60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City: Including Ogden, Provo, and the Uintas
312
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City: Including Ogden, Provo, and the Uintas
312Paperback(3rd Revised ed.)
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Overview
The best way to experience Salt Lake City is by hiking it! Get outdoors with local author Greg Witt, with the full-color edition of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City. A perfect blend of popular trails and hidden gems, the selected trails transport you to scenic overlooks, wildlife hot spots, and historical settings that renew your spirit and recharge your body.
Explore the deep caverns of Timpanogos Cave National Monument and the gargantuan peaks of the High Uintas Wilderness. Relive the experiences of Utah’s early settlers on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, and surround yourself with the brilliant wildflowers of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the big game at Big Cottonwood Canyon. You’ll learn about the area and experience nature through 60 of the city’s best hikes!
Each hike description features key at-a-glance information on distance, difficulty, scenery, traffic, hiking time, and more, so you can quickly and easily learn about each trail. Detailed directions, GPS-based trail maps, and elevation profiles help to ensure that you know where you are and where you’re going. Tips on nearby activities further enhance your enjoyment of every outing. Whether you’re a local looking for new places to explore or a visitor to the area, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City provides plenty of options for a couple hours or a full day of adventure, all within about an hour from Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781634041324 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Menasha Ridge Press |
| Publication date: | 06/11/2019 |
| Series: | 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles |
| Edition description: | 3rd Revised ed. |
| Pages: | 312 |
| Sales rank: | 1,077,267 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
After earning degrees from the University of California and Brigham Young University, Greg had an early career in human-resources management. Preferring high adventure to the high-rise, he traded his wingtips for hiking boots decades ago and has never looked back.
Some weeks Greg hikes more miles than he drives, which means he wears out his boots faster than he wears out his tires. He has crossed the Grand Canyon on foot more than a dozen times and climbed Colorado’s three highest peaks in three days. Each summer in the Swiss Alps, he hikes more than 700 miles and gains nearly 100,000 vertical feet of elevation as he guides guests of Alpenwild (alpenwild.com), a company he owns and operates.
Greg loves leading readers on the most breathtaking hikes and exciting outdoor adventures on the globe. He comes ready to discuss the geology, history, archaeology, weather patterns, culture, flora, and fauna of the exciting locales he loves. His other books include Exploring Havasupai (Menasha Ridge Press), Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel (Rough Guides), and 50 Best Short Hikes: Utah’s National Parks (Wilderness Press).
Greg’s research and exploration continue to uncover adventures just waiting to be experienced. If you join him, you’ll be guaranteed a phenomenal journey.
Read an Excerpt
SILVER LAKE
- DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 4.4-mile out-and-back
- DIFFICULTY: Moderate
- SCENERY: Alpine lake, granite ridgeline, canyon views, woodlands
- EXPOSURE: Mostly shaded for first mile, partially shaded for second
- TRAIL TRAFFIC: Moderate
- TRAIL SURFACE: Dirt
- HIKING TIME: 2.5–3.5 hours
- DRIVING DISTANCE: 39 miles from I-15/ I-80 intersection
- ELEVATION CHANGE: 7,536'–8,985'
- ACCESS: Daily, sunrise–sunset, but road access is limited early fall–late spring, when UT 92 is closed. This hike lies within both Lone Peak Wilderness Area (see Comments) and American Fork Canyon, a fee-charging area. Current access fees are $6/1–3 days, $12/week, and $45/year; America the Beautiful passes honored (see page 15).
- MAPS: USGS Dromedary Peak; Trails Illustrated Uinta National Forest (701)
- FACILITIES: Restrooms at trailhead
- WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: None
- CONTACT: 801-785-3563, fs.usda.gov/uwcnf
- LOCATION: Trailhead is just north of Silver Lake Flat Reservoir on FS 008/Silver Lake Rd., 17 miles northwest of American Fork, UT
- COMMENTS: Motorized vehicles and bikes prohibited in Lone Peak Wilderness Area; dogs allowed on leash
DESCRIPTION
What begins as a pleasant and shaded uphill stroll concludes with one of the most dramatic wilderness settings in Utah. You’ll think you’ve been transported to Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada. It has all the iconic elements of that far-more-famous national park: towering gray-granite walls, blue glacial lakes, spruce and fir trees, cascading waterfalls, glistening streams, and moose—lots of moose.
The 3 miles of dirt road leading to the trailhead and its location within the Lone Peak Wilderness Area discourage many less-serious hikers from visiting Silver Lake. As a result, the hike is not as crowded as one might expect for a jewel of this magnitude. The dirt road from Granite Flat to the trailhead at Silver Lake Flat is rugged but passable for most passenger vehicles—just watch out for large, protruding rocks.
From the trailhead parking area on the north side of Silver Lake Flat Reservoir, take the well-marked trail to the right of the restrooms. The trail ascends through a beautiful, shaded grove of aspen dotted with Douglas-fir. Large granite boulders, many the size of cars, also appear throughout the Silver Creek drainage.
Birds fill the woodland in the spring and summer. Red-tailed hawks and golden eagles nest in the conifers; American robins and black-headed grosbeaks share the deciduous groves.
At 0.4 mile from the trailhead, you’ll pass a clearing on the right where beavers have leveled an acre or so of aspen for their dams. At 0.5 mile you enter the Lone Peak Wilderness Area, marked by a sign. Throughout this lower drainage, you can often see deer feeding on the lush undergrowth.
At 1.1 miles the trail rises above the creek and moves up the dry slope to the east. As you emerge from the shade of the aspens, you’ll find striking views of the canyons and ridgeline to the south. Along this section of the trail, watch for chokecherry bushes with their white flowers in spring and reddish-purple berries in summer.
