Lofty Lakes Hike (October 2014)

Thu February 19, 2015

This hike is east of Park City in the Uinta Mountains. It is in a national forest area called Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Corridor. The road goes from Kamas, UT to Evanstan, WY and is a scenic byway. Unfortunately at this time you have to have a national forest pass or pay a parking fee to park at most places on this road. (More Info) It is a very scenic drive with lots of trails, campgrounds and picnic areas. This hike took me about two and a half hours, with my GPS recording 301 m of climbing and a distance of 6.8 km.

I hiked clockwise and the first lake I came to was Kamas lake.

Panoramic Shot of Kamas Lake

A Peak Rising Behind Kamas Lake

After Kamas Lake the trail goes over a small ridge with great views to the east before climbing up to Loft Lake. It was mid-October and there was some snow and mud on the trail as I went past Lofty Lake, but it was not hard to rock hop through. Lofty Lake was near treeline and the area around it was mostly alpine tundra. There were two nearby peaks that would've been easy cross-country side hikes.

Lofty Lake

After a short climb out of the Lofty Lake's basin to the top of the trail, I began a decent to the next and last lake. The decent to Scout Lake was steep, but really scenic.

The View Descending to Scout Lake

Scout Lake

The shoreline of this lake looks like there would many great spots to camp. It is also a short distance from the trailhead, if your looking for an easy backpacking trip. This is a great half day hike if your short on time or want to check out other stuff along Mirror Lake Road. There is also a longer trail starting from the same trailhead if you are looking for a full day hike.