From Salt Lake City head east on I-80 towards Park City, go past the Park City exits and take the exit for US Highway 40 (Exit #148). Follow US Highway 40 to Heber City and past Strawberry Reservoir, to the town of Duchesne. In Duchesne take a left on highway 87 and follow north for just over 15 miles to where the road takes a bend and starts heading east. Head a half a mile east from the bend and take a left onto 21000W. Go north on 2100W for 2.8 miles and take a left onto 6750N which turns into Rock Creek Road, a paved road. For the next 23 miles the road is paved as you head towards Upper Still Water Reservoir. At the 23 mile mark take a left onto South Fork Road, a dirt road. Continue up South Fork Road for just over 2 miles until you reach the road for Arta Lake. Take a right and head to the end of the road which is 4.5 miles and there is a small parking area. The hike is only .5 mile to Arta Lake, and then you can hike up a steep hill to Survey Lake, Carl Lake is southeast of both of these lakes. This is a wonderful place to visit even though fishing isn’t that great at any of these places.
Directions-From Kamas take Hwy 150 east for 29.1 miles. Drive .5 mile past Bald Mountain Overlook
and turn left into the parking lot near the trailhead.
The trail starts climbing immediately and will have switchbacks. The end of the trail is at Bald MT
Peak which is 11,943 ft. The overall length of the hike is 3 miles RT, and will give you spectacular
views of several lakes and rivers. Another route from Bald Mt. trailhead is to head west which is a
much easier hike. It’s pretty much the only hike that goes downhill, but you have to come back sometime. You will walk by numerous lakes, Clegg, Dean, Rieds, Notch, & turn around at
Bench Lake. Don’t bother fishing at Bench due to winterkill it’s poor fishing. The overall length of this hike is 5.6 miles RT.
Clegg Lake-Elevation-10,460 : 3 miles RT : Acres-5 : Brook. Dean Lake-Elevation-10,340 : 4 miles RT : Acres-12 : Brook & Cutthroat. Reids Lake-Elevation-10,340 : 4.6 miles RT : Acres-3 : Brook. Notch Lake-Elevation-10,300 : 4.6 miles RT : Acres-20 : Depth-58 ft : Brook. Bench Lake-Elevation-10,260 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-7 : Depth-10 ft : Fish-Brook.
Directions-Drive 15 miles from Kamas on HWY 150, and the road will be on your left. There is no
sign heading east, but there is a sign for cars heading west. The road is Norway Flats 035. You will
need 4WD to get to the end to the road. After 6 miles from the HWY turn right at the junction. There
are several junctions, so just follow the signs toward Big Elk.
Once you are parked and ready to hike Little Elk Lake will be .3 miles on the left
of the trail. Continue another .8 mile to Big Elk Lake. Big Elk Lake is 2.2 miles RT, and South
Erickson Lake & North Erickson Lake is about 5 miles RT. At North Erickson Lake there are huge brook
that bite early in the morning. Use a bubble and fly to cast out a long distance to the center where
the lake is deep, it is shallow along the shoreline.
Little Elk Lake-Elevation-9,780 : 1 miles RT : Acres-13 : Depth-31 ft : Fish-None. Big Elk Lake-Elevation-10,020 : 2.2 miles RT : Acres-43 : Depth-110 ft : Brook & Cutthroat.
South Erickson Lake-Elevation-10,100 : 5 miles RT : Acres-10 : Brook. North Erickson Lake-Elevation-10,020 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-9 : Brook.
14-20 miles RT
From Duchesne, take US 40 to UT 87 and head north for 15 miles. Turn left at the top of the hill, and make a right at the intersection for another 15 miles to Moon Lake. The trailhead is on the left side of the road before you reach the campground. The trail heads north from the parking lot following some telephone poles. Once near the northwest corner of the campgrounds near the lake the trail will split off into a four way junction. East will take you back to the campground, north is the Lake Fork Trail that takes you along the shore of the lake, and west is the Brown Duck Lake Trail. After another mile the trail will join a dirt road. After 1.25 miles take the right fork, and after another 4 miles take the left fork leading you to the lake.