When you reach the upper drainage, below the granite bowl that cradles Silver Lake, you may well spot mountain goats and moose. Both can be temperamental and aggressive if approached or provoked, so keep a safe distance and make sure that dogs are leashed and under control at all times.
Just below Silver Lake, you’ll pass a cascading waterfall along Silver Creek to the left as it drains from the lake. Subalpine fir makes its appearance at this higher elevation. Within 5 minutes you crest the large granite boulders that form the rim of the lake, and you’ve instantly arrived at the shore. Depending on the amount of snowfall and the spring temperatures, Silver Lake may well be frozen into May, and occasionally into June.
By quickly scanning the shore, you’ll often spot moose grazing on the aquatic plant life in the lake. Also, keep your eyes peeled for mountain goats on the rocky slopes above the lake. The Yosemite-quality granite cathedral towering over the northeast side of the lake is White Baldy. At 11,321 feet, it is one of the highest but least visited peaks on the ridge. A good scramble that is typically approached from Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the White Baldy hike can also be approached from Silver Lake.
Once you’ve hiked the 2.2 miles from the trailhead to the shores of Silver Lake, circle the lake through the maze of granite boulders at its rim. You can also ascend another 0.7 mile and 900 vertical feet to the northeast and discover the smaller Silver Glance Lake with an even rockier, more rugged setting. But most visitors are content to find a natural granite countertop on which to enjoy a snack and take in the mesmerizing beauty of this alpine treasure.
NEARBY ACTIVITIES
American Fork Canyon is a year-round scenic wonder and recreational playground that’s popular with outdoors enthusiasts of all types and all ages. You’ll find a wide range of camping options, with both wilderness and improved campgrounds as well as many picnic and day-use facilities. Hiking, rock climbing, fishing, ATV riding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and mountain biking are all popular pursuits here.
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N40° 30.420' W111° 39.380'
DIRECTIONS From the southern intersection of I-215 and I-15 in Salt Lake City, take I-15 South about 14.4 miles to Exit 284 for Highland/Alpine. Keep left at the fork; then turn left onto UT 92 East, and drive 12.6 miles. Turn left onto UT 144/Forest Service Road 085 toward Tibble Fork. Drive 2.5 miles to the east end of Tibble Fork Reservoir; then turn left onto paved FS 010. In 0.7 mile, just before you enter Granite Flat Campground, turn right onto FS 008 toward Silver Lake Flat Reservoir. Continue 3.2 miles on this dirt road to Silver Lake Flat Reservoir, where you’ll find trailhead parking on your left, at the north end of the lake.
Note: From early fall to late spring, UT 92, aka the Alpine Loop Scenic Backway, is closed to cars in the area covered by this hike, but in winter the highway is groomed periodically by The Utah Nordic Alliance for hikers, runners, cyclists, snowshoers, cross-country skiers, and snowmobilers. Be aware, however, that snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles are prohibited in Lone Peak Wilderness Area, which you enter just beyond the trailhead. Visit utahnordic.com/skiing/locations/sr92 for the latest information.
Table of Contents
Overview MapAcknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
60 Hikes by Category
Introduction
NORTH (Weber County)
- Ben Lomond
- Ogden River Parkway
- Mount Ogden (via Snowbasin Gondola)
- Malans Peak (via Taylor Canyon)
- Waterfall Canyon
NORTH (Davis County)
- Adams Canyon
- Farmington Creek Trail
- Frary Peak
- Kenney Creek Trail
CENTRAL (Salt Lake County)
- Mormon Pioneer Trail
- City Creek Canyon
- Red Butte Garden
- The Living Room (with Red Butte Extension)
- Jack’s Mountain
- Lambs Canyon
- Mount Aire
- Grandeur Peak (via the Western Ridge)
- Pipeline Overlook (via Rattlesnake Gulch)
- Grandeur Peak (via Mill Creek Canyon)
- Desolation Trail to Salt Lake Overlook
- Gobblers Knob (via Alexander Basin)
- Mill Creek to Park City Overlook (Including Murdock Peak)
- Neffs Canyon
- Mount Olympus
- Dog Lake
- Desolation Lake
- Mount Raymond (via Butler Fork)
- Broads Fork
- Doughnut Falls
- Lake Blanche
- Willow Heights
- Jordan River Parkway
- Great Western Trail (Guardsman Pass to Clayton Peak)
- Lake Solitude (via the Silver Lake Interpretive Trail)
- Brighton Lakes
- Sunset Peak
- Cecret Lake
- White Pine Lake
- Pfeifferhorn (via Red Pine Lake)
- American Fork Twin Peaks
- Bells Canyon
- Lone Peak (via Jacobs Ladder)
SOUTH (Utah County)
- Silver Lake
- Box Elder Peak
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument
- Mount Timpanogos (via the Timpooneke Trail)
- Emerald Lake and Mount Timpanogos (via Aspen Grove)
- Stewart Falls
- Battle Creek Falls
- Provo River Parkway
- Big Springs Hollow
- Buffalo Peak
- Squaw Peak
- Y Mountain
WEST (Tooele County)
- Stansbury Island
- Deseret Peak
EAST (Summit County and Uintas Mountains)
- Naturalist Basin
- Lofty Lake Loop
- Fehr Lake Trail
- Bald Mountain
Appendix A: Outdoors Shops
Appendix B: Places to Buy Maps
Appendix C: Hiking Clubs
Appendix D: Glossary of Hiking Terms
Index
About the Author
Map Legend