Crystal Lake Hiking
THINGS TO DO NEAR PARK CITY
The Crystal Lake Trailhead is the starting point for many hiking adventures in the Uinta Mountains. It is located near Trail Lake, just off Hwy 150, and provides access to several lakes that can be reached on short day hikes. The trailhead also serves backpackers embarking on longer adventures.
This area offers excellent hiking, fishing and camping opportunities and so it is very popular. It is one of the most-visited area in the entire Uinta Mountains. Despite all of the visitors, there are a multitude of recreational opportunities and it is easy to get away from the crowds.
Trails here interconnect with other trails and allow long hikes in several directions. We just describe some of the most popular routes here.
Crystal Lake
(40.6809, -110.965)
Crystal Lake is located just off Hwy 150, near Trial Lake, about 26 miles east of Kamas. Crystal Lake is a beautiful spot in its own right, and serves as an important trailhead for hikes to nearby lakes.
Haystack Lake
(40.6564, -110.972)
Trail 501 runs south past Washington, Tail and Shadow lakes to Haystack Lake. There are also several other lakes in this area that are not right on the trail, but can be visited by short forays into the forest. Some of these lakes are home to a unique fish called the Arctic grayling, which is popular with anglers. All of the lakes also have trout.
Clyde Lake
(40.7017, -110.971)
Trail 602 runs north from Crystal, passing Lily, Cliff, Watson, Clyde and other lakes. All of these lakes offer trout fishing.
Long Lake
(40.6826, -110.995)
West from Crystal you can get on long trails that run down to the Weber River, Smith Morehouse Reservoir and the Provo River. These are popular backpacking routes.