July 5, 2012

Brian Head Resort and Peak Run

Finishing the Brian Head Peak run. The summit (upper left) is 11,307 feet.

Southern Utah Summer Vacation
Part 3 of 7 - Brian Head Resort

Places like Mammoth Lakes, Boulder, Flagstaff, and even Park City are well-known as hot spots for running. I think Brian Head should be added to that list (although maybe we should keep it a secret?). Brian Head Resort is located in Southern Utah just east of Cedar City. With a base elevation of 9600 feet and and ENDLESS network of dirt roads, ATV / xc ski / mountain biking trails, etc., you could run here for months and months and only scratch the surface of what is possible.

I (Jake) ran a lot during this trip (about 20 miles / day)... I just kept looking at new places / ridgelines and saying "I want to go up there" and then running up to that point. It was awesome. The main focal point from everywhere in the town is Brian Head Peak, which has a summit elevation of 11,307 feet and conveniently has a dirt road going to the top. It was inevitable that I was running up this one. After running at Navajo Lake on Monday morning (7/2), I decided to give it a go - from Cedar Breaks lodge it was a 1700+ foot climb over 6 miles to the summit. The rest of our crew met me at the halfway point - Kevin ran the final 3 miles with me, while Andrea and Amiee rode their mountain bikes to the top. Everyone got a heck of a workout!

In addition to the running opportunities - Brian Head is a great location for all sorts of outdoor activities. ATV riding is very popular, as are biking and hiking. The place is almost a ghost town in the summer, so you won't be bothered by too many people and crowds are non-existent.

The Cedar Breaks Lodge was a great choice in terms of where to stay - not expensive, conveniently located, and they had lots of stuff for us to do (see below... one word - ARCHERY!).

Brian Head Peak summit


Reaching the top
Party time at 11,307 feet!


Running back down from the summit. A spectacular run!
Lots of other activities at Brian Head...





Cedar Breaks Lodge - we stayed in the building to the left. It had a pool and 2 hot tubs... nice!

Here are the elevation profiles of some of the runs I did from where we stayed in Brian Head. Check out that Y-Axis... lots of climbing!!!...

 
 
 

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