Silver Lake, Twin Lakes

Last Friday we went to Silver Lake, at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Silver Lake itself is a really easy hike...in fact, it's not even a hike, it's a walk around the lake.  It's wheelchair accessible, which makes it really great for anyone to enjoy.  The boardwalk that goes around the lake is less than a mile long.  The fact that it is such a simple walk does not mean it's not absolutely GORGEOUS.  There are picnic benches and bathrooms there as well.  

Here's the view of Silver Lake from higher up.  (Sorry, I didn't take picture of it from straight on.)


Silver Lake by itself can provide hours of enjoyment.  But if you want to do a little more hiking, you can follow the boardwalk around to the Twin Lakes and Solitude Lake trailhead.  The Twin Lake is about a mile one way, and the Solitude is about a mile and a quarter.  We decided to go to Twin Lake.  Everything we read about this hike was that it was easy, and for the most part it was, but I confess, we had to stop a couple of times and take a break.  The kids (Buddy Boy especially) wanted to be carried half the time because they were tired.  But if you're willing to give the kiddos a couple of breaks, it's definitely very doable!

 View from about halfway up to Twin Lake.

3/4 of the way up, Buddy Boy had a meltdown, so we took another break to give him pressure hugs and calm him down.  



We got up to Twin Lake, and there was no one else there.  It was awesome!  A while later another small group arrived, but for the most part we had the entire place to ourselves.