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Quick Details:
Length: 1 mile from the TH which is .3 miles from the parking lot. 2.6 out and back.
Trail Type: Out and back, you can add additional trails to make it a loop.
Difficulty: DR4 it is UP and rocky.
Elevation Gain: 710 ft.
Restroom: Yes. I am pretty sure the new restrooms at the Solitude Nordic Center are flush, but I have not used them myself yet.
Dogs? No. Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed.
To Get Here:
Drive to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Park at the Solitude Nordic Center. If you miss it, it is a loop and you can go back around.
You will need to go around Silver Lake to get to the trailhead. If you go counter clockwise, or to the right it is shorter at about 3/10’s of a mile.
The smoke and haze is so thick you can barely make out the mountains (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).
Some fall color (PSP).
The changes to the Mill D parking lot (PSP). They even added a crossing light so it seems a lot more safe.
The Trail:
As stated you will need to go around Silver Lake to the SW corner of the lake. Quickest way to get there is to the right, or counterclockwise. It is about 3/10’s of a mile that way.
I was hoping that we would get up above the smoke, but no such luck today.
Silver Lake.
Well hello there handsome fella.
No moose all summer, and then bam. 2nd one in as many weeks haha. Nice to see one with a rack too.
It looks like he is shedding the velvet off his antlers.
Well hello!
That velvet shedding is so metal!
Alright he was getting a little too close for comfort. Time to make a hasty retreat. Note, these are zoomed in, so he is not as close as he appears.
Now that I made my way a little further around the lake he turned around again haha. Meh. I'd rather be safe than sorry.
It about 3/10ths of a mile later you will come upon the trailhead. It is a long mile from here. It really is just a mile, but because it is a little tougher it feel like more than a mile.
Some pretty forest.
At the 4 way intersection, take the left trail. It is signed, but they do eventually take the sign down for the ski season. Right is a winter trail, and forward would take you to Lake Solitude.
Some of the aspens are starting to turn yellow.
It sure is pretty up here.
The remains of an old structure of some sort.
Pretty aspens.
Gnarly old pine.
It is quite the climb!
Some early changers.
Before long you will reach the scree fields. I want to say this is approximately halfway from the parking lot. Maybe just a smidge less.
The scree fields offer one of my absolute favorite views above Silver Lake with the surrounding peaks.
So pretty. Also, if you look super close to the right of the outlet you can see the tiny dot that is the moose we saw earlier.
Oh! Hello there. This is the first time I have seen a marmot on this trail. But, it should not be a surprise as I have seen them near nearby Lake Catherine.
He climbed to the top of that boulder and then just kind chilled for a minute.
Silver Lake again.
Panoramic.
The marmot is still just chilling on the rock, taking in the views I guess?
Well hello there cutey! Pikas don’t often get this close to us. He’s probably been given food. but hey, I appreciate the close encounter. I love pikas.
Aw, he/she dropped the leaf. I wonder if he/she was looking to trade haha.
We got a brief respite from the climb, but heading back to it.
Most of the wildflowers appear to be done for the season, but there are some daisies still hanging on.
Geranium leaves are early, and pretty changers.
There is a thinner side trail to the right of the main trail. There are a couple spots that are more steep than the main trail, but it is a lot less rocky. The last few times we did this trail, I did this on the way down, and have been wanting to try it on the up slope. I think it is better.
There were some people coming down, so we popped back over to the main trail. She what I mean by rocky?
looking back down. You know, we have been hiking long enough that we don’t often require a full sit down and catch our breathes break. But between the smoke, and the steep climb, we sure needed it here. Oi. Lesson learned. If I can’t see the mountains, I should plan on an easier hike.
I can just make out the dam above. Oh boy, not much further. The thinner trail does continue up for a ways, but it looked like it might have been a little more steep, so we opted to take the original, rocky trail.
Rocky trail.
Hrm. Maybe the thinner trail was the better option.
Looking back across the canyon towards Scott Hill.
Mt. Millicent.
The Twin Lakes dam.
Looking back down. Holy crap is it is super hazy today!
The Twin Lakes dam. The water level is still pretty high.
Twin Lakes Reservoir. If I understand it correctly, there was, a long time ago, 2 lakes here, twins as you say. When they built the reservoir, it combined the twins and crated the conjoined twins lake, or more correctly, Twin Lakes Reservoir. We have seen it when it was drained and that seems to confirm that idea.
