Trail Spotlight: lake blanche trail

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Lake Blanche reflecting Sundial Peak, surrounded by aspens and towering granite.

Lake Blanche trail

📍Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah (6.4 miles / 2,726 ft)

🐾 Dog friendly? Nope, it’s a protected watershed

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hard. Quads will remember this one.

Why we picked it

Because who doesn’t love an alpine lake…or three? And there’s a waterfall! It’s a hard trail, but the views at the top are worth it. Bonus miles if you walk all three lakes – Lake Blanche, Lake Florence and Lake Lillian.

Lake Blanche Trail wildflowers just off the trail during summer months
Lake Blanche Trail hike alpine lake views from the top

Parking fills early (like, before-you-finish-your-coffee early). We rolled in at 7:30 a.m. and parked on the side of the road.

Start Location: S-curve pullout on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road

Trail Condition: Dusty, rocky, and steady uphill. No scrambling, just a lot of uphill commitment (and breaks). It’s popular, so be prepared to pull off to let people continue their climbs.

🧭 AllTrails – Trail Map

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