Summer Hiking in Utah

We lived in Utah last summer, but I was so sick when I was pregnant with Eloise that I was not up to hiking and getting out too much, other than a few small trips (like our weekends in Moab, St. George, or Wyoming). We had not explored as much of Utah as we would like, especially all the hiking within an hour of Provo. So we decided we needed to get out more! Here are the hikes we did this summer with short descriptions and lots of pictures :)

Stewart Falls

3.5 miles roundtrip with only a little elevation gain. A classic hike in Utah Valley! We've each done this hike before, but not together. This was Eloise's first real hike! We did this hike in the beginning of April, so there was actually still quite a bit of ice and snowy slush on the trail, which slowed us down. But the waterfalls at the end were still beautiful and impressive!

Silver Lake

4.2 miles roundtrip with moderate elevation gain. One of my favorites this summer! We went in the evening with a bunch of friends. We started at Silver Flat Lake and hiked up to Silver Lake. It took us a little longer than expected (again), and was more chilly and windy than we would have liked. The babies that hiked weren't too happy about that, but they were still troopers! The evening light made for awesome pictures.

Bells Canyon and Waterfall

4.4 miles roundtrip with moderate elevation gain. We did this in the heat of the day and it was so hot! It was just a short hike up to the Bells Canyon Reservoir before we continued on to the Lower Falls. Once we reached the waterfalls, we scrambled up the rocks at the side of the waterfalls to relax on top and dip in the water a little bit. It was so peaceful up there away from the crowds.

Brighton Lakes (Mary, Martha, Catherine)

3.5 miles roundtrip with little to moderate elevation gain. This was probably my all time favorite hike of the summer! This short trail hits multiple beautiful lakes up in Brighton. We visited Lakes Mary, Martha, and Catherine, though Twin Lakes and Dog Lake are also in the area. The lakes were gorgeous! Catherine was my favorite. The whole trail up also had tons of blooming wildflowers and we saw a couple moose.

Cecret Lake

1.7 miles roundtrip with little elevation gain. A great, short hike! We went on this hike hoping to see the wildflowers peak, though I think we were just a few days late (the yellow ones had mostly died off). The lake was very pretty on the hot day and Dustan scrambled up part of the mountain to get some sweet pics.

Twin Lakes

2.3 miles roundtrip with moderate elevation gain. One of the highlights of this trip was seeing a fully grown bull moose with huge antlers. The lake was pretty, as all Utah lakes we've seen are, though this wasn't as spectacular as some. The views hiking up to the lake were particularly pretty as well. We could see Silver Lake (where the hike started) from way up high.