Friday, January 28, 2011

Lamb's Canyon, Utah

Yesterday I had to go to my dentist in Park City. Park City is only about a 20 minute drive from my house and about 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake. The drive between Salt Lake City and Park City is beautiful, despite being on a major highway (Rt 80 East). You start low and ascend quickly up into a canyon way through the Wasatch mountains. For an east coast girl I always find these mountains to be breathtaking. On the drive you pass Lamb's Canyon, just 12 miles east of Salt Lake. I visited Lamb's Canyon last July, and driving by the sign for the canyon yesterday, I was reminded of that day. If you are out in this area, a hike in Lamb's Canyon should be on your list of things to do.


The entrance to the canyon sits at 6,300 feet above sea level and there is a trail that runs up 8,100 feet above sea level. There is a small road that drives up the Canyon, with cabins scattered here and there all the way to the top. Oh how I want one of these cabins! If I were to win the lottery it would be a done deal. The road is typically gated and is only for use by the people who own the cabins. However, the day we went to check out the Canyon, the gate was open and one of the owners welcomed us to hike up the road if we wanted. So we did. We hiked as far as the road would go, up to this amazing lake (see photo below). It took us several hours to ascend and descend. Typically hiking on a road might not be that exciting, but this was one of my most beautiful and memorable hikes. We saw only a few cars coming up for the weekend. There are very few cabins. It was us and nature on that beautiful road, with views of amazing flowers, trees and mountains. I can't wait to go back and hike that road. And I want to hike the trail. 


I just discovered an awesome website that might interest the hikers out there: Trails.com. Put in your US zip code and it finds trails in your area. They have information about the Lamb's Canyon trail and they describe it as "Old-growth forests of spruce and fir, shared with quaking aspen, line a canyon fed by several springs. A steep trail to an 8,100-foot pass offers views into the valley before leading down Elbow Fork and into Mill Creek Canyon. It’s a symphony of woods, wildflowers, berries, creeks, and views." 


Sounds awesome, doesn't it? It is! Check out some photos I took from our hike last July.



Lamb's Canyon Road
Amazing views
Lake at the top of the mountain
Happy hikers

No comments:

Post a Comment