Directions-Butterfly Lake is on U-150 3 miles north of Mirror Lake, 33.9 miles east from Kamas.
Description-The lake contains rainbow, brook, and albino trout. Use flies in the morning or evening and bait in the afternoons. You can hike .5 mile west from this lake to Castle Lake. You will pass several small ponds along the base of the cliffs.
Center Park Trailhead
30 miles RT
Directions-From Heber, take US 40 east 69 miles to Duchesne, and turn north
onto UT 87 for 14 miles to Mountain Home. Follow Moon Lake Road north 4 miles to
Yellowstone River Road. Follow Yellowstone River Road 4 miles to Hells Canyon
Road. Drive 7 miles up this canyon to the trailhead. 4WD is recommended.
Description-After hiking 6 miles you will reach the Swasey Lakes, continue
north another 4 miles to Spider Lake, Bluebell Lake, and Drift Reservoir. Continue
north to Five Point Lake, Superior Lake, Tungsten Lake, and North Star Lake.
Swasey Lakes-Elevation-10,715 : 12 miles RT : Acres-36 : Depth-30 : Brook & Cutthroat Spider Lake-Elevation-10,876 : 15.6 miles RT : Acres-20 : Depth-31 : Brook & Cutthroat
-Fish from southside with a #16 olive scud. Bluebell Lake-Elevation-10,894 : 16.2 miles RT : Acres-38.3 : Depth-32 : Brook & Cutthroat
-.25 a mile SW uphill to Spider Lake. Drift Reservoir-Elevation-11,064 : 16.4 miles RT : Acres-14.8 : Depth-20 : Brook Five Point Lake-Elevation-11,009 : 24 miles RT : Acres-82 : Depth-21 : Brook & Cutthroat Superior Lake-Elevation-11,163 : 26 miles RT : Acres-36 : Depth-26 : Brook Tungsten Lake-Elevation-11,344 : 30.4 miles RT : Acres-13 : Depth-13 : Brook & Cutthroat North Star Lake-Elevation-11,395 : 31 miles RT : Acres-14 : Depth-15 : Brook
Chepeta Lake Trailhead
Directions-From Heber, take US 40 east 99 miles to Roosevelt, and turn north on 121 for 11 miles to Neola. Follow the road east 5 miles, and turn north at the junction. Drive 7 miles to Road 117, head east for 18 miles to Pole Creek Junction. Then take Road 110 11 miles north to the trailhead.
Description-The Highline Trail begins on the south side of Chepeta Lake, and head west 2.3 miles before reaching Sharlee Lake. Turn right at both forks and Horseshoe Lake is .5 mile to the east. Reader Lake is just 1.5 mile north from the fork. The northern trail from Chepeta Lake and Moccasin Lake takes you by Papoose Lake, Wigwam Lake, and Walk-Up Lake. From Wigwam you can head west a mile to Figure 8 Lake, and another mile to Elbow Lake. The trail heading south from Chepeta Lake, leads you to Cliff Lake & Watkins Lake. You can make a loop by turn right on your way back at the fork just north of Cliff Lake to reach Workman Lake and Teds Lake. Take the left fork south of Teds Lake to return back to the trailhead.
Directions-Drive 21.5 miles south from Evanston, WY, and turn left on a gravel road before Bear River Ranger Station towards Lyman Lake on Road 58/North Slope Road for 18.6 miles. Turn right to towards East Fork Blacks Fork Trailhead for 4.9 miles to a sign that reads Bear River-Smiths Fork Trail to the trailhead 100 yards south of the gravel pit in the parking lot.
