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Lake Mary is a beautiful alpine reservoir located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The trail goes through a mixed forest, and wildflower covered meadows. It features a few streams and of course, the stunning Lake Mary surrounded by gorgeous mountain peaks. The trail is a little on the tough side, but it is worth it. Plus, if you have more energy there are an additional 3 lakes on this trail and an option to connect to the other 3 Brighton Lakes as well (though I have never done that). Lake Mary though, is one of our favorites that we tend to do quite often.
Quick Details:
Length: It is about 1.2 miles to the lake. With a bit of exploring and adding Dog Lake we did about 3 miles out and back with a spur.
Trail Type: Out and back. Longer options.
Difficulty: This is a bit of a climb! DR4.
Elevation Gain: About 860 feet.
Restroom: There are a few around Brighton.
Dogs? No. Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed.
Other Info:
To Get Here:
Drive to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Head to the back of the 1 way loop to the big parking lot for Brighton Resort. The trail is next to the big Brighton Resort map/sign to the right of the main Brighton Resort Building.
Heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).
Well. You certainly don’t see that every day (PSP). I am glad we are not stuck behind that! But it did make us wonder, was it in the road?
Blue skies green canyon (PSP).
Nearing the top (PSP).
Mount Millicent as we near the loop road (PSP).
The Trail:
This sign is new. The mileage seems closer than the old kiosk above.
Starting the climb!
The original trailhead kiosk. As I said, the new one below appears to be a little closer to the actual mileage. Which, honestly now that I think about it doesn’t surprise me. Trails get re-routed and the forest service doesn’t update the signs when that happens. We have noticed that at Catherine Pass, Willow Heights, Cecret Lake, and other places.
Well. That is a little unnerving. o.0 I think it was actually over, as we saw quite a few people with bows coming down just below this, and we didn’t see one after this. Still though…
This is new. Actually we noticed they added quite a few helpful signs this year. Hooray!
Now, we hit the hill. Oh boy.
Looking across the canyon towards Scott Hill. Scott Hill is easy to identify due to the Mickey Mouse shaped mine tailings on it.
The climb. Oi.
Fireweed. YAY! These are one of my favorites!
Geraniums.
Columbines. Another favorite.
Fireweed.
Lupine.
Pot gut squirrel getting it’s nom on.
Fireweed.
Columbines.
Paintbrush.
Lupine.
Corn lilies.
Under the ski lift. I believe it is the Majestic Ski Lift.
Gnarly tree.
Elkweeds! Another favorite of mine. Sadly none of them were next to the trail, but it is nice to see it anyway.
Aster of some sort. I generally just refer to pretty much all asters as wild daisies. I can’t tell them apart enough to identify them properly.
This part of the trail has been rerouted for a little bit now, but the signs are new.
Lots of arnica.
Fireweed. It is a good day for fireweed.
With Scott Hill in the background.
Fluffy clouds.
Lots of arnica.
Closer.
Pretty meadows.
With a fireweed.
Fireweed and arnica.
Fireweeds and lupine.
Western cone flower with a bumblebee friend.
Monkshood with a bumblebee.
Another aster of some sort.
I call this Dinosaur Rock, cause it looks like a dinosaur munching on plants to me.
Fireweed.
Another.
Looking back down.
Little break from the climb for a minute.
More asters of some sort.
Fireweed.
Lupine and a bumblebee.
Lupine and arnica.
One of the disc golf baskets.
Mount Millicent.
Another pot gut.
Another.
Up to the water tank. We used to use this as a rest stop to sit for a spell and catch our breaths. But, since we quit smoking a few months back we didn’t need to stop as long. This trail still kicks our butts, but it is doing it much less so today! Hooray!
More flat before the next climb begins.
Nice mix of color.
You know, there are a lot of wildflowers to enjoy up here today, but not as many as I thought there would be. We did have a weak winter and have not had much rain this year so that is probably why.
Lots of lupine.
Lots of paintbrush.
