Random Rambler: Silver Lake - Post Boardwalk Renovation

Silver Lake is a beautiful lake located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It a super easy mostly boardwalk loop around a high alpine lake with beautiful peaks above it. Since late 2022 they have been rebuilding the boardwalk so it has only been partially accessible and not a loop. Well, today we noticed that the project is now complete! We had planned on just going up to Lake Solitude today, which includes some of Silver Lake. However since the boardwalk has been completed we decided we would finish the loop today.

I decided to make it a separate post, so forgive the sudden jump in lighting partway through.

Quick Details:

Length: About 9/10ths of a mile loop.
Trail Type: Loop
Difficulty: DR2. With the boardwalk restored, and the trail leveled out I believe it is actually doable in a wheelchair. At least a powered one, or with a good helper.
Elevation Gain: About 40 feet.
Restroom: Yes, flush toilets at the visitor center.
Dogs? No. Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed.
Other Info: This is now a fee area. $10.00 for a 3-day pass.

To Get Here:

Drive to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. As you enter the one way loop for Brighton the Solitude Nordic Center/visitor center will be on the right. Overflow parking across the street. If both lots are full (which we have experienced) you can park at the big Brighton parking lot which will add ~2/10 of a mile each way.

Fun skeletons on Bandits Grill & Bar (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)). We ended up having dinner there on the way home.

The mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon (PSP).

Even with the seriously weirdly warm and storm free fall we are having, it is still such a short window to enjoy the color (PSP).

Uh Oh. I hope we don’t get rained on (PSP).

Mount Millicent as we approach Brighton (PSP).

Scott Hill from the parking lot. I just love the Mickey Mouse shaped tailings piles.

And… the cluster that is the main parking lot. Oi.

The visitor center/Solitude Nordic Center. I still don’t quite understand how it came to be that Solitude has a building up in Brighton but… I don’t ski or snowboard so I don’t really know.

The Trail:

Yup, the boardwalk is done, and you can do the full loop again! Hooray. We decided to go right today.

The north side of the loop has been shifted a little and you can see where the old part of it was, and is starting to regrow.

Unnamed peak. You can just make out the trail to Twin Lakes going across it.

New boardwalk, and where the old boardwalk was.

Beaver dam.

There are quite a few little pull outs with benches.

The new bridge/fishing dock over the outlet.

With a nice seating area.

The new dock.

I dug through my archives and I do not have a picture of the original dock/bridge. In general I try to avoid getting people in my shots, so that is probably why. But, I played around on google maps.

I found these images from 2016. So yeah, they did change it a little bit.

The outlet, downstream. You can see a beaver lodge on the right.

Upstream, with Silver Lake in the background.

I am not sure if this is a beaver lodge, or just a pile of sticks.

Then we hit some wide flat hard packed dirt for a moment.

This little dock is new with the reconstruction project. We got this in exchange for a dock they removed towards the back end.

More hard packed dirt.

The lake with Mount Millicent.

Again.

At the northwest corner of the lake here is the trail that leads to the backcountry hikes, Lake Solitude and Twin Lakes. This late in the season they have taken all of the signs down though.

We hiked up to Lake Solitude from here, and after that we decided to continue around Silver Lake to check out the rest of the newly finished reconstruction project. So, the lighting will shift a little bit after here.

All of the interpretive trail signs have been taken down for the season as well.

New dock.

I found this picture on google maps of what it used to look like in 2022.

Moon.

Nice clear water.

Silver Lake.

Panoramic.

This ramp has been expanded and definitely improved.

Another beaver lodge.

Somewhere around here there used to be another small dock that was lake level. As I mentioned before, They traded this dock for the one on the other side.

Another image from google maps (from the other side of the lake, shows the old ramp and the old dock that they removed from 2021.

The lake again.

I don’t know what exactly they did to the trail, but it appears to be very hard packed substance of some sort. Either way, it appears to be way more stroller and even wheelchair friendly.

Little splash of color.

The lake again.

More hard packed trail.

The lake again.

Closer view of Scott Hill.

Panoramic.

More hard packed trail.

The lake again.

Little wooded section. I am pretty sure they opted to remove some boardwalk in place of the hard packed material here.

Here are some images from my blog back in 2023 from the other direction. I guess it wasn't boardwalk, just lined.

Trees in the path. It is a little jarring, this trail hasn't really changed at all since I was a kid, and now it is quite different.

Back to boardwalk.

This pretty much looks like what it used to.

Scott Hill.

The inlet heading into the lake.

Little patches of color.

Continuing along.

This dock appears to have been rebuilt pretty much the same way it was before. Maybe a little wider and not as far into the lake.

Image from by blog in 2023.

Google maps image from 2018

And 2021.

This however is completely new. No fishing opportunities here, I guess this one is just to rest at.

Another image from my blog in 2023. Again, from the other direction.

Another beaver dam.

The lake again.

Scott Hill.

Unlike the other side, this side the boardwalk appears to follow the original path.

But there are some new seating areas.

Little sign reminding you to stay on the established paths.

Looking back.

Back to the visitor center.

The Solitude Nordic Center/Visitor Center.

The Brighton Store & Café.

Heading down the canyon. Scott Hill (PSP).

Some roadside color (PSP).

Traffic heading down (PSP). Ooof. It wasn’t as bad as last week, but it was a little rough.

A kind of meh sunset (PSP).

I love Silver Lake, I really do, but it has just become so crowded over the years. The fact that it is now a fee area did not deter the crowds much. I am glad we decided to go up to Lake Solitude and escape the crowds for a bit. I am glad the boardwalk reconstruction project is done, but man, it is still a crowded trail. It was nice to see the changes though. I think I am going with 7 out of 10 squirrels today.