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Hiking the Uintas: four close-in day-hikes sample the best of Utah's wildest mountains - Travel

Kurt Repanshek

It's the stuff of campfire stories: legends of lost hoards of Spanish gold somewhere in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah. Throw another log on the fire and you can stoke the drama with just enough mystery to make it interesting. Although historians claim Spanish explorers first set foot in Utah in 1765, treasure seekers are convinced that gold-driven Spaniards reached the Uintas in the mid-1600s. As proof, they point to cannons, breastplates, and helmets found in the mountains.

Another interesting, but unrelated, fact to ponder is that the Uintas are one of the few mountain ranges in the West that run east to west, instead of north to south, stretching 150 miles from Kamas, on the west, to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Barely 17 miles east of Park City, these mountains are a chunk of wilderness prowled by bears, mountain lions, moose, and elk. And, thanks to its rugged personality, the landscape has changed little since 1825, when trapper William Ashley wrote that the range "is in many places fertile and closely timbered with pine, cedar, quaking-asp and a dwarfish growth of oak; a great number of beautiful streams issue from them on each side, running through fertile valleys richly clothed with grass."

Somehow, Ashley forgot to mention the many lakes sprinkled about the Uintas, many of them stocked with trout. And he probably didn't know that the state's highest point rises here, in the form of 13,528-foot Kings Peak. The bare-topped mountain lies deep within the 456,705-acre High Uintas Wilderness, an oblong tract of mountains, valleys, lakes, and meadows, where you can lose yourself for days on end.

But you don't need to head into the heart of the wilderness area to find places fertile and closely timbered. Drive 30 miles east of Kamas along the Mirror Lake Highway (State 150), and you'll pass several trailheads leading through wildflower meadows into forests thick with lodgepole pine, spruce, and fir, and to mountaintops with spectacular views in all directions.

The four hikes on page 38 are good introductions to the Uintas. Trailheads are all along Mirror Lake Highway, in a Forest Service recreation area. Pay the daily fee of $3 at a roadside kiosk about 7 miles east of Kamas; there are also self-serve dispensers along the highway. A good map of the area, listing trailheads, campsites, and picnic areas, is National Geographic Trails Illustrated's High Uintas Wilderness ($9.95; 800/962-1643 or www.nationalgeographic.com/trails).

Note that high elevations can make hiking more difficult. For more information or trail updates, contact the Kamas Ranger Station, Wasatch-Cache National Forest (435/783-4338 or www.fs.fed.us/wcnf/).

You're guaranteed to work up an appetite, so after your hike, stop in Kamas at Dick's Drive In (11-9 daily; 235 E. Center St.; 435/783-4312) for a cheeseburger and a raspberry shake, or sit down at Pasillas Restaurant (10-10 Tue-Sun; 185 S. Main St.; 435/783-6982) around the corner for steak fajitas or the grilled ahi tuna steak.

* Notch Mountain Trail. You'll understand how this trail got its name when you reach Wall Lake, a mile from the trailhead. From there you can clearly see the notch "cut out" of Notch Mountain. The trail continues past the lake and a couple of small ponds and climbs through rolling forestland before entering the Notch. You can turn around here or, if you take two cars for a car shuttle, make it a 10-mile one-way hike from the Crystal Lake parking area to the Bald Mountain parking area. DISTANCE: 6 miles round trip to the Notch. DIFFICULTY: Moderate. WHERE: The Crystal Lake trailhead is at Crystal Lake; turn off Mirror Lake Hwy near milepost 25.

* Bald Mountain Trail. If you don't have all day, this short trail (not part of the Bald Mountain option on the Notch Mountain Trail, above) zigs and zags up the rocky slopes of Bald Mountan. It takes about an hour to reach the flat summit, which offers great views in all directions and a nice picnic setting when the wind isn't blowing. With Lilly, Mirror, Trial, Washington, and other lakes gleaming below the summit, it's hard to believe that Utah is the second most arid state in the country. DISTANCE: 4 miles round trip. DIFFICULTY: Moderate, with a steep climb. WHERE: From Kamas drive 30 miles east on Mirror Lake Hwy to the trailhead parking area on the left side of the road.

* Mirror Lake Shoreline Trail. This easy gravel pathway, part of which is wheelchair accessible, circumnavigates the lake that gave its name to the scenic highway that bisects the northwestern corner of the Uintas. Perfect for youngsters without the stamina for uphill treks, this hike passes a concrete "rotten log" that shows how insects such as termites and millipedes benefit from downed trees. There also are interpretive displays of tracks from coyotes, weasels, rabbits, deer, squirrels, and pine martens. Anglers will appreciate the fact that the large lake is stocked weekly during the summer with rainbow and albino rainbow trout. DISTANCE: 1.5-mile loop. DIFFICULTY: Easy. WHERE: Milepost 31.5 on State 150, about 1 mile east of the Bald Mountain trailhead.

* Highline Trail to Naturalist Basin. From the south side of Mirror Lake Highway, the Highline Trail dives quickly into the High Uintas Wilderness Area, leading to remote back-country lakes and picturesque high-country basins. Despite the generally rugged, up-and-down nature of most Uinta hiking trails, both this stretch of the Highline Trail and the spur to Jordan, Shaler, and other lakes in Naturalist Basin are relatively flat. You'll want to start early and allow a full day for this area. DISTANCE: 14 miles round trip. DIFFICULTY: Easy terrain; moderate because of distance. WHERE: The Highline trailhead is located near milepost 34 on Mirror Lake Hwy.

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