Description-The trail forks in 3.5 miles, and Hessie Lake is 2 miles left from here. Continue southwest at the fork another 5.7 miles to Lower Red castle with Red Castle Lake East to the east. You will pass Bald Lake just east of Bald Mt. 5 miles from the trailhead. Hike south from Lower Red Castle Lake 2 miles to Red Castle Lake nd another mile to Upper Red Castle Lake. Smiths Fork Pass Lake is just southeast of East Red Castle.
Hessie Lake-Elevation-10,620 : 11.6 miles RT : Acres-13.2 : Depth-18 : Cutthroat Bald Lake-Elevation-11,030 : 10 miles RT : Acres-6.4 : Depth-23 : Brook Lower Red Castle Lake-Elevation-10,758 : 18 miles RT : Acres-45 : Depth-28 : Rainbow, Brook & Cutthroat Red Castle Lake East-Elevation-11,190 : 22 miles RT : Acres-21.1 : Depth-58 : Cutthroat Red Castle Lake-Elevation-11,295 : 22 miles RT : Acres-168.3 : Depth-103 : Cutthroat Upper Red Castle Lake-Elevation-11,542 : 23.6 miles RT : Acres-25.6 : Depth-72 : Cutthroat Smiths Fork Pass Lake-Elevation-11,152 : 22 miles RT : Acres-26.1 : Depth-17 : Cutthroat
Directions-46 miles east of Kamas, and 30 miles south of Evanston, WY.
This is one long hike, it’s definitely worth it though. After hiking 4 miles you will reach Ostler Fork Junction where Stillwater Trail begins to the right and Amethyst Lake Trail continues to the left another 2 miles reaching Ostler Lake .5 a mile before Amethyst. Amethyst Lake has Brook Trout that eat all day long. The Stillwater Trail takes you 2 miles to another junction where the trail heading west takes you to Kermsuh Lake on the Branch Trail. Continue south at this junction along a rugged climb out of the canyon through open meadows to Ryder Lake, McPheters Lake is just .5 mile north from here. There are several sightings of bear in these locations. You should hang your food from a tree at least 10 feet from the trunk and ground.
Directions-Drive 32 miles east from Kamas and take the turn-off to Crystal Lake Trailhead. Drive another mile to the parking area. The trail is at the NW end of the parking lot.
Crystal Lake is just west of the trailhead. The 1st mile is a steep climb. After 1.5 miles you’ll run into a junction that heads north or west.Keep west and you’ll walk by Long Lake. After .3 miles past Long Lake you can go south and you will walk by Long Pond, and Weir Lake. Now head back to the last junction and keep heading west for another mile and you’ll meet another junction heading north or south. Either way you go it don’t matter because it’s a loop. So go north and after 1.5 miles you’ll be at Island Lake. After ½ a mile past Long Lake head north/west and you’ll meet Island Lake after a short climb. From here you climb ¼ a mile south/west to Junior Lake. Just a ½ a mile further and you’ll come upon Fire Reservoir. Before heading east to Duck Lake travel south for another 1.5 miles to Beaver Lake. Back at Duck Lake head east and you’ll hit Pot Lake and Weir Lake, Marjorie Lake is just southeast from here. Then you’ll
have the 2 mile hike from Long Lake back to the cars.
Crystal Lake-Elevation-10,220 : .2 miles RT : Acres-10 : Depth-10 : Fish-Brook. Long Lake-Elevation-10,100 : 4 miles RT : Acres-55 : Depth-35 : Brook & Cutthroat. Long Pond-Elevation-10,100 : 4 miles RT : Acres-2 : Brook & Cutthroat.
This pond has better fishing mainly because of the fact that it is hidden and doesn’t get as much use as Long Lake does. Island Lake-Elevation-10,140: 7 Miles RT : Acres-30 : Depth-40 ft : Fish-Brook & Cutt.
There is a cliff here with about a 40 foot drop off that is awesome to jump off of in late July or early August when the water is warm enough. I’m not sure if swimming is allowed here though. The lake has a supply of cutthroat but is well fed by the fresh-water shrimp making it difficult for a catch. Junior Lake-Elevation-10,220 : 7.6 miles RT : Acres-3 : Cutthroat.
