Peakbagger.com

Kings Peak, Utah

Elevation: 13,528 feet, 4123 meters

Elevation Info:NAVD88 Elevation: 13,534 ft / 4125 m
Latitude/Longitude (WGS84)40° 46' 35'' N; 110° 22' 23'' W
40.776327, -110.372933 (Dec Deg)
552915E 4514117N Zone 12 (UTM)
CountryUnited States
State/ProvinceUtah (Highest Point)
County/Second Level RegionDuchesne (Highest Point)
Links

Search Engines - search the web for "Kings Peak":
     Wikipedia Search
     Microsoft Bing Search
     Google Search
     Yahoo Search

Other Web Sites
     SummitPost.org Page for Kings Peak
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by David Olson
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Sowby Summit Team
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Jennifer and Gerry Roach
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Kevin Baker
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Dave Covill
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Theresa Gergen
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Roy Wallen
     CoHP.org Trip Report for Duchesne, UT by Lanny Wexler

Lists that contain Kings Peak:
     Utah County High Points (Rank #1)
     Utah Wilderness High Points (Rank #1)
     Utah 12,000-foot Peaks (Rank #1)
     Utah Peaks with 2000 feet of Prominence (Rank #1)
     Utah County Prominence Peaks (Rank #1)
     Utah 13,000-foot Peaks (Rank #1)
     Utah Peaks with 25 miles of Isolation (Rank #1)
     USA Lower 48 Range3 High Points (Rank #6)
     United States State High Points (plus DC) (Rank #7)
     U.S. State High Points (Rank #7)
     Most Prominent Peaks of the U.S. States (Rank #9)
     Rocky Mountain Range4 High Points (Rank #9)
     USA Lower 48 Range4 High Points (Rank #14)
     USA Lower 48 Peaks with 100 miles of Isolation (Rank #15)
     Most Isolated Peaks of the U.S. States (Rank #16)
     USA Lower 48 Top 100 Peaks by Prominence (Rank #19)
     USA Lower 48 Peaks with 4000 feet of Prominence (Rank #19)
     USA Lower 48 Peaks with 5000 feet of Prominence (Rank #19)
     2000-foot Prominence CoHPs - 48 States (Rank #19)
     USA/Canada Range4 High Points (Rank #21)
     USA Lower 48 Range5 High Points (Rank #31)
     U.S. County High Points over 13,000 feet - 48 States (Rank #35)
     USA Peaks with 6000 feet of Prominence (Rank #48)
(Peak is on over 20 lists; Not all shown here.)

Selected Guidebook(s) for this Peak:
       High in Utah: A Hiking Guide to the Tallest Peak in Each of the State's Twenty-Nine Counties (Weibel)
       Fifty State Summits, Guide with Maps to State Highpoints (Zumwalt)
       Highpoints of the United States: A Guide to the Fifty State Summits (Holmes)
       Utah Thirteeners (Rose)

Selected Trip Reports from this site:
     1989-05-19 by Greg Slayden (GPS Track)
     1994-07-29 by Scott Cockrell
     2003 by Jaron Harker
     2003-08-12 by Ben Lostracco
     2004-07-11 by Caj Svensson
     2006-08-24 by Doug Urban
     2006-08-24 by Roy Wallen
     2008-07-11 by Tony Brown
     2008-08-15 by Weston Broadbent
     2009-08-18 by Beau DiVall
     2009-09-05 by Michael Rudkin
     2010-08-13 by Anthony Wilkinson
     2010-08-23 by James Barlow
     2010-09-05 by Jared A
     2011-08-11 by William Musser
     2012-07-13 by Dave Dunham (Unsuccessful)
     2012-08-11 by Josey Coleman (Unsuccessful)
     2012-08-22 by Brian Friedrich
     2012-08-29 by Peter Stone
     2012-08-29 by Twm Stone

View ascents of peak by registered Peakbagger.com members.

