square Top Mountain to the saddle, almost all of the bushwhacking avoidable. It just takes some foresight to go where the brush is not. Once at the saddle, I took a second to scope my initially planned descent route back to the dirt road. It looked brutally brushy, so I decided I wouldn't want to go that way later (more on that in a minute). I started the ascent up to Jackson Peak, steep and with the occasional Class 2, minimal brush. The views from Jackson Peak weren't particularly impressive, especially compared to Square Top Mountain, and I was probably just dreading the bushwhack to come. I took a second to debate going back to the saddle, but instead dropped south off a very, very steep slope. The slope introduced some talus and scree with the occasional steep Class 2 move that would sometimes have me tripping into a pokey plant. I wasn't having fun. Once the descent mellowed out a bit, lots of brush guarded easy passage back to the road. I could see the road, but I had to move slowly as not to get more scratches than I already had. Eventually I dropped into a steep gulch and re-ascended up to the dirt road, which I followed back to my car. The road was garbage and likely only good for ATVs. Alternatively, from the summit of Jackson Peak, I almost want to recommend returning to the saddle of Jackson and Square Top and deal with the brush instead of following my route (marked on the map attached), but you'll definitely have a crap ton of brush that way, but avoid the unpleasant descent. Honestly unless you feel strongly about bagging peaks, I don't recommend doing Jackson Peak.