Mount Tuscarora and Mount Millicent.
What I assume is an old support for a ski lift.
Looking back down.
Lupine.
Lots of it!
Lots of monkshood and some elephant heads I didn’t notice until now.
Lupine, bluebells, and more.
The big boulder. I want to say this is about halfway.
Another break from the climb.
Another new directional sign.
Entering the forest.
Nice mix.
I am not 100% sure, but I believe this is Snake Creek. I determined that a few years ago basing on the nearby named features.
Itty bitty waterfall.
Another short flat section before the next big hill.
Pot gut.
Getting it’s nom on.
Twin springs coming down the trail.
The first one.
The second one.
A desire path they are trying to revegetate.
I just assume this is a ski run. We have never explored it.
It is closed for the archery event, so we couldn’t explore even if we wanted to. But, also, there is a new sign here that says that is where the disc golf course is. Okay, good to know. Anyway, follow the sign, and stay right.
The beginning of the next climb, with lots of tree roots.
Old sign directing you to the right. This has been here as long as we have been hiking this trail, and probably quite a few years before that.
Forest.
Paintbrush.
Aster.
Paintbrush.
Forest and climb.
Neat bent tree.
More climbing. Oi.
The first major trail split. Stay right. Just about a half mile to go.
The valley below.
Big Cottonwood Creek. The Seven Brighton Lakes are considered to be the headwaters of Big Cottonwood Creek, this is the outflow of four of them: Lake Mary, Lake Martha, Lake Catherine, and Dog Lake.
Bridge over it.
Upstream.
Super clear water.
Downstream.
Another short break from the climb. This is one thing I will say for this trail. It is a climb, sure, but there are quite a few breaks in the climb scattered along the route. It isn't just a strait up slog.
Lots of lupine.
I love this old spooky looking tree.
Next trail split. If you want to do the additional 3 lakes for the full Seven Lakes, this is where you would split off to hit Twin Lakes, Lake Solitude, And Silver Lake. I assume you would do this after hitting the other 3 up here though.
I have never done it, but I think the best route would be, Dog, Mary Martha, Catherine, (back down to here then across to) Twin, Solitude, Silver.
Arnica.
Lots of it.
Boulder on a larger boulder.
Back to the climb. Extra rocky through here.
More rocky climb.
The creek.
I have no idea what this is, I assume it was an old overflow dam or something?
This looks like some sort of mint, but it is so tiny!
More arnica.
Lots of it lining the trail and Mount Millicent above.
The dam.
Penstemon.
Short rocky hill.
I call this section the narrows. Cause it is a narrow path between high plants.
The dam.
Then there is the narrow section along the front of the dam.
Outflow.
View across the canyon.
I wonder what happened here. It is neat looking! I am guessing they might have done some blasting up here to put the dam in and this is the result of some of that? I donno, just a guess.
It is super rocky through here.
The last rocky hill.
We made it! Phew!
No swimming, and no camping within 200 feet.
I love these boulder islands..jpg)
Panoramic.
Mount Millicent.
Mount Tuscarora.
Fireweed.
More boulder islands..jpg)
Another panoramic.
The front of the lake with the dam.
The big boulder. It offers a great view of the lake. So it usually has a group of people on top of it, but not today!
Mount Millicent and boulder islands.
The back end of the lake with Sunset Peak and Mount Tuscarora..jpg)
Another panoramic. With Mount Tuscarora and Mount Millicent.
Penstemon.
The back if the lake again, with the cliffs.
The back of the lake. With Pioneer Peak, Sunset Peak and Mount Tuscarora..jpg)
Another panoramic showing Pioneer Peak, Sunset Peak, Mount Tuscarora, and Mount Millicent.
The front of the lake.
Mount Millicent and boulder islands.
The front of the lake and the dam.
The back of the lake..jpg)
Another panoramic.
You can see the high water line along the cliffs.
Boulder islands.
The front again..jpg)
Another panoramic.
The front with the dam.
Nice clear water.
