Lake Blanche, Big Cottonwood Canyon
This 5.6 mile hike (round trip) is one of the most popular in the Salt Lake City area, only our early start ensured us a parking space at the trailhead.  You gain 2,580 feet in altitude to attain 8,900 feet in elevation at your destination.  We had a beautiful day, and finally had an opportunity to enjoy our lunch while looking over the lake.  (There are actually 3 lakes to choose from.)  Andy's watch records the elevation (in meters).  Below you can find our progress mapped against the time, and follow the "photographs" link at the bottom of this page to see the views.

Red Pine Lake & Maybird Lakes
Our second hike in the Salt Lake City area was in the neighboring Little Cottonwood Canyon.  While earning only 2 stars in our hiking guide, we enjoyed this hike even more than the 3-stared Lake Blanche hike.  We intended only to hike to Red Pine Lake, a 2,040 foot altitude gain, at 7,580 feet in elevation.  But we did it so quickly, we decided to take a spur trail to Maybird Lake, for a total of 9.2 miles.  Andy's watch records the elevation (in meters).  Below you can find our progress mapped against the time, and follow the "photographs" link at the bottom of this page to see the views.

Photographs