Bloods Lake Hiking Trail

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, I drove up Guardsman Pass, one of the 58 Scenic Backways designated by the State of Utah, where epic mountain views are abundant. It took me about 20 minutes to get from Main Street Park City to the parking lot, which was on my right. Note: Guardsman Pass is only open from May to October Once parked, cross the street and make your way over to a prominent sign marking the new Bloods Lake Trailhead. The new trail is beautiful as it meanders through meadows, with scenic views of the Wasatch, and dense Aspen groves, which are showing their true colors! About 1 mile, there is a short steep section before the trail flattens out and Bloods Lake comes into view.