2013-06-30 Willow Lake Hike

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Interactive Hiking Trail with Photo Link

The temperature in Salt Lake valley hit triple digit when we were still in the month of June! Our hiking group went hiking the Willow Heights/Willow Lake trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We've hiked this trail several times in the past from the trailhead that begins in the residential area. This time, we started the hike from a different trailhead on the main road. After reaching the lake, we decided to hike down the other trail to make it a loop hike. Wildflowers dotted the landscape along the trail.

2012-10-07 Willow Lake Hike (#11)

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Another great fall day for hiking. This time we try to see some golden leaves, so we hiked the Willow Lake trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Though some of the leaves have fallen off, but the scene is still very pleasant. Kids and grown-ups had a great time hanging out at the lake. A kind lady, Christe, and her son (maybe 2 or 3 years old) were hiking to Willow Lake as our group was leaving. She offered to take the group photo for us. While she was taking the photo, her son posed with us. Christe told her son to get out of the picture. Then her son sadly and slowly moved away from us. Brother Te-Hsin then chased after him and brought him back to pose with our group for photo. Sister Li Ya also gave him some yummy chocolates for treats. That was quite a highlight for this hike!

2011-10-09 Willow Lake Hiking (#17)

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After some above normal warm temperature last week, the weather cools down, and suddenly snowed on Thursday (10/5). Ski resorts got about a foot of fresh snow. The wet weather dried out late Saturday evening. Sunday was sunny and warm (still below the average of 68 degrees though). Our group met at church parking lot at 2:30 pm and headed to the trail head in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We had over 40 people hiking this lesser-known trail, but absolutely picturesque lake. This is the third time we hiked this trail. This time, the scene is quite unique: snow plus fall color. The cloud broke after we got to the lake. Our group had great time sharing snacks.

2010-10-17 Willow Lake Hike

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My church friends really want to do another hiking before the weather turns cold. We also want to see the fall foliage before the first snow falls. We went to a lesser known trail called Willow Lake (or beaver pond) in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. The trailhead is in a residential area. We parked the cars in the ski rental shop and walked through the neighborhood. It is a short 2-mile round trip hike with about 800 feet elevation gain. It was a pleasant day that Sunday (10/17) afternoon. The view of the lake was awesome! There were still plenty of golden aspen leaves for our eyes to enjoy! On the way back, I stopped by the Big Cottonwood creek and took a few photos.