Fun hike with good elevation gain (7 miles with 2,600ft gain) and a spectacular payoff. I did…read morethis on probably one of the hottest day in SLC metro history but it was slightly cooler out this way. It has gradual ups and running down is possible. It was such a clear day and the views were amazing. Bring some friends and pack a lunch for this adventure. Two small parking lot that fill up quickly so I parked out in the main road. Please come and create your own adventure.

Lake Blanche Trail definitely made me question some of my life decisions at various points on the…read morehike up but I made it! The trail is mostly steep and rocky, with a few stretches here and there where you get a much-needed break from the elevation gain. It was about 7 miles round trip. The mountain views, red rock formations, and wildlife were easily the highlights of the hike. There was always something interesting to look at, which helped distract from the climb. The lake itself was a little underwhelming--it's tucked between these massive, dam-like walls, so I found the surrounding mountain scenery much more impressive than the lake. Still, the views at the top made the effort worth it. It took me about 2 hours to make it up, while the descent was much quicker at a little over an hour. Definitely a challenging hike, but one I'm glad I pushed through!

Strictly speaking, the Brighton Lakes Trail leaves from Brighton resort and goes up to Lake Mary,…read moreLake Martha, and Lake Catherine. There are other lakes in the area, and you can leave from the Solitude Nordic area (Silver Lake) and visit those lakes (Solitude, Twin Lakes), which you might mistake for Brighton Lakes as they are, y'know, lakes around Brighton. But for clarity's sake, this is the trail that takes you right up the ski slope before veering off and climbing up to those three lady lakes. The trail is a popular one, and that means you won't be alone. As a kid, I remember my dad taking us here one Saturday and we had the place to ourselves. Martha has a tiny island and I remember it seeming so big and so far out there... but as an adult I realize it was just my kid brain and kid memory. It's a nice lake, but Mary is the really big body of water up there. As an adult, too, I see that on a Saturday especially you won't have the place to yourself. In fact, these days as many have cancelled their summer vacations and are staying home, you'll need to be on the trail by 7am to have only moderate crowds. If you wait until 9 or 10am it will be a constant stream of people. Parking at Brighton is currently free, but any other hike in the canyon will be totally packed if you wait until after 7am. The trail itself is quite wonderful. You go up the slopes, and then veer off before gradually climbing up to the trees and large rocks. It never gets crazy steep or scary, though if you have to traverse in the snow you might be a little sketched out. It's only a couple of miles, although if you want to push on beyond the lakes you can hike up the ridge and beyond and it adds more miles. There are fish in the lakes, and we saw some kiddos out dunking a worm beneath a bobber. I don't think that's a main draw, but there were some fly fisherman giving it a go, too, so it does attract all kinds. The vast majority, however, are just out to stretch their legs and take in the views. All the hiking warnings apply--be prepared, pack lots of water as it does get hot, even though some of it is in the shade. Wildlife abounds, but give them plenty of space. Enjoy the summer wildflowers. And appreciate the fact that this is practically in your backyard if you live in SLC.