Fly fishing is great anywhere along this lakes shore. Be sure to keep quiet for you will startle
these fish and the bites will come to a halt. Fire Reservoir-Elevation-10200 : 8 miles RT : Acres-12 : Depth-65 ft : Cutthroat.
There is some great fishing here. Beaver Lake-Elevation-9900 : 7.6 miles RT : Acres-4 : Brook Duck Lake-Elevation-9780 : 6.6 miles RT : Acres-33 : Depth-30 ft : Brook & Cutthroat. Pot Lake-Elevation-9,940 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-4 : Depth-28 : Brook. Weir Lake-Elevation-9,940 : 5 miles RT : Acres-14 : Depth-21 : Cutthroat & Grayling. Marjorie Lake-Elevation-9,980 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-27 : Depth-26 : Grayling.
Directions-Drive 32 miles east from Kamas and take the turn-off to Crystal Lake Trailhead. Drive another mile to the parking area. This hike starts off at the north end of the parking lot at the Notch Mountain Trail. The trail heads north from the northeast corner of the Lily Pad Lake on your left.
You will walk by several lakes, 1st will be Upper Lily Pad Lake then Cliff Lake, Petite Lake, Linear Lake, Watson Lake, Clyde Lake and at the end of the trail will be all of the Divide Lakes. Just N/E of here is Peter Lake, James Lake, John Lake, and N/W is Hidden Lake. Clyde lake has the better fishing than most of these lakes and is also the largest. Hidden Lake will probably have the biggest fish since it gets less visitors. I caught a good sized Brook Trout here with green powerbait. The lake is easiest to find with a GPS, but if you do not have one just head northwest for a .5 mile along the mountain and you will walk into it.
Upper Lily Lake-Elevation-10,020 : .2 mile RT : Acres-3.2 : Depth-12 : Fish-None Cliff Lake-Elevation-10,230 : 1 mile RT : Acres-9 : Depth-20 : Cutthroat Petite Lake-Elevation-10,300 : 1.6 miles RT : Acres-2 : Depth-3 : Brook Watson Lake-Elevation-10,420 : 2 miles RT : Acres-6 : Depth-10 : Brook Clyde Lake-Elevation-10,420 : 3 miles RT : Acres-16 : Depth-21 : Brook Divide Lake #1 (Booker Lake)-Elevation-10,460 : 5 miles RT : Acres-3.5 : Depth-5 : Brook Divide Lake #2-Elevation-10,460 : 5 miles RT : Acres-3.5 : Depth-10 : Fish-None Divide Lake #3-Elevation-10,460 : 5 miles RT : Acres-3.5 : Brook Hidden Lake-Elevation-10,280 : 6 miles RT : Acres-8 : Depth-28 : Brook Peter Lake-Elevation-10,460 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-3 : Depth-13 : None James Lake-Elevation-10,500 : 5.6 miles RT : Acres-2.1 : Depth-8 : Brook John Lake-Elevation-10,500 : 6 miles RT : Acres-4 : Depth-10 : Brook
Directions-The trailhead is 30.5 mile from Kamas across the highway from Moosehorn Campground just south of Mirror
Lake.
This is a short day hike that will take you past several lakes. The first lake will be Fehr Lake
then Shepard Lake, and the end of the trail to Hoover Lake and Maba Lake just north of it. You can
also take a trail south from Shepard Lake for less than a mile to visit Marshall Lake.
Directions-From Heber, take US 40 east 6 miles past Fruitland to UT 208 and drive north 10 miles to UT 35 northwest 19 miles to Hanna. Follow the dirt road 11.5 miles northwest past the Hades campground to a junction. Turn right 5 miles to the trailhead.
