After never having been to this unique mountain range in Utah, I hiked the South Willow Lake Trail a few days ago. I had heard bout it and had seen some photos, but when I did this trail the only word I could think of was – WOW!
Getting to the trailhead was a chore. I live in Sandy, Utah, a suburb a little less than 20 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City. The trailhead for the South Willow Lake Trail was around a 60 mile drive, with the last 3 or so miles being a very narrow, dirt road.
Even though I would be hiking up over 2,500 vertical feet starting from over 7,400 feet I knew it would be a hot day. Because of this I started at around 6 AM. The trail started out through a forest of evergreens and other trees and quickly transitioned to aspen groves.
While getting through the first forested section I saw an incredible sunrise unfold. At around 8,400 feet or so the trees thinned out. This was when Deseret Peak showed itself. The huge peak towered over the small valley I was going up with huge cliffs and chutes all along the western side.
The trail began to level out in places and traversed the sides of the valley before going over a ridge. The views along the way were incredible. Deseret Peak towered over the east side and I could see the southern end of the Great Sale Lake, the Tooele Valley and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. I ended up hiking the Deseret Peak Loop Trail 4 days after this hike.
At a little past the 2 mile mark I came down a the other side of a ridge and exited a forested area into a large valley filled with a few trees, scrub brush and grasses. The mountains to the west were amazing to look at. The trail meandered a bit before turning to the west about a mile later. At this point I knew my destination had to be over a hill in what must have once been a small glacial basin beneath the towering cliffs.
The trail continued through brush and grass to top of a hill and South Willow Lake finally showed itself. South Willow isn’t a large lake and it was low because of summer evaporation, but it was gorgeous.
I got some photos and video and then wanted to see if I could get around the lake. I got to some very heavy tree cover and decided to head up the scree at the base of the enormous cliffs instead. Hiking another half mile or so up some very loose scree I took a break and just admired the scenery.
The hike back down was uneventful, but very warm. I drained both 64 oz bottles before getting even half way down to the trailhead and I’m glad I had some cold drinks waiting for me when I ended my hike!
If you have a few minutes, check out the following video!
My hike took me up the South Willow Lake via Stansbury Crest Trail . The distance was a little over 8.5 miles and the vertical gain, including the little scramble up the scree, was over 2,500. Start to finish, including breaks, my time on the trail was just over 5 hours. It was a very good morning!
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