Skip to main content
Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2014 Abstracts

Mt. Timpanogos: An investigation into visitor motives and perceptions

Quinn Linford, Utah Valley University

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Background: Mt. Timpanogos has been an attraction for the residents of Utah Valley and has become a center of recreation for much of Utah. For many years Mt. Timpanogos was the home of an annual hike hosting a daily crowd of approximately 18,000 people. After being designated a wilderness area in 1984, the annual hike was banned. However, the mountain remains an attraction for many residents of the surrounding valleys and visitors from around the world. Currently one- to two-thousand people hike the mountain on mid-summer weekends. This concentration continues to push the limits of the mountain’s ability to accommodate while balancing the opportunities for solitude and unconfined recreation.

Purpose: This study was performed to determine why the mountain is so popular and what management techniques might be acceptable to the current visitors. Do visitors think that Mt. Timpanogos is too crowded; what are the demographics of returning visitors versus those that don’t return; what are the expectations of the visitors segments?

Methods: Data was collected as a survey at two separate trailheads leading into Timpanogos Wilderness Area. Collection occurred on randomly selected days during the summer of 2013. Additionally, data was collected through a more extensive survey online.

Results: The preliminary data suggests that there is a divergence in the expectations of visitor segments. For example, that those from Central Utah have an assumption of crowding while those from other areas expected the Timpanogos Wilderness Area to be more primitive and pristine.

Discussion: Despite overcrowding issues, people continue to return because of tradition and emotional attachments to an idyllic environmental perception. This research is acutely relevant to the communities who love the area and to the government entities charged with decisions regarding maintaining access.