One last look at the lake. We considered continuing up to the Lake Martha, or possibly even Lake Catherine above but we had gotten a late start today so we decided against it. Maybe next time. We started back instead.
Some asters growing right next to a boulder.
The big boulder again.
Asters.
The lake through the trees.
Paintbrush.
Weird cement mound.
The steep, rocky scramble down towards the front of the dam.
Into what I call the narrows.
Geranium.
View across the canyon.
Water coming down the trail.
Thistle.
The outflow.
The dam..jpg)
Panoramic.
Little scree field. We sometimes see pikas or even marmots here.
We did see a little pika nearby. Hello cutey. He was very quick to disappear though.
Continuing along.
Arnica and lupine.
Arnica.
Back down to the little pond.
And it’s spillway.
Lupine.
Forest.
The creek.
Pretty purple asters.
Cliffs.
Landis just happened to notice these marmot friends.
Eventually I decided to pull out the telephoto lens.
Getting his nom on.
Both of them. The one on the right looks a little bigger. I wonder if it is a parent and child.
They are so cute!
Cute.
I am assuming this is momma.
And young.
So cute.
I love how much they use their tails for balance.
Continuing along.
Paintbrush and lupine.
Forest.
Crossing the creek.
We decided to take the very short detour out to Dog Lake.
Columbine.
Lots of lupine.
LOTS of lupine.
Closer.
Pioneer Peak.
Paintbrush and lupine.
Trail split. You can go either way to either get just a view of the lake, or go around it. Generally we tend to go right.
Creek crossing. I don’t care for the logs, but the rocks were placed well enough I was able to cross without issue.
A lot more lupine.
Lupine and paintbrush.
Elkweed.
Pioneer Peak.
First glimpse of Dog Lake.
Flowers growing on the steep hillside.
The lake is in that clearing.
Some asters.
Elephant heads. Yay!
Lupine.
I think these are buttercups.
Fireweed.
Dog Lake. Not to be confused with nearby Dog Lake..jpg)
Panoramic.
The clearing.
Lupine.
With Pioneer Peak.
Columbine.
Neat splitting boulder.
Ridge above.
The other side.
Paintbrush and corn lilies that haven’t bloomed yet.
Pretty magenta colored paintbrush.
Arnica.
Paintbrush.
Lots of lupine.
Back to the crossing.
Paintbrush.
Lots of lupine.
Closer.
Gnarly stump the wood peckers seem to love.
Back to the main trail.
View of the valley with Brighton and Brighton Resort.
Forest.
Columbine.
Paintbrush.
Forest.
Clearing.
Another pot gut.
Forest.
Fluffy clouds.
The springs.
Forest.
Mount Millicent above the trees.
What I believe is Snake Creek.
Upstream.
Downstream.
Elephant heads. I totally missed these on the way up.
Purple monkey flowers. Also missed on the way up haha.
Lots of monkey flowers and some monkshood too.
More monkey flowers. Woo, this is a good spot.
Little flat section.
Another one of the new directional signs. This one would have been helpful years ago.
The big boulder.
Drill holes. I suspect this might have been for an old ski lift support.
Monks hood and corn lilies.
Mount Tuscarora and Mount Millicent. I’m not sure what the other peak is..
Lupine, fireweed, and western coneflowers.
Corn lilies.
Down canyon.
Lots of lupine.
Paintbrush.
Mixed flowers.
Back down to the water tank.
Forest.
Another new directional sign. Again, would’ve been helpful years ago, but I guess I am just happy they are here now.
Forest.
Fireweed.
Another.
Under the ski lift.
Fireweed.
Continuing down.
Another fireweed.
With the leaves below the flower.
Back to what I call dinosaur rock.
More fireweeds. It is a good time for them right now.
Lots of mint.
Fireweed, arnica, and the view across the canyon.
Mint and lupine.
Bumblebee.
2 bumblebees.
Elkweeds.
Thick patch of trees.
Almost down to the bottom.
Corn lilies.
Paintbrush.
