Bloods Lake
- Distance: 2.8 miles round trip
- Elevation Gain: 465 feet
- Trail Use: Hiking Only
- Loop or Out and Back: Out and Back
- Dog-Friendly: No
- Access: Trails to Transit
This summer, with the town of Park City purchasing the Bonanza Flat Conservation Area, approximately 1,350 acres of undeveloped backcountry majesty nestled in the upper elevations of the Wasatch Mountains, a new Bloods Lake Trailhead was created. Tucked on the side of a 10,000-foot mountain, Bloods Lake is a local favorite, you can’t beat a pristine high alpine lake perfect for swimming with peninsulas, rock features, and even a rope swing! The trail is fairly easy, but it does have some moderately steep areas.
The new trail is more environmentally friendly as it helps visitors to leave less of an impact on this natural setting by creating a distinctive trail that helps alleviate the amount of erosion that has been happening to the hillside on the original trail.
To get to the Bloods Lake Trailhead, you need to go up Guardsman Pass, one of the 58 Scenic Backways designated by the State of Utah, where epic mountain views are abundant. Note: Guardsman Pass is only open from May to October.
The trail is beautiful as it meanders through meadows, with scenic views of the Wasatch, and dense Aspen groves, which are showing their true colors! As I made my way through the golden tunnels, I found myself at the base of some switchbacks. This is where the trail gets pretty steep and a bit strenuous. Once I made my way up through the steep section, the trail flattened out, and Bloods Lake came into view. To catch my breath, I found a spot on the shore to grab a snack, hydrate, and take in the views. I even hiked around the entire lake and took a mental note of where the pretty awesome rope swing was for next summer’s adventures.
Iron Mountain Trail
- Distance: 2.35 miles
- Elevation Gain: 920 ft
- Trail Use: Hiking
- Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back
- Dog-Friendly: Yes
- Parking: There is no specific parking area at the trailhead, but parking is available along the road - make sure to read the signs carefully. The trailhead is at the end of Iron Canyon Court - a small cul-de-sac off of Iron Mountain Drive. There isn’t a trailhead marker so it is a little difficult to find.
Photo by, Andrew Merino
For a quick but moderately steep hike to peep some amazing colorful panoramic views, I headed up the Iron Canyon Trail, which starts at the top of Iron Mountain Court, and provides a wide view of the now colorful ski slopes of Park City Mountain.
To get there from Kimball Junction I followed Highway 224 for 3 miles to Meadows Drive, took a right, and headed to the stop sign. Then I took a left onto Aspen Springs Drive and followed it around to Delta Drive where I made another left. At the next stop sign, I turned right, and proceed straight through the next 4-way intersection until I finally came to Iron Canyon Court on the right. Keep in mind this is a neighborhood and the parking is very limited.
The vast overlook of Park City was my destination, and it is well worth the climb! Most of the trail is shaded by Aspens, so it’s like you are hiking along the yellow brick road as they shed their leaves. There are no switchbacks along this hike so it’s a pretty straight-up strenuous climb with 860 feet of elevation gain.
Once I got to the overlook, Park City Mountain reveals itself in all its fall glory, and I admired their beauty from the memorial bench with a snack and a couple of sips of water.
The trail does continue past this overlook to the ridge, where it merges with the Mid-Mountain Trail.
Park City Mountain - Jenni’s Trail
- Distance: 3 miles
- Elevation Gain: 195 ft
- Trail Use: Hiking and Biking
- Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back or Loop
- Dog-friendly: No
- Parking: Large lot at the base of Park City Mountain Resort, easy to find parking
Now that lift access is closed on Park City Mountain, the only option to get involved in some golden Aspens at the resort is to hike up! At the base area near the First Time Lift, I found signage for Jenni’s Trail, and followed the meandering, gentle uphill trail through gorgeous Aspen groves with smooth switchbacks that crossed numerous ski runs until it opened up to some beautiful views of Park City Mountain with the leaves going off. The trails are a bit of a choose your own hiking adventure, as you can go as long or as short as you want, try an out and back or a loop, by hooking up with a couple of other trails.
Partway up Jenni's Trail, there’s an intersection to head down the lower portion of Crescent Mine Grade (CMG) that will allow you to cut back to the base for a shorter loop hike. To complete Jenni's trail in its entirety, ignore the CMG turn off and keep going up until you get to Mid-Mountain trail, where you can turn around and head back down Jenni’s or for a longer hike head across Mid-Mountain Trail till it connects with CMG on the right to take you back down to the base. All along the way, you’ll be inspired by the autumn glow.
Silver Lake Trail
- Distance: 4.7 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,433 feet
- Trail Use: Hiking/Running Only
- Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back
- Dog-friendly: No
- Parking: Visitors can park at the Silver Lake Village.
Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Trail is designated as a foot-traffic only trail, so you're guaranteed more tranquility as you hike through the peaceful landscape. The trail is nicely marked beginning at the base of the Silver Lake chairlift. This is an absolutely gorgeous hike that ends at Silver Lake with picturesque cliffs on one side and a bird’s eye view of the Heber Valley on the other.
As I started my hike up, I navigated through a narrow trail of dense trees that made me feel like I was in another world. Climbing higher I popped in and out of golden aspen groves, and as I crossed over ski runs and lift lines, the scenery was put on display as it opened up to panoramic views of the Jordanelle Reservoir and the surrounding foliage. The last 600 feet of elevation is a steep push, but once at the top, I continued to enjoy the views from the East Side of Bald Mountain wherein the distance, I could see the mist in the valleys of the Uinta Mountains.