Nearby Peak Searches:
     Radius Search - Nearest Peaks to Kings Peak
     Elevation Ladder from Kings Peak
     Prominence Ladder from Kings Peak


Description:

Kings Peak is a classic Western U.S. state high point: over 13,000 feet high; not quite a climb but a rough scramble nevertheless; somewhat remote and set among beautiful backpacking country; and named after a now-obscure surveyor (Clarence King, in this case). Like other state high points, it is a popular ascent.

The Uinta Mountains claim to fame is it's the highest and most important (not the only) range in the 48 states running east-west. However, it should be more famous for offering perhaps the nicest wilderness country in the Rockies. Trailheads are reached at the end of long, dusty roads, and a huge wilderness area of layer-cake sedimentary mountains, flat alpine meadows, pristine lakes, and easy summits offers better than average solitude. Kings Peak is a good 12 miles from the nearest road, in the heart of the Uintas, and most parites will want to camp out, not just to avoid a greulling dayhike, but to relax and enjoy the backcountry a bit.

Kings Peak lies just south of the main east-west crest of the Uintas, the high point of a subsidiary ridge running southeast from the crest towards Mount Emmons. The west slopes are pretty steep and cliffy, but approaching from the east, or either the north or south ridges, is just scrambling.

Climbing Notes:

Although located south of the Uinta divide, Kings Peak is usually approached from the north. From the Henry's Fork campground, accessed by a dusty gravel road from Lonetree, Wyoming, a trail leads south and up into Henry Fork Basin, a beautiful alpine bowl studded with small lakes and stands of trees. Kings Peak, looking like a shark's tooth, pokes its head above and between two unnamed summits in the basin's south wall. Most parties camp in the basin, then cross the divide at Gunsight Pass, descend a bit, traverse west, and climb Kings Peak by either the east face or the north ridge.

The peak can be approached from the south, too--its a longer hike, but offers the opportunity to clamber along the easy ridge between Mount Emmons and Kings Peak, featuring many 13,000 foot bumps. The Swift Creek Trail and Basin, north of Mountain Home, Utah, are probably the best approach for this route.


Kings Peak is the furthest snow-covered bump in the center skyline in this picture taken in Henry's Fork Basin in spring.
Web Map LinksAcme Mapper   MyTopo   Gmap4   MS-Research
TopoQuest   Bing Maps   MSN/Encarta   Google Maps
RangesContinent: North America
Range2: Rocky Mountains
Range3: Western Rocky Mountains (Highest Point)
Range4: Uinta Range (Highest Point)
Range5: Central Uinta Range (Highest Point)
Drainage BasinsGreen
Colorado
Gulf of California
Pacific Ocean
OwnershipLand: Ashley National Forest (Highest Point)
Wilderness/Special Area: High Uintas Wilderness Area (Highest Point)
Topo MapKings Peak O40110g3 1:24,000
ProminenceClean Prominence: 6348 ft/1935 m
Optimistic Prominence: 6368 ft/1941 m
Key Col: 7180 ft/2188 m  (20 foot contour)
Col elevation in range between 7160 and 7180 feet.
    Topo Map: Kemmerer O41110g5 1:24,000
    Key Col Lat/Long: 41° 48' 40'' N; 110° 36' 8'' W
    Key Col Map Links:
Acme Mapper   MyTopo   Gmap4   MS-Research
TopoQuest   Bing Maps   MSN/Encarta   Google Maps
Isolation166.55 mi/268.04 km
Nearest Higher Neighbor in the PBC database:
    Fremont Peak  (NNE)
Isolation Limit Point: 43° 7' 22'' N; 109° 37' 3'' W
    ILP Map Links:
Acme Mapper   MyTopo   Gmap4   MS-Research
TopoQuest   Bing Maps   MSN/Encarta   Google Maps
Route #1 Scramble: Henrys Fork Basin/East Ridge
Trailhead: 9440 ft/2877 m
Vertical Gain: 4088 ft/1246 m
Distance (one way): 12 mi/19.31 km
Google Maps Dynamic Map

 Kings Peak    Other Peaks
Click Here for a Full Screen Map



This page has been served 75417 times since 2004-11-01.



Questions/Comments/Corrections? See the Contact Page
Copyright © 1987-2012 by Peakbagger.com. All Rights Reserved.