Columbines.
Fireweed.
View down again as we approach Alpine Rose and the main Brighton Resort building.
Fireweed.
Mount Millicent.
Almost down to the parking lot.
Disc golf basket.
The back of the big map/sign. In previous years they had different art here, this year they opted to show upcoming events instead.
Heading back down the canyon (PSP).
I just love our canyons (PSP).
Pretty, even in low light (PSP).
Down to the big S curve (PSP).
Storm Mountain (PSP).
Starting to see some colorful clouds (PSP).
Leaving the canyon (PSP).
Finished just in time to catch the end of the sunset (PSP).
Arnica.
Lots of it.
Boulder on a larger boulder.
Back to the climb. Extra rocky through here.
We took a quick break to spray on some bug spray because oh my gosh they were starting to get bad.
More rocky climb.
The creek.
I have no idea what this is, I assume it was an old overflow dam or something?
This looks like some sort of mint, but it is so tiny!
More arnica.
Lots of it lining the trail and Mount Millicent above.
The dam.
Penstemon.
Short rocky hill.
I call this section the narrows. Cause it is a narrow path between high plants.
The dam.
Then there is the narrow section along the front of the dam.
Outflow.
View across the canyon.
I wonder what happened here. It is neat looking! I am guessing they might have done some blasting up here to put the dam in and this is the result of some of that? I donno, just a guess.
It is super rocky through here.
The last rocky hill.
We made it! Phew!
No swimming, and no camping within 200 feet.
I love these boulder islands.
.jpg)
Panoramic.
Mount Millicent.
Mount Tuscarora.
Fireweed.
More boulder islands.
.jpg)
Another panoramic.
The front of the lake with the dam.
The big boulder. It offers a great view of the lake. So it usually has a group of people on top of it, but not today!
Mount Millicent and boulder islands.
The back end of the lake with Sunset Peak and Mount Tuscarora.
.jpg)
Another panoramic. With Mount Tuscarora and Mount Millicent.
Penstemon.
The back if the lake again, with the cliffs.
The back of the lake. With Pioneer Peak, Sunset Peak and Mount Tuscarora.
Fun fact: Before the dam was built there was a smaller lake back here called Lake Phoebe.
.jpg)
Another panoramic showing Pioneer Peak, Sunset Peak, Mount Tuscarora, and Mount Millicent.
The front of the lake.
Mount Millicent and boulder islands.
The front of the lake and the dam.
The back of the lake.
.jpg)
Another panoramic.
You can see the high water line along the cliffs.
Boulder islands.
The front again.
.jpg)
Another panoramic.
The front with the dam.
Nice clear water.
One last look at the lake. We considered continuing up to the Lake Martha, or possibly even Lake Catherine above but we had gotten a late start today so we decided against it. Maybe next time. We started back instead.
Some asters growing right next to a boulder.
The big boulder again.
Asters.
The lake through the trees.
Paintbrush.
Weird cement mound.
The steep, rocky scramble down towards the front of the dam.
Into what I call the narrows.
Geranium.
View across the canyon.
Water coming down the trail.
Thistle.
The outflow.
The dam.
.jpg)
Panoramic.
Little scree field. We sometimes see pikas or even marmots here.
We did see a little pika nearby. Hello cutey. He was very quick to disappear though.
Continuing along.
Arnica and lupine.
Arnica.
Back down to the little pond.
And it’s spillway.
Lupine.
Forest.
The creek.
Pretty purple asters.
Cliffs.
Landis just happened to notice these marmot friends.
Eventually I decided to pull out the telephoto lens.
Getting his nom on.
Both of them. The one on the right looks a little bigger. I wonder if it is a parent and child.
They are so cute!
Cute.
I am assuming this is momma.
And young.
So cute.
I love how much they use their tails for balance.
Okay, okay, time to get going.
Continuing along.
Paintbrush and lupine.
Forest.
Crossing the creek.
We decided to take the very short detour out to Dog Lake.
Columbine.