From Grandview Trailhead the trail climbs upward 800 feet in 2.2 miles to the top of Hades Pass. Just beyond the pass you will see Heart Lake, and soon afterward you will reach Grandaddy Lake. Grandaddy Lake is the largest of the High Uinta lakes, and also one of the most popular. There are over twenty lakes within a two-hour walk of Grandaddy. On some summer weekends there will be hundreds of hikers on this trail, but the great majority of them never go beyond Grandaddy Lake, 3.4 miles from the trailhead. Northeast of Grandaddy Lake is Lodgepole Lake with LaMarla Lake and Fern Lake east of it. . On the northwestern side of Grandaddy the trail splits. Turn left here and continue northward along the eastern shore of Betsy Lake. Then, after 0.4 mile you will reach another junction. Turn left here onto the Pine Island Lake Trail. There will be another left turn that will take you to Mohawk Lake. The spur trail is only 0.4 mile long over level ground, and there are some nice campsites near the lake. It is a good alternative if you are looking for a secluded spot near Grandaddy Lake. Continue on the main trail north for 1.1 miles to Fish Hatchery Lake. Just before you reach Fish Hatchery you will also see another trail leading to Farney Lake, 0.6 mile away. There are some fine camping sites around Farney Lake, but unfortunately it is too shallow for fish to survive the winter. Two other small lakes, Sonny Lake and Marsell Lake can also be reached by walking from Farney Lake for about 20 minutes SW. The forest floor is quite level here and quite open, so the lakes are easy to find.
Back on the Pine Island Loop Trail, the route next passes between Pine Island Lake and
Lily Pad Lake. Pine Island Lake is the second largest lake in the basin and the fishing is great.
Unfortunately, Pine Island Lake is a favorite destination for groups with pack horses, and the
best camping area on the southern end of the lake is littered with horse manure. 0.3 miles after
leaving Pine Island Lake you will come to the Palisade Lake Trail that heads south to Palisade
Lake and Brinton Meadows. This trail offers a shorter return loop for those not wishing to
continue to Governor Dern Lake. Palisade Lake, located 0.4 mile from the main trail is a very
pretty lake with some good camping sites. 1.4 miles farther north from the junction with the Palisade Lake Trail is another
shortcut trail leading to Rainbow Lake.
Go back to the main trail 4 miles further north. Governor Dern is much more open than
most of the other lakes. The lake is also completely surrounded with grass and has many fine
campsites. Unfortunately Governor Dern Lake is rather shallow, and the fishing is not as good
as at Pine Island and some of the other lakes in the area. Pinto Lake is only 0.4 miles to the
north. A primitive trail leads to Margo Lake from the north side of Pinto.
When you leave Governor Dern Lake you will be walking back to Grandaddy Lake via Rainbow
Lake, Lost Lake. Bear right at the two major trail junctions near Rainbow Lake and head due south
on the Hades Trail towards Lost Lake. Just before reaching Lost Lake you will notice another
spur trail leading to Powell Lake, about 0.6 mile away-another possible side trip.
1.2 miles after passing Lost Lake you will arrive at the Palisade Lake Trail junction.
From here it is another 1.2 miles back to Betsy Lake, from where you can retrace your steps
past Grandaddy lake, over Hades Pass, and back to your car at the Grandview Trailhead.
