Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest

We recently drove home from Dillon, Colorado, but had to divert from our normal route due to massive mudslides in Glenwood Canyon.  I’m sure I could have made it through with a pickup truck…right?

We decided to drive north into Wyoming and headed west towards Park City, Utah.  We wanted to do some hiking along the way, so we took the long way from Evanston, WY by driving through the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.  This is our second time visiting this area, and we wanted to see more of it.

It was interesting that shortly after crossing the state line into Utah the mountains started creeping up around us.  Utah definitely got the better part of this border!

The first spot we hit was Ruth Lake.  The trailhead was jam packed with cars, so it must be a decent hike!  We found a parking spot across the street, and noted that you had to pay a National Forest fee or risk getting a ticket.  Fortunately we had the exact fee in cash, $6.  Keep this in mind if you visit.  There was no option to purchase from a human and get change!

The hike to Ruth Lake is fairly short at 1.5 miles, 2 miles if you loop around the lake (which we did).  This is the view of the approach.

You have arrived!

On the far side of the lake we ran into 2 pairs of Yellow-bellied Marmots.  The first pair were quite shy, but these two didn’t seem to care about us.

Here is a beautiful view from the west side of the lake, with water lillies and my lovely wife in the foreground!

We drove a little further and decided to repeat a hike we did last time we were here, Mirror Lake. It’s an easy 1.5 mile hike.  Such a gorgeous spot!

One last stop on the way out of the National Forest was Upper Provo River Falls, right off the main road.

If you happen to be in the Park City area, or just passing through the southwestern part of Wyoming, this is a worthwhile visit!

We are supposed to fly to Milan on September 5th, just 16 days from now!  We have every digit on every appendage crossed!