Immersive Lake Blanche
Lake Blanche, Lake Lilian, and Lake Florence,
The Sister Lakes
Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah in 360 Degrees
Lake Blanche is a beautiful lake, but yes it is a steep climb up to the lakes. Well worth it, but if you can't get here today, I have an awesome option for you. Just grab a VR Headset and search ShaunasAdventures on OculusTV or YouTubeVR. It will transport you to a lovely sunset here. This is a wonderful Nature Therapy to boost the postive chemicals in your body and help you feel happier. Open a bottle of Cypress oil or another favorite nature oil and boost your benefits even more.
I have hiked Lake Blanche in almost every season. In the Spring, I love the waterfalls here. They are beautiful, and the fresh green at the lake is such a nice contrast to all the deep red rocks. In the Summer, I love the fields of yellow flowers on the trail to Lake Blanche. They are really fun reward to hit about 2/3 the way up. In the fall, the colors are fantastic. You hit a nice patch of red on the trail on the way up, and then at the lake the bright yellows mixed with the blue of the lake and the red of the rocks is wonderful. I have yet to do this hike in the winter, but it is on my list, for I know the trail gets well used in the winter.
Information about Lake Blanche Trail
- About 7 miles round trip
- About 30 min East of SLC
- Best for Ages 10 and above
- You can backpack up and camp overnight as long as it is a certain distance from the lakes.
- 3 Lakes at one Spot is quite the bonus
- Often can see moose down by Lake Lilian or Lake Florence
- Amazing field of yellow wild flowers on the trail in the summer.
- Beautiful fall colors in the Fall around the lake and on the trail.
- Moderate to Hard just because of length and elevation gain. - Level 3
- Takes about 4 hours.
- About 2,700 feet elevation gain.
- The trickiest part of the trail, is when it comes to a a huge section of orange boulders. You need to remember that this is a really sharp switchback and the trail is a 180 degree turn to your right.
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| Lake Blanche with Sundial Peak - Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah |
I am really enjoying all the mountain lakes we have in Utah, so I attempted 4 mountain lakes this week. The 2 favorites were Lake Blanche and Silver Lake. Click here for post.
Link to Sliver Lake
Link to Sliver Lake
Lake Blanch is in big Cottonwood canyon, and starts by the big S curve part of the drive up the canyon. It is a 6.7 mile hike. The hike starts out with a bang for you get to walk along Big Cottonwood River on Mill B South Trail.
The river was raging, and gorgeous. If you just wanted a short walk/stroll, or even a walk to take someone in a wheelchair, this is a great walk for you, for it is paved and the river is right off the path. The only problem is the parking lots fill up fast by the middle of the day, so shoot for off times.
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| Lake Florence with its Gorgeous Waterfall |
Click below for Video of Big Cottonwood River
You loose site of the river as you keep climbing, but the favorite part for me is not just watching the river, but the sound of the river. That you get to keep and enjoy for about half of the hike. It is a gorgeous background sound that really gives the hike some great atmosphere.
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| Big Cottonwood River in Big Cottonwood Canyon Utah |
I was walking thinking this does not have as many wild flowers as Silver Lake did, and then BAM, I get hit by a major field of Arrowleaf Balsamroot about 2 miles up.
2D Short for Immersive Experience at Lake Blanche
Grab a VR Headset and transport yourself to the beautiful Lake Blanche. This lake is unique in the deep red rocks, and the beautiful Sundial Peak as the backdrop. This beautiful lake is a steep 3.5-4 miles hike to the lake, but the reward is well worth the work. Lake Blanche is actually not just 1 lake, but a set of 3 lakes : Lake Blanche is the first and then you can follow paths west 1/4 mile to see both Lake Florence and Lake Lillian. Between Lake Blanche and the other 2 lakes is a beautiful waterfall that has red cliffs on both sides of the waterfall. This is one of my favorite waterfalls, but most people are too exahausted to make that last little bit to see this beautiful sight.
As I hike, there is often time to visit with my Father above, and I find Him using the nature to remind me of things that are important. This day as I walked, I was walking along the river that flows down to the Big Cottonwood Canyon River, and you can't see the river, but you know it is there because you can hear it, and you can feel it. I found this very similar to my relationship with my Father above. I can't see him, but I know He is there. He has heard my pleas when I was filled with sadness and it felt like I received the most beautiful hug from above and I undeniably felt Him send love. I have also had times in my life I needed direction and I pleaded for help, and I received line upon line of direction to create something amazing. He has always helpd me when I have pleaded with Him. So look up today, and ask Him if he cares about you. I know He does. He is good and wants to help.
