It is July in Utah and I’m finally home for a few days. It’s been a hectic summer so far. My daughter and I decided to drive up to Alta Ski Resort this week, and hike to Cecret Lake. (The misspelling is intentional – rumor has it that the lake was named by miners and they weren’t so strong in the spelling arena.) : ) We heard that the wildflowers were starting to fully bloom and we have never made the hike to Cecret Lake, even though we ski at Alta every winter.
This is a short two mile round-trip hike deemed family friendly by many hiking publications around town. I would debate the “friendly” part as it is a fairly rocky and steep climb, but we sure crossed paths with a lot of families with young kiddos. Judging by how many crying toddlers we passed, make sure you are prepared to go slow and possibly do some carrying. Also, we went in the heat of the day which I wouldn’t recommend (we were lazy and didn’t get up early like we planned). There is very little shade, and that mountain sun is powerful (wear sunscreen and a hat and bring water!)
First we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon, past the upper parking lot at Alta, and onto the dirt road. After driving about 2 ½ miles on the dirt road (there are so many more cabins up here than I realized!), we parked at the trailhead parking lot just below the Albion Basin Campground. I would love to camp up here, but I think our 5th wheeler would be too big. My daughter thought tent camping would be great – it is absolutely beautiful.
Parking is free in the trailhead parking lot. If you want to have a picnic at the campground, there’s a $10 fee. I think it would be a lovely place to picnic during the week. The campsites might be full on weekends. There are restrooms at the trailhead (I always avoid public restrooms if at all possible because of my OCD, but these ones look pretty decent.)
Most of our hiking this summer has been in southern Utah and in Millcreek Canyon. The elevation of Alta is around 8,500 feet, so we definitely felt it. It’s so much easier when you are skiing down vs. climbing up! 🙂 We started off in the trees, which gradually opened into beautiful meadows full of wildflowers. It was really fun to check out our favorite ski lifts like Cecret, Supreme and Sugarloaf – they look so different in the summer. The upper mountains look so intimidating, but in the winter when they are covered with snow, they seem so much softer.
This is an interpretative trail so there are signs along the way which I always like to stop and read. I’m kicking myself for not taking a sign of the wildflower identification sign – I know there was lupine and columbine and paintbrush, but I don’t remember the names of the others.
After a short but steep climb, all of sudden we were at the lake. It’s just there! It’s very pretty but kind of buggy, so bring some bug spray if you are thinking of picnicking near the water. It’s a small lake, but I can’t believe I’ve never noticed it from the Sugarloaf lift. I will definitely be craning my neck back from the chair to see if I can spot it next year.
We walked around a little bit, took some pictures, fended off the bugs and headed back. The hike down was spectacular. You feel like you are on top of the world…until you look back at Devil’s Castle and realize you aren’t even close!
Another week into wildflower season would have been ideal, and I would like to do this hike again in the evening (I’m NOT a morning person as I may have mentioned before) and I think the wildflowers would just stand out so much more in a diffused light. Plus, you would have a better chance of seeing some wildlife including moose.
P.S. Just so you aren’t disappointed…dogs are NOT allowed in Little Cottonwood Canyon and you CAN’T swim in Cecret Lake. LCC is a protected watershed for the drinking water of the Salt Lake Area.
P.P.S. Don’t pick the wildflowers – it’s against the law. The flowers have such a short growing season and need all the help they can get to survive and return each year. And don’t approach wildlife, especially moose – they are very unpredictable. (My daughter teases me for being such a rule follower, but rules are made for a reason and getting fined or injured is not how you want to end such a pretty hike. The rangers up here are kinda strict. Maybe I should be a ranger. 😉
Trails and Tastings 