Spruce Trail

Spruce Trail winds through aspen and young conifers for about a mile near Panguitch Lake Resort before crossing a small saddle into a stand of large spruce trees. From there it stays close to the massive rim that separates the Parowan and Panguitch drainages, giving a sense of the plateau's scale without a long approach.

Panguitch Lake sits at 8,212 feet about 18 miles southwest of Panguitch, and the surrounding Dixie National Forest mixes ponderosa pine, aspen, and spruce across this elevation band. Trail maps for Spruce Trail and the other routes branching from the lake area are available from the Forest Service office in Cedar City or the seasonal visitor center in Duck Creek. As Forest Service land rather than park land, dogs and dispersed camping are both part of the normal picture here, and snow can hang on into late spring at this elevation.