Lake Blanche is one of the premier hiking destinations in Utah and the photos and video from my hike will show why. Click any image to enlarge it.
This was my fourth time on the Lake Blanche Trail and as always, it was spectacular! I have done a hike to Lake Blanche in winter, one in the fall and one in the summer.
With this hike being in the middle of May, it still felt very much like early spring, especially when getting up to Lake Blanche at almost 9,000 feet.
The hike paralleled a creek, which was roaring the entire way thanks to rapidly melting snow. There were waterfalls, near and far, along the way.
The trail went in and out of pine and aspen trees and had high rocky walls on both sides of the somewhat narrow valley. Going early meant being in the shade much of the time, but there was a lot of full sun exposure before and up at the lake.
Lake Blanche is in an absolutely spectacular setting, with Sundial Peak and other mountains reflecting off it’s surface. On this May day the lake mostly was free of ice and snow covered much of the mountains behind the lake.
Once at Lake Blanche, hikers have the option of walking around the lake or just lingering on the rocks and taking in the view. There are two smaller lakes below Lake Blanche, but I didn’t visit these on this hike.
As I mentioned earlier, I have hiked Lake Blanche in the winter. The trail isn’t as heavily traveled, but it is can be a great hike. Check out the post about my Lake Blanche winter hike!
Starting from the parking area the route follows a paved walkway for about .23 miles. Before a creek crossing the path takes off into the woods to the southeast.
The path from the bridge to Lake Blanche is well traveled and easy to follow until just before the lake, where there is a lot of fairly smooth rock. The distance from the paved area to the lake is around 2.87 miles and it is a steady climb that is fairly steep (over 30 degrees) in places.
The Lake Blanche Trailhead is in Big Cottonwood Canyon at what locals call the “S curve.” It is extremely popular and the parking area fills very quickly. It is common, especially on weekends, to see people parked on the shoulder of the road more than half a mile from the trailhead. Click HERE for a map of the Lake Blanche Trailhead.
My route took me around 7.25 miles out and back and gained almost 2,800 vertical feet.
Later in the week I might hike to Red Pine Lake. The forecast is calling for fairly significant mountain snow and that sounds exciting!
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