The water is pretty clear.
The outlet stream is dry. So the lake isn’t as full as we have seen it, but pretty full!
We decided to wander around and find a private area to ourselves. Most groups tended to hang out right here by the dam. I guess I can't blame them. After that brutal climb, not to mention the bad air, all I wanted to do was find a spot to rest for a minute.
The lake and Mount Millicent and Mount Tuscarora.
We found another scree field, so I thought we would hang out here and watch for pikas.
Well hello there!
Decided to switch to the telephoto lens for a minute.
I know they are essentially wild gerbils, but I just love watching pikas. They are freaking adorable.
Look at his adorable little toes!
Scurry scurry scurry.
They are super quick and very adept to navigating these scree fields.
This one decided to keep a watch on us on his high perch.
Such a cute little stinker.
I caught him sounding the alarm. Pikas make a surprisingly loud, high pitched scream to alert each other.
Another one came out to investigate.
Sounding the alarm.
I highly doubt they would make good house pets, but I still want one haha. but no, I would never snatch one out of the wild.
The other one again.
We didn’t see any of their haystacks, the piles of flowers they leave out to dry before winter, until we spotted this one. Either it has been moved to a den, or this one is super smart and dries out his flowers under the protection of a stone.
Well, my original plan was to circumnavigate the lake, but the long climb really took it out of us. So we decided to just head back down.
Twin Lakes Reservoir with Mt. Millicent, Mt Tuscarora, and Mt. Wolverine.
Panoramic.
The dam.
The lake again.
Victim of the reservoir.
The dam and Mt. Millicent.
Back side of the dam.
Looking across the canyon towards Scott Hill again.
Looking down again.
Pretty forest.
Depleted lupine.
Looking down again.
Old mine.
Some pretty flowers still hanging on.
View down.
Another mine tailing pile.
There is a side trail that offers a decent view of Silver Lake. But I think the best view is from the scree field.
Some nice early changers.
A sad looking fireweed.
Purple and white daisies.
The amazing view from the scree field. Too bad there’s so much smoke!
Another panoramic.
The moose from earlier decided to bed down near the lake. I really hoped he decides to stay put.
The lake again.
Another pika.
The lake again. I really do enjoy this view.
Hello little fella.
This guy appears to be used to being fed. He came pretty close.
Sorry cute little guy, I generally try to avoid feeding wildlife. Don’t want them to get dependent on it.
Back into the aspens.
Early changers.
Pretty forest.
The four way intersection. You are going to want to turn right here to get back to the parking lot.
Some more early changers.
Back down to Silver Lake. Normally I would continue around it from the other direction, but it is super crowded so we just came back the way we came, the quicker route. Not to mention, I was kind of hoping to see the moose again.
The moose antlers.
Mt. Millicent.
The lake again.
Yep, that is definitely a moose.
Cropped a little closer to show the velvet shedding.
To top of todays amazing wildlife filled day, an osprey with a fresh catch.
Even though I only caught it in silhouette due to the smoke and lighting I know it is an osprey for 2 reasons. 1) ospreys always tend to situate the fish face forward. and 2) I did catch a blurry image of it and can see the coloring is right.
The moose again.
Another crop job to show the velvet shedding.
Beaver dam.
Heading down Big Cottonwood Canyon (PSP).
With all the smoke watching the sun was weird on the way down (PSP). It started out orange, went bright red, and then just disappeared entirely! There is no way it set from here, to the time we hit the bottom of the canyon, but we absolutely could not make out where it was. Super eerie! And we just did a tough hike in all that. Our lungs definitely suffered.
Another shot heading down (PSP).
Some more early color (PSP).
Smoky valley, and the sun should be back there somewhere but there is no sign of it (PSP).
Well, that is a tough hike, and the smoke certainly made it tougher. It was a little busier than I expected, but not too bad. Silver Lake was as busy as expected. However, the hike was pretty. I enjoyed one of my favorite overlooks, and we had an incredible day filled with wildlife! Wow! 9 out of 10 squirrels today. Loosing one for the crowds around Silver Lake, and for toughness.
As for difficulty, This one is short, but it is a relentless climb! The smoke certainly did not help today DR4.
Dogs are not allowed in Big Cottonwood Canyon, so be sure to leave Fido at home.
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