Are you seeking a longer, but low-challenge hike? Fair amount of shade with a plethora of wildlife?…read moreALL THE WILDFLOWERS if visiting around July? The opportunity to explore SEVEN lakes? Well, you have found your trail! Arriving at 6:30am, we began at Silver Lake, parking in the Brighton Visitor's Center lot, and taking the boardwalk toward the wooded area on the backside of the Lake. From here, you can trek the Lake Solitude Trail on the right to that same named lake, and then return to the Twin Lakes trail, but we went straight to the latter. In the future I'd hit up Lake Solitude, though (it's only a little out of the way), and you should too! As the trail begins, there is a portion bordered by rocks on each side, and little pikas scurried all about! They were not particularly frightened of us, so I got quite close, and they are heartbreakingly adorable. Following that, the incline steepens, but only for a bit, and it is probably the most you'll experience for the entirety of your hike, so it's nice to get it out of the way first thing. When we arrived at Twin Lakes we met a moose crowned by a gigantic rack, so did not really explore that area. He was completely unperturbed by us, and contentedly continued munching his leafy breakfast. The next portion of the trail is mostly wooded, lush, green, and particularly gorgeous. We saw a female moose just as soon as we entered the forested part, and happened upon a dead porcupine (oh, to see a live one in the wild!). The trail is mostly flat as it delivers you to Lake Mary (my favorite!). This is the largest of these bodies of water, but I loved her for the surrounding rocky scenery. You will find silvery schools of fish glinting in the sunlight, translucent emerald water, and myriad varying views as you trek around the lake. Moving onward, the incline increases slightly, but it's nothing major. Lake Martha will shortly appear on your right. She was small, surrounded by grass, and we did not linger too long. It will take a bit more time to arrive at Catherine, but the trail is easy and mostly shaded. When you reach a fork in the trail, take the left (with a sign regarding camping 200 feet from bodies of water) to head straight to Lake Catherine, or take the right (with a "trail" sign) up to the peak. The latter is exposed and a little rocky with a steeper incline. You can continue on that same route to Sunset Peak for a view of all three lakes, but we opted to stop here, admiring the view of Lake Catherine's glittering surface, then heading back, and taking the trail, now on our right, to break at Catherine, my second favorite lake. There were masses of wildflowers, and the water was near luminously clear. As you retrace your steps on the way to the remaining portion of the loop, you are treated to a stunning vista of the previous lakes and mountains beyond, then a wide-spanning view of fields and Dog Lake on your right. Dog Lake, a smaller, marshy spot, looks like a moose's dream hang out, and was our last stop. Following this, the trail is much wider, open, and more crowded. While not bad, it certainly suffered in comparison to the hike previous. In the future, though I would be sad to miss Dog Lake, I would probably skip it and make my return from the sister lakes back toward Silver Lake, but it is also nice not to have to go back the way you came. I just found the congested trail off-putting after previously experiencing all the serenity of nature with little interruption by other people. We started at 6:30am. This hike took us 4 hours, at an easygoing pace and with short breaks at each lake. Including additional wandering/off trail exploration, it ended up a total of 7.3 miles. Speaking of which, the trails are not marked well, in fact, are not marked most of the time. I would recommend utilizing the Alltrails app. We did, and even so still got off track for a bit. TL;DR - Fairly easy hike, especially for one nearing 7 miles. Excellent if you enjoy variety, and as it is a loop with only backtracking through the three sister lakes, there is always something new to see. Expect lots of animals, including moose, pika, chipmunks, ground squirrels, rabbits, butterflies, and birds. Some exposed areas, but more is shaded, with heavily wooded portions. Alltrails app is a must as the trails are poorly marked. Busy at the start and end.

It's starting to get way too hot in the valley, so I've been trying to escape up into the cooler…read moremountain temperatures for the past couple of weeks. What a stunning hike this was! We started the hike from a less populated trail starting near Solitude, but there's another, more popular trail that goes to this same viewpoint. I believe the route we took was called the Beaver Pond trail from Solitude. The wildflowers are starting to come out and the views are absolutely stunning. The lake itself was perfectly still and reflecting the beautiful aspens. We came here on a Friday night and lots of people were backpacking here and setting up camp around the lake. What a beautiful place to backpack, and a short little backpacking trip! I would definitely come back to backpack this sometime. The temperature was perfect, although it was a little bit buggy so bug spray was necessary. We even ended up needing sweatshirts on the way down. Our trail was about 4.2 miles RT, but the regular Willow Lake/Willow Heights trail is 2.5-2.8 miles RT. Definitely worth checking out right now as the wildflowers come out!

Do you ever feel like you just need to spend some time outdoors? Some might call it woo woo, but…read morewith the cooler temperatures, I have not been out on as many adventures as usual, and my spirit definitely required a reconnection with nature. It hit me acutely about a week back, and, while I have my trusty standard hikes (I swear I visit Bell's Canyon near weekly!), I wanted to go somewhere new. Willow Heights popped up while searching Alltrails in an attempt to locate a different hike in the same area. The one I'd originally had in mind didn't feature a lake, so Willow Heights quickly won over my interest. At just over two miles, it is a great option for those seeking a quick hike. Located a ways up the canyon, and though not super well marked, if you utilize GPS and watch for cars parked along the road, it is not too difficult to spot. There is a small etched boulder that serves as the trail marker. The path starts with some incline, but nothing too challenging. There are aspens EVERYWHERE, and, in the early morning light, their bare branches and trunks appeared so starkly white against the blue sky. It was incredibly striking! As elevation is gained, more pines start to sprout up, though with no loss of aspens. We did not see any, but moose are said to be common hiking companions. Eventually, you will reach a large open field (I imagined it full of wildflowers mid-summer), and then the trail breaks off into a wide loop around the water. It's a small lake, but it's still a lake, so I'll take it, even frozen, as it was at this time. I found a raised spot on the west side, and settled in to enjoy the perfect silence and view of surrounding snow-topped mountains. And speaking of snow, in November, there were spots with plenty, though more ice than anything else. We brought crampons, but didn't bother to use them as the bottom of the trail was entirely clear, and my hands were too frozen to maneuver crampons over my boots once we reached the more slippery spots. It was okay without, but further into the winter you will certainly want 'em. There were also areas that, with several inch deep shoe prints, clearly get pretty darn muddy once warmed by the sun. It was cold enough that the dirt was frozen for us. Because Big Cottonwood is a watershed, dogs and swimming are prohibited. Camping is allowed, but I don't think fires are (though we saw what was very clearly a fire pit near the lake). I could see this being a popular hike during other seasons, though, on a cold Sunday morning, we only happened upon one other group right as we exited the trail.

