Wasatch-Cache National Forests
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Wasatch-Cache National Forest
Wasatch-Cache National Forest (John Wang/Digital Vision/Getty)

All backroom deals aside, Salt Lake City won the right to host the 2002 Winter Olympics on the drawing power of the recreational paradise found in the mountains of Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The forest encompasses the northern and central ramparts of the toothy Wasatch Range, which form the abrupt eastern boundary to the bone-dry Great Basin Desert. Read More »

Wasatch-Cache National Forests Highlights

  • Hike as far as you like on Brighton Lakes Trail in upper Big Cottonwood Canyon. The trail takes you through some of the prettiest lake country in the range. It’s a popular family outing.
  • Mountain bikers should try the Wasatch Crest Trail, which climbs from Guardsman's Pass at the head of Big Cottonwood Canyon, tops out at 9,900 feet with fabulous views, and then drops into upper Mill Creek Canyon. It’s 13 miles one way and is best done with a car shuttle.
  • Pipeline Trail, a popular summertime mountain bike trail in Mill Creek Canyon, becomes an ungroomed ski trail in winter. It parallels the road from near the bottom of the canyon to just above the winter gate.
  • One of the best day hikes in the area is the Mineral Fork Trail, a former mining road that climbs to a glacial cirque above Big Cottonwood Canyon. You’ll pass waterfalls, alpine meadows, and old mines in ten miles round-trip with a 3,520-foot elevation change.
By Travel Expert: Bill Weir


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