Thunder Mountain

Thunder Mountain is high ground in Red Canyon, part of Dixie National Forest just outside Bryce Canyon National Park, topping out around 8,200 feet. The area gives the same hoodoo-and-red-rock character as the park itself, with the reddish soil and rock that gives Red Canyon its name, but it's Forest Service land rather than park interior, and it's best known today for the mountain bike trail system built across its slopes.

What's here

• Sparse cedar and pine forest at lower elevations, opening to bare rock higher up
• Views over Red Canyon's red-rock formations and out toward the wider forest country
• As Forest Service land, dogs and dispersed camping are generally permitted, unlike inside the national park boundary

Most visitors experience Thunder Mountain via its namesake trail rather than as a standalone hiking summit.