Hikes to Peep Park City’s Fall Foliage

• Distance: 2.8 miles round trip
• Elevation Gain: 465 feet
• Trail Use: Hiking Only
• Loop or Out and Back: Out and Back
• Dog-Friendly: No
• Access: Trails to Transit

With the town of Park City purchasing the Bonanza Flat Conservation Area, approximately 1,350 acres of undeveloped backcountry majesty nestled in the upper elevations of the Wasatch Mountains, a new Bloods Lake Trailhead was created. Tucked on the side of a 10,000-foot mountain, Bloods Lake is a local favorite, you can’t beat a pristine high alpine lake perfect for swimming with peninsulas, rock features, and even a rope swing! The trail is fairly easy, but it does have some moderately steep areas.

The new trail is more environmentally friendly as it helps visitors to leave less of an impact on this natural setting by creating a distinctive trail that helps alleviate the amount of erosion that has been happening to the hillside on the original trail.

To get to the Bloods Lake Trailhead, you need to go up Guardsman Pass, one of the 58 Scenic Backways designated by the State of Utah, where epic mountain views are abundant. Note: Guardsman Pass is only open from May to October.

The trail is beautiful as it meanders through meadows, with scenic views of the Wasatch, and dense Aspen groves, which are showing their true colors! As I made my way through the golden tunnels, I found myself at the base of some switchbacks. This is where the trail gets pretty steep and a bit strenuous. Once I made my way up through the steep section, the trail flattened out, and Bloods Lake came into view. To catch my breath, I found a spot on the shore to grab a snack, hydrate, and take in the views. I even hiked around the entire lake and took a mental note of where the pretty awesome rope swing was for next summer’s adventures.

• Distance: 1.7 miles 
• Elevation Gain: ~150 ft
• Trail Use: Hiking
• Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back
• Dog-Friendly: Yes
• Parking: If hiking from Silverlake, park at Snowpark lodge and take the Silverlake Express lift to access Mid Mountain. If hiking from the Montage, there is limited parking at the Mid Mountain trailhead on Marsac Ave. Transit to Trails and the Purple or Orange bus lines access this section of trail for free as well.

This short section of Mid Mountain is incredibly scenic as it wraps and winds through Deer Valley, connecting Silverlake Lodge to the Montage Hotel. Down canyon views, dense woods, huge open meadows, and ski run crossings all make for a unique hike. The Mid Mountain trail hovers around 8,000 feet, requiring you to hike up to it or get a ride. But one of the best parts of this section is the access via public transit. The Orange bus line accesses Silverlake, and the Purple line accesses Montage. Or you could book Transit to Trails for an even faster trip up the hill. 

Family friendly and even a great run, hiking Mid Mountain is always a treat. Plus you can reward yourself at either end with treats and meals at the Montage or Silverlake lodge.

• Distance: 3 miles 
• Elevation Gain: 195 ft
• Trail Use: Hiking and Biking
• Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back or Loop
• Dog-friendly: No
• Parking: Large lot at the base of Park City Mountain Resort, easy-to-find parking

Now that lift access is closed on Park City Mountain, the only option to get involved in some golden Aspens at the resort is to hike up! At the base area near the First Time Lift, I found signage for Jenni’s Trail and followed the meandering, gentle uphill trail through gorgeous Aspen groves with smooth switchbacks that crossed numerous ski runs until it opened up to some beautiful views of Park City Mountain with the leaves going off. The trails are a bit of a choose-your-own hiking adventure, as you can go as long or as short as you want, try an out and back or a loop, by hooking up with a couple of other trails. 

Partway up Jenni's Trail, there’s an intersection to head down the lower portion of Crescent Mine Grade (CMG) that will allow you to cut back to the base for a shorter loop hike. To complete Jenni's trail in its entirety, ignore the CMG turn-off and keep going up until you get to Mid-Mountain trail, where you can turn around and head back down Jenni’s or for a longer hike head across Mid-Mountain Trail till it connects with CMG on the right to take you back down to the base. All along the way, you’ll be inspired by the autumn glow.

• Distance: 4.7 miles 
• Elevation Gain: 1,433 feet
• Trail Use: Hiking/Running Only
• Out and Back or Loop: Out and Back
• Dog-friendly: No
• Parking: Visitors can park at the Silver Lake Village or take the Orange bus line for free!

Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Trail is designated as a foot-traffic-only trail, so you're guaranteed more tranquility as you hike through the peaceful landscape. The trail is nicely marked beginning at the base of the Silver Lake chairlift. This is an absolutely gorgeous hike that ends at Silver Lake with picturesque cliffs on one side and a bird’s eye view of the Heber Valley on the other.

As I started my hike up, I navigated through a narrow trail of dense trees that made me feel like I was in another world. Climbing higher I popped in and out of golden aspen groves, and as I crossed over ski runs and lift lines, the scenery was put on display as it opened up to panoramic views of the Jordanelle Reservoir and the surrounding foliage. The last 600 feet of elevation is a steep push, but once at the top, I continued to enjoy the views from the East Side of Bald Mountain wherein the distance, I could see the mist in the valleys of the Uinta Mountains.