Hiking Albion Meadows

30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City lies the town and ski area known as Alta.  At the very eastern end of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta is a year-round destination for skiiers and hikers.

Alta History

Silver was discovered in the 1960s in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Two small towns grew up, Central City, and Alta