Find Nearby Peaks

Although Sulphur Peak was mentioned in the book, climbing information for this peak was not provided because at that time the peak was “the site of an active phosphate mine and an ascent of the peak is not recommended.”  As you will read below, things have changed. Published November 2018

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Sulphur Peak is the monarch of the Sulphur Canyon area. It is the highest of the Sulphur Canyon summits and sits directly on the Columbia River/Great Basin Divide. The easiest ascent route is an old two-track jeep road (now an ATV trail) that goes all the way to the open, airy summit. I found no mining activity or signs thereof on this hike. There may be other areas of the mountain that have active mining activity. Check with the Soda Springs Forest Service office for the most current updates. USGS Johnson Creek

Southwest Ridge, Class 1

Access

From the junction of US-30 and South 3rd Street in Soda Springs (Chevron station on NW side of this intersection; stoplight here), drive east on Highway 30 for 3.9 miles to a signed turnoff for “Sulphur Canyon.” Turn L/NE onto Sulphur Canyon Road and reset your odometer to 0.0. At 1.2 miles, you reach an unsigned road junction with a parking area nearby (on the LHS of the road). Go LEFT for North Sulphur Canyon Road/FSR-246; go STRAIGHT/RIGHT for South Sulphur Canyon Road/FSR-126. Go STRAIGHT onto South Sulphur Canyon Road.

At 2.4 miles, enter the Caribou National Forest. At 3.6 miles, reach an unmarked road junction (STRAIGHT is FSR-126; RIGHT is FST-238 that has a nice dispersed campsite in the forest 0.1 mile up the road). FSR-126 gets significantly rougher after this junction (only suitable for ATVs and MCs), so turn RIGHT onto the unsigned dirt road, drive about 100 yards, and park in an open meadow alongside the road. The elevation here is 6,610 feet.

The Climb

From the road junction at 6,610 feet, follow FSR-126 up South Sulphur Canyon for about 0.7 miles to a road junction at a fork in the canyon (6,900 feet). LEFT is FSR-126; RIGHT is FSR-177 (unsigned). Go RIGHT here onto FSR-177 and hike up it for about 0.5 miles to another road junction (7,175 feet). LEFT is FST-243 (an ATV trail); STRAIGHT is FSR-177.

Go STRAIGHT here on FSR-177 and follow it to a road junction up on the ridge (7,875 feet). LEFT is FSR-177; RIGHT is FSR-583. Go LEFT on FSR-177 and quickly reach another road junction at a minor saddle (7,860 feet). LEFT is FST-237 (an ATV trail); RIGHT is FSR-177. Go LEFT here and follow FST-237 to the summit. Unlike the forested terrain prior to reaching FST-237, this ATV trail is completely out in the open and provides outstanding views. The trail drops about 70 feet after crossing a gentle ridge hump. The trail then climbs to the open summit of Sulphur Peak. The summit of Sulphur Peak has a USGS BM embedded in concrete in the ground with a broken-down cairn around it. I built a nice cairn next to the USGS BM. The summit offers amazing views of the surrounding peaks and valleys.