I had a couple of hours free before my work day started and ChatGPT recommended this hike. It was…read morean excellent recommendation. Good distance, mostly shaded during the early morning and amazing views. I could not have been happier to squeeze this hike in. Very popular in the morning. I parked by the adjacent park. Please come and create your own adventure.

Hike relatively short... Able to go with the kids and it's round trip. You can see the peak from…read moreafar it's labeled as Logan Temple. There's a memorial park when you're done. Very small and cool to relax before heading to the car.

The hike from Silver Lake to Twin Lakes is one of our favorites in the Wasatch Mountains! It's…read moreespecially outstanding in the autumn with the spectacular fall colors, but it's also fun in the winter before the Solitude Nordic Center opens. Although Silver Lake is often a zoo, fewer people venture to Twin Lakes, so it's a great escape from the crowds. Remember your Ten Essentials and then get outside and go for an adventure!

I hiked this trail in the fall and it was beautiful! The trail starts at Silver Lake, which was…read morevery picturesque (although more of a swamp than a lake when I was there). There were multiple photo shoots going on, in addition to a few mooses just off the path. Although I would put myself in the "not very fit" category, I do hike often. I found this hike to be very difficult on my back due to the steepness (but I've had several spinal surgeries, so maybe that's not a typical person's experience here). The hike is 2.3 miles with a 757 foot elevation gain, and I'd say that elevation takes place over just 1.5 miles. The trail can also get quite rocky, so I would highly recommend a hiking pole if you have back, ankle, or knee issues. This trail wasn't busy at all when I visited (late Friday afternoon) and definitely had a huge WOW factor at the top. I explored some of the trails along the lakes and could not find a way that led all the way around. Give yourself enough time to sit and annoy the beautiful scenery and see if you can spot any pikas on the rocks. I'd definitely highly recommend giving this trail a try!

A stunning hike! We started at the trailheald to BLOODS LAKE, a busy spot with families swimming…read moreand playing with RC vehicles on the rocks and in the water.. headed up to Lake Lackawxen which is only a mile up the trail from Bloods Lake. Just beyond beautiful and a fairly easy hike. Some shaded spots for my husband and some full on sun spots for me. A fairly busy trail but not so much that it was hard to enjoy the serenity. Parking does look to be a challenge- we got lucky and someone was leaving so we were able to grab that spot. A place I'd gladly return!

Trail to the lake is rated moderate and is a short hike around 3 miles rounds trip…read more Dogs are allowed on the trail if kept on a leash. Dogs are NOT permitted 100 feet near the lake due to pathogens. Inflated are prevalent in this area so keep an eye out. We didn't see any today, which I was hoping to do. Lake Lackawxen is only a mile up the trail from Bloods Lake , so we hiked up there as well. Both Lakes are Beautiful especially this time of year. Road closes for tje winter so tje best time to hike this area is from spring to fall. DOG OWNERS please pick up after your dogs and take it out with you. Too many dog bags on the trail today.

I had to pick my jaw up off the ground so many times! Silver Lake was absolutely beautiful. The…read morewater was crystal clear and the mountains in the background were breathtaking. I loved the boardwalk around the lake. I was hoping to see a moose but didn't. A little girl walked by and said "mommy, isn't this where the moose was last week?" Non the less, I would do it over and over. I loved Silver Lake and I loved Utah! @outdoorswithmandy

Nice. It's a hiking trail. And it's got dirt, trees, and some grass. Sometimes the sun is there,…read moresometimes it's not. Catch a vibe.

Bingham Copper Mine Overlook! (GR2F+C5 Tooele, UT) Most take their 4WDs (more than AWDs) to reach…read moreit. If you're not using a heavy-duty vehicle, you're gonna wanna park lower and hike up. . Woulda been nice if the online sources mentioned this rough terrain beforehand. + Free parking and access. . I saw many vehicles park at Butterfield Peaks Trailhead (FRMC+PX Tooele, UT). . Possible to drive part of the way up the rocky, bumpy path to park at this elbow: 40.493501, -112.181366, then hike the rest of the way up. ~2mi round trip. - No shade throughout the hike. - Dry, sunny climate. + The first animal crossing of my trip occurred on this route! Cute rooster family just adorably crossing the road right in front of me. * Fun fact: Bingham Copper Mine yields +500 tons of Cu daily! One of the largest copper sources in the world.

The new mountain biking and hiking trails in Butterfield Canyon are excellent. It's a refreshing…read morecontrast to the frequently busy Corner Canyon trail network across the valley. The location is super convenient for me, and I love that they've built dedicated downhill mountain biking trails. Overall, Butterfield Canyon is a fantastic addition to the area for both riders and hikers.