Heart Lake-Elevation-10,500 : 5.2 miles RT : Acres-5.7 : Cutthroat. Grandaddy Lake-Elevation-10,310 : 6.4 miles RT : Acres-170 : Depth-40 : Brook& Cutthroat. Lodgepole Lake-Elevation-10,140 : 8.2 miles RT : Acres-20 : Depth-29 : Brook. Fern Lake-Elevation-9,890 : 11.4 miles RT : Acres-19 : Brook Betsy Lake-Elevation-10,350 : 7 miles RT : Acres-34 : Depth-44 : Brook & Cutthroat. Mohawk Lake-Elevation-10,380 : 8.2 miles RT : Acres-51 : Depth-23 : Brook & Cutthroat. Farney Lake-Elevation-10,430 : 11 miles RT : Acres-13 : Cutthroat. Sonny Lake-Elevation-10,450 : 10.2 miles RT : Acres-5 : Cutthroat. Marsell Lake-Elevation-10,460 : 10 miles RT : Acres-16 : Depth-50 : Cutthroat. Fish Hatchery Lake-Elevation-10,230 : 10.6 miles RT : Acres-37 : Depth-28 : Brook & Cutthroat. Pine Island Lake-Elevation-10,300 : 11.8 miles RT : Acres-80 : Depth-43 : Brook & Cutthroat. Palisade Lake-Elevation-10,140 : 10.6 miles RT : Acres-23 : Depth-46 : Brook & Cutthroat. Rainbow Lake-Elevation-9,930 : 14 miles RT : Acres-18 : Brook & Cutthroat. Governor Dern Lake-Elevation-9,990 : 18.2 miles RT : Acres-32 : Brook & Cutthroat. Pinto Lake-Elevation-10,020 : 16.4 miles RT : Acres-47 : Depth-35 : Brook Margo Lake-Elevation-10,420 : 19 miles RT : Acres-11 : Depth-27 : Cutthroat. Powell Lake-Elevation-9,980 : 12.6 miles RT : Acres-22 : Cutthroat. Lost Lake-Elevation-10,030 : 11.6 miles RT : Acres-13 : Brook
Directions-Park on the north side of HWY 150, 26.5 miles east of Kamas.
Description-Lilly Lake and Teapot Lake are right next to each other on the north side of the HWY, and Lost Lake is just south of these 2 on the other side of the road.
From Francis drive 11 miles east through Woodland, and turn left onto an old jeep road to the trailhead. This hike takes you around a loop back to the main road. The trail goes 2.9 miles along a creek to a junction turning left .6 mile to another fork where you turn right 2.1 miles back to the main road 1.1 miles away from the trailhead. You will have to walk back along the HWY if you don’t have a shuttle.
Directions-Drive 32 miles east from Kamas and take the turn-off to Crystal
Lake Trailhead. Drive another mile to the parking area. The trail is north of the parking lot.
This trail will fork after .3 miles near Lily Lakes, just stay to the right and you will be on the right track. After 1 mile Wall Lake then the trail will lead you to the east past Hope Lake then north up some steep rocky switchbacks. There will be a trail that leads off to the east to Lower Twin Lake. Upper Twin Lake will be just right above from here, or you can continue on the trail to Lovenia Lake, Ibantik Lake, and the turn around point at Meadow Lake.
Lily Lakes-Elevation-10,030 : .2 miles RT : Acres-3 : Brook. Wall Lake-Elevation-10,180 : 2 miles RT : Acres-85 : Depth Maximum-128 ft/Mean-31 ft :
Length-2,600 ft/Width-1,600 ft/Shoreline-1.32 miles : Cutthroat.
Wall Lake is one of the largest lakes in the Uintas. Water temperatures are usually too cold for
swimming. Hope Lake-Elevation-10,200 : 2.2 miles RT Lower Twin Lake-Elevation-10,410 : 4.6 miles RT : Acres-3 : Brook & Cutthroat. Upper Twin Lake-Elevation-10,420 : 4.8 miles RT : Acres-9 : Brook
There is a great camping spot near the NW corner here. Lovenia Lake-Elevation-10,300 : 6 miles RT : Acres-8 : Depth-28 : Brook Ibantik Lake-Elevation-10,100 : 6 miles RT : Acres-10 : Depth-36 : Brook Meadow Lake-Elevation-9,820 : 8.6 miles RT : Acres-28 : Depth-45 : Cutthroat.
There are several great camping spots located here on the northern end of the lake.
Directions-Just north of Mirror Lake, 35 miles from Kamas.
The parking lot at the trailhead only offers enough space for maybe 10 cars and it’s always full
due to heavy use. Other lakes past Ruth Lake are Hayden, Cutthroat, Jewel, and Teal. The lake just
north of Ruth Lake is called Naomi Lake I think.
