Not to start out on the wrong foot, but this lake photographs better than it looks in real life. The lake is incredibly photogenic. It’ll catfish you into paying it a visit. My sister and I also renamed this Lake. We call it Horse Poop Lake. It’s a great place for Horses to hang out and poop. We will get to that soon enough though. I have been really spoiled with so many great places to backpack in Northern Utah that my expectations might need to be adjusted. But if we are going to grade on a curve this would get a B minus. If there wasn’t so much horse poop I’d give it a B+.
We started from the Deseret Peak TH at the end of South Willow Canyon. You’re going to be hiking through Aspens starting out. There is shade too. So, that’s a bonus. You’ll later come to a stream crossing. You will cross the stream and follow the trail to the left. After this just keep your eyes peeled for a trail split. You’ll go to the right and you most likely won’t see another person from this point on. Sections of trail get steep in this area. There will be trail splits here and there, but everything is well signed. I still always recommend mapping out your course prior to any trip that isn’t familiar. When you’re physically or mentally exhausted you tend to miss things. Things get more confusing. I’m not so much going to give a play by play w landmarks and trail splits since GPS can guide you, but instead I prefer to give in depth details of what to expect from a trail.
The first climb is steep and loose. Poles help going up and down this section. You gain just under 2k feet elevation over the span of 4 miles. Which if I was to read the stats alone I’d be like “that sounds great”! Desolation Lake is a continuous climb with those same stats, but South Willow is more steep climb, long mellow flats, steep, flat, down and more climbing. This first section of climbing is the steepest portion. The switchbacks are also steeper. The rest isn’t bad. When you reach the switchbacks take a break if needed. Since the trail is so thin up the switchbacks there isn’t any great place to break. None. You won’t climb for eternity, but you’ll need to just slowly and steadily push through this section. Usually there are wildflowers that crowd this portion of the mountain side and you have a phenomenal view of Deseret Peak. I felt this was the most beautiful portion of the hike. I also helicoptered my child since the trail is thin and the drop offs high. You could avoid this section if heights make you dizzy. There are a couple different ways to the Lake. For the alternative route check out Girl on a Hikes blog. I just felt this way offered more in terms of views. That is why I chose this route vs hers.
After you reach the top of the switchbacks there is a large flat shaded area that is perfect to break if needed. If not it’ll be pretty flat for the most part until a small descent through some trees. The trail is a thin ribbon of goodness that wraps itself around the mountain side and offers up some sweeping views to the East. Once you get to the trees there are some blow downs you’ll have to maneuver. After the large flat spot past the switchbacks there isn’t a great place to break until you descend past the trees. Good thing to keep in mind.
After you finish your descent there are a few campsites you’ll come across. You’re not far from the lake now. If you look to the West you’ll be able to see the cirque that the lake is nestled into. You still have a few hundred feet of climbing to the lake or to be able to see the lake. It’s not as nasty of a climb like the first steep section or the switchbacks. It is however completely exposed to the sun, so with kids we ended up taking more breaks than we usually do. It took us about 4 and a half hours to complete the hike. This included three breaks. You will have a few small stream crossings after the first large river crossing. You might be able to get away w carrying less water. We brought our dogs so it was nice to have water sources throughout the hike.
When you reach the lake you’ll be suprised how small it looks compared to pics. The cirque is beautiful and there were a few campsites to chose from. The one at the top of a hill overlooking the lake offers the best views, but is pretty rocky and uneven. So we opted for one of the other three. We climbed the hill to the East to camp. The problem w the other three campsites are that there is horse poop everywhere. When I mean everywhere, I mean everywhere!!! It’s unavoidable. We had to prep our campsite by clearing poop up. The site closer to the lake was not campable unless you had a shovel to clear all the wet manure. I think a day hike to the lake would be more enjoyable than camping here because of all the poop. I’m not being dramatic either. I do wish I would’ve known this. I had been wanting to visit South Willow Lake for a few years. Different choices would’ve been made or I would’ve set up below the lake and just hiked to the lake separately. It looks like others have done this. I couldn’t understand why someone would camp below when there were campsites above. Now I understand.
It also gets pretty chilly and windy in the bowl the lake sits in. For more mild temps the campsites below would’ve been a better option. Once we fell into the shadows of the late afternoon it was cold enough that the kids didn’t want to be outside our tents.
My sister and I did bring our dogs on this trip. When backpacking with my dog I like to have her wear a pack. I don’t load her pack. The pack is for poop bags. I have her carry her plastic dog poop bags and her waste. I don’t want her poop stanking up my bag. Sometimes I have her carry her food too. Please pick up after your pet on trail. I’ve seen trails that were dog friendly lose their privileges due to owner negligence. Fortunately a lot of backpacking trails in Utah you’re not required to get a permit. I do fear with overuse and individuals not picking up after themselves that this will start slowly changing.
The Stansbury Mountains are a great range to escape the crowds of the Wasatch. I’ve only ever seen a couple people here and there when exploring this range. The proximity from Salt Lake detours most hikers. It’s not too far, but when you think of the hundreds of trails less than 20 minutes from Salt Lake the hour and a half drive to the trailhead loses a lot of appeal. I highly recommend hiking Deseret Peak if you’re in the area and want a lengthier day. Happy adventuring!
Exploring the Wasatch and Beyond 