Lake Mary, Martha, Catherine, and Twin Lakes

Sunrise at Lake Mary

360 Adventure Hike to Lake Mary, Martha, Catherine, and Twin Lakes

Lake Mary

Hiking to Lake Mary is a delight, but I know there are somedays you would like to be here but can't. That is ok. Just grab a VR Headset and Search ShaunasAdventures on OculusTV or YouTubeVR and you can be transported to a beautiful sunrise here at Lake Mary. This is a wonderful Nature Therapy to boost those chemicals in the body that help you feel happy, and if you open a bottle of Cypress Oil it will work even better. So what are you waiting for, grab a VR Headset and enjoy some "Me Time" right now and transport yourself to somewhere beautiful.

Information about hiking to Lake Mary

Can be 2.6 to 5 miles depending on how many lakes you decide to see.
About 850 feet elevation gain
About 45 min East of SLC. I took Brighton side, but you can also do trail from Alta side (but it opens much later. and you see Lake Mary last.)
Appropriate for ALL ages.
Easy Hike, Level 1-2
Not allowed to get in water.
No dogs allowed on this trail.
It will be colder than you think, so bring a jacket just in case.

Lake Mary Panorama

I have hiked many lakes, but of all the lakes this is the lake I have been the most anxious this year to hike again. It can be a busier hike, so I try an avoid the high traffic times. I like starting from Brighton Ski Resort because first you get to Lake Mary faster which I think is the prettiest of the lakes, and second you can access it earlier in the year than the Alta side. The Alta side Albion basion will stay closed until at least July 1.

These pretty lakes up Big Cottonwood Canyon are nestled right between Alta and Brighton. I am so glad I did it, for it was a gorgeous hike, and I got Twin Lakes as a bonus. From the Brighton side this hike is not a steep climb, and I think it is 4.4 miles for the round trip. I took a left after the dam on the way back and got to enjoy the north side of the lake, some gorgeous cliffs, and twin lakes by going that way. Probably added an extra 1.5 miles, but it was worth it.

Here is an All Trails link for the latest info on the trail.
All Trails Lake Mary Info

2D Short Trailer for Immersive Video at Lake Mary

INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAKE MARY TRAIL

Video showing Trail head turnoff behind Brighton Resort

I started at Brighton and headed up the trail that is right between the 2 lodges on the south side.

After a short hike you can see Dog Lake for a short 0.1 mile detour.

Trail Sign on Lake Mary Trail

WATERFALL ON THE WAY UP TO LAKE MARY

Waterfall on the way up to Lake Mary

The trail has lots of this beautiful white rock, wild flowers, and cliffs. On the way up you can see lots of ski lifts on this and the surrounding mountains. The first lake you get to is Lake Mary. It was jaw dropping beautiful . The beauty of this lake got me even more excited for the next two lakes.

360 Trails at Lake Mary

____

Link for 2D Version of walk Along West Side of Lake Mary.

2D Video LInk

Link to view it in 360 Degrees
360 VIDEO on WEST SIDE of LAKE MARY

I was so surprised by Lake Mary's beauty!

South side of Lake Mary

This is my farewell shot of Lake Mary. I had no idea at this point that this would be my favorite and I would crave getting back here on the return trip to soak in more of it.

Still some SNOW for a snowball fight on the trail! Not enough to be scary and slippery, just a fun to find.

Up by the snow is cute Lake Martha. She is just a small lake, and you only get views of her from up high, but it is still picturesque.

Lake Martha

Fields of Forget-Me-Not Flowers still in bloom. Lake Catherine was smaller than I had thought it would be, and while it was beautiful, it didn't have as many of the huge granite boulders, or the granite island I found enchanting in Lake Mary. I had planned to walk around this lake and soak in its beauty, but I opted to go back and soak in more of Lake Mary's beauty instead. :)

360 Trail by Lake Martha

Lake Catherine. If you come from the Alta side you come down that hill on the opposite side.

Lake Catherine

The best part of this lake was watching the teenagers slide down the snow that was still left. They were having a blast.

From here we headed back to my favorite of the lakes..Lake Mary. This time we are going to turn LEFT right after passing the dam and following that trail down. We will be able to hike on the North side of the lake, AND catch Twin Lakes on the way down.

The reflection on the lake on this North side was so pretty and I was so happy I came over on this side.
By the side of the lake I found this pretty trio of flowers in the rock. I wish I could have gotten the lake in the background, but it was so surprising that they were growing right in a bowl of the granite rock.

These yellow flowers on the side of the Trail is just one of the many variety of flowers you will see along the trail. As we headed away from the lake we ran into this cute Cabin.

This cute Cabin on the North East Corner of Lake Mary has lots of wild flowers around it. The trail to the North side and on to Twin Lakes goes in front of the cabin. There used to be a trail on the east side of the cabin that also went to Twin lakes, but I think it is washed out now.

I did not expect to be WOWED by the cliffs on the way down, for I had already seen many beautiful ones, but this was amazing!

What the trail looked like on the way down. It was a beautiful trail heading down until Twin Lakes, then our trail just ended up being wide ski lift runs.

Hiking in the early Spring, one of my FAVORITE HIKING things is Spikes, or Crampons. They are awesome. I watch people sliding all over snowy trails, and I hike up some difficult snowy trails and have no problem. People I pass will often say, of I wish I have some of those and of course some hiking Sticks.

Twin Lake

Twin Lake Utah

Seeing a Moose coming down from Twin Lakes

My second favorite thing on this hike was the delight of seeing a MOOSE. I have longed to see another one of these beautiful creatures and this day I was super lucky. He was just off to the side eating away not really caring about us. We sat and watched him for quite a while. Such a beautiful large creature.