The Wasatch Crest Trail runs along the high ridge between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Park City. It continues past Desolation Peak, with Desolation down Lake below and then descends via Mill Creek Canyon. My hike dropped down to Desolation Lake and then continued to the end of the trail at the Mill D North Parking area.
This particular hike starts at the Wasatch crest connect trailhead, which is at an elevation of around 9,150 feet. The first mile up to the ridge gets a little steep at around 18-20% grade in places. Once up on the ridge the trail passes Scotts Peak, which has a Utah Amateur Radio Club (UARC) communication site on it. The trail continues along the ridge at just under 10,000 for several miles before starting to descend close to Silver Peak. Just past Desolation Peak the trail drops back into Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The trail passes through some nice groves of pines and aspens. Wildflowers in early summer can be spectacular and they certainly were on this hike. The halfway point is just past Desolation Peak as the trail starts to drop down to Desolation Peak. This is about the 5-mile mark for this hike and the vertical gain to this point is a little over 10,000 feet.
Just past Desolation Peak is an excellent view of ski trails at Park City and below to the east is Desolation Lake. The view of the canyon looks far down to the Salt Lake Valley and Mt. Raymond and Gobblers Knob tower above the road at the bottom canyon.
Desolation Lake is a place I hike to quite a bit. It is a small lake, but the water is clear and when the wind is calm the reflection of colors off the lake are amazing!
As I mentioned earlier, wildflowers along the Wasatch Crest Trail and along the Desolation Lake Trail are amazing! The Watch Range is full of awesome places for summer wildflowers. Another fantastic place for wildflowers is the Timpanogos Basin.
My hike along the Wasatch Crest Trail to Desolation Lake and back down to the Mill D North Trailhead was just about 10 miles in length and it was worth every step!
Leave a comment