Sending love and postive vibes your way. - Shauna
This 360 image sometimes doesn't show up, but it is a gorgeous 360 Sphere with yellow wild flowers all around me. You can still see it if it is black, by clicking on the BLUE View on Google Maps
button.
Fields and fields just going on and on and on. It was super beautiful to walk through.
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| A Huge Field of Yellow Arrowroot Balsamroot Flowers |
Video above is of the section of the trail with all the Yellow Arrowroot Flowers. Just click and it will come up.
The same trail in the Fall.
The trail is either going through narrow paths with tall lush green flora on both sides, meandering around boulders that keep the trail interesting, or it suddenly opens up and you get a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and cliffs.
The dual peaks on the left side is my goal, and this is about 2/3 the way up. Here I hit lots of switchbacks to climb the last climb.
My nephew warned me about a certain spot in the trail that was a little tricky. I was so glad he did, for it was super helpful. You are hiking and you hit this wall of boulders.
360 Degree Sphere is Walking through the Tricky Spot on the trail where it has a hidden Switch back. If it is not coming in, then click on the BLUE View on Google Makes to see.
You can't see any Cairns or clear path to how to get across the boulders. He said he climbed over these boulders for a while and thought this is a little sketchy, so he sat down and ate his sandwich. While he ate, he watched a group of people come up and they immediately turned around and the trail was just a switchback and just went around the corner here and you are never suppose to venture far into these boulders.
My last major climb to the lake. It is just over this ridge. you can see the famous notched mountain that is the backdrop of lake Blanche right in front of me.
You walk across this last path that has a beautiful rock wall constructed on the East side, and then there it is.
LAKE BLANCHE
This trail might not have an abundance of wildflowers except in the one major spot, but what it lacks in abundance, it makes up for in gorgeous rock backdrops for flower pictures.
On the west side of the lake, there is this dam that is constructed out of rock, one rock at a time. If you walk past that dam you get a real treat of a GORGEOUS waterfall flowing out of Lake Blanch into Lake Florence.
WATERFALL FROM LAKE BLANCHE TO LAKE FLORENCE
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| Waterfall from Lake Blanche to Lake Florence Utah |
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LAKE FLORENCE IN BOTH SUMMER AND FALL
Panorama of waterfall to Lake Florence.
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| Lake Florence |
Great View here of both lakes. Lake Florence is in the front, and Lake Lilian is behind. If you
are craving seeing a moose, they can often be spotted up here around these 2 lakes.
This 360 Sphere above is amazing, for if you turn around you can see the gorgeous waterfall behind me, and in front of me is Lake Florence.
LAKE LILLIAN
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| Lake Lillian |
https://utah.com/hiking/lake-blanche-trail
And here is the AllTrails link so you can check on current conditions of the trail.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/lake-blanche-trail
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If you liked this area and would like to see more, click on the Lake Blanche Google Earth Link then Click on the little dude, then any blue dot or line to see more.
Lake Blanche GoogleEarth Link
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If you liked this area, you will also LOVE these Hikes
LAKE MARY, Lake Martha, and Lake Catherine.
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and
ALBION BASION for WILDFLOWERS
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and
SILVER LAKE
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and
RED PINE LAKE
If you liked this hike, I would love you to consider some of the items below to help support more posts like this.
2D Trailer for Immersive Nature Experience at Periodic Springs and Snake River
Palisades, Periodic Springs, and Snake River are a beautiful combo if you are thinking about heading to Wyoming for the cooler weather. So many other events you can add to it, like horseback riding, or Jackson hole, or the Tetons.
If you don't have a VR Headset, they are so much fun. I have enjoyed mine often to excercise when I can't hit a trail outdoors, and to virtually travel the world. It is so wonderful for my physical and mental health. Here are links to some great VR Headsets. Definitely worth it!
Cloudscape by Vlad Gluschenko | https://soundcloud.com/vgl9
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
For the Virtual Reality Experience, I love to open a bottle of Cypress, get a nice breeze blowing on me, curl up in a comfy chair, and transport myself here or any of the other fun Nature Experience in my Oculus Portfolio. It is a wonderful postive boost from Nature Therapy that helps fight depression and help you feel happier. Try it out.
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