Lots of lupine.
LOTS of lupine.
Closer.
Pioneer Peak.
Paintbrush and lupine.
Trail split. You can go either way to either get just a view of the lake, or go around it. Generally we tend to go right.
Creek crossing. I don’t care for the logs, but the rocks were placed well enough I was able to cross without issue.
A lot more lupine.
Lupine and paintbrush.
Elkweed.
Pioneer Peak.
First glimpse of Dog Lake.
Flowers growing on the steep hillside.
The lake is in that clearing.
Some asters.
Elephant heads. Yay!
Lupine.
I think these are buttercups.
Fireweed.
Dog Lake. Not to be confused with nearby Dog Lake.
.jpg)
Panoramic.
The clearing.
Alright, time to head back. It doesn’t take much time or effort to walk around the lake, but like I said, we got a late start today.
Lupine.
With Pioneer Peak.
Columbine.
Neat splitting boulder.
Ridge above.
The other side.
Paintbrush and corn lilies that haven’t bloomed yet.
Pretty magenta colored paintbrush.
Arnica.
Paintbrush.
Lots of lupine.
Back to the crossing.
Paintbrush.
Lots of lupine.
Closer.
Gnarly stump the wood peckers seem to love.
Back to the main trail.
That little side adventure only adds about 1/4 to 3/10s of a mile out and back, or a bit longer if you go around the lake.
View of the valley with Brighton and Brighton Resort.
Forest.
Columbine.
Paintbrush.
Forest.
Clearing.
Another pot gut.
Forest.
Fluffy clouds.
The springs.
Forest.
Mount Millicent above the trees.
What I believe is Snake Creek.
Upstream.
Downstream.
Elephant heads. I totally missed these on the way up.
Purple monkey flowers. Also missed on the way up haha.
Lots of monkey flowers and some monkshood too.
More monkey flowers. Woo, this is a good spot.
Little flat section.
Another one of the new directional signs. This one would have been helpful years ago.
The big boulder.
Drill holes. I suspect this might have been for an old ski lift support.
Monks hood and corn lilies.
Mount Tuscarora and Mount Millicent. I’m not sure what the other peak is..
Lupine, fireweed, and western coneflowers.
Corn lilies.
Down canyon.
Lots of lupine.
Paintbrush.
Mixed flowers.
Back down to the water tank.
Forest.
Another new directional sign. Again, would’ve been helpful years ago, but I guess I am just happy they are here now.
Forest.
Fireweed.
Another.
Under the ski lift.
Fireweed.
Continuing down.
Another fireweed.
With the leaves below the flower.
Back to what I call dinosaur rock.
More fireweeds. It is a good time for them right now.
Lots of mint.
Fireweed, arnica, and the view across the canyon.
Mint and lupine.
Bumblebee.
2 bumblebees.
Elkweeds.
Thick patch of trees.
Almost down to the bottom.
Corn lilies.
Paintbrush.
Columbines.
Fireweed.
View down again as we approach Alpine Rose and the main Brighton Resort building.
Fireweed.
Mount Millicent.
Almost down to the parking lot.
Disc golf basket.
The back of the big map/sign. In previous years they had different art here, this year they opted to show upcoming events instead.
Heading back down the canyon (PSP).
I just love our canyons (PSP).
Pretty, even in low light (PSP).
Down to the big S curve (PSP).
Storm Mountain (PSP).
Starting to see some colorful clouds (PSP).
Leaving the canyon (PSP).
We decided to stop for some supper.
Finished just in time to catch the end of the sunset (PSP).
Well, that was a fun hike! It was busy, but not too busy. The wildflowers are great right now, though I think past prime. We saw some fun wildlife! Plus I mean, Lake Mary is absolutely beautiful against the neat cliffs. 10 out 10 squirrels today.
As for difficulty, oh boy this one is a climb! DR4.
Dogs are not allowed in Big Cottonwood Canyon due to watershed restrictions.. So be sure to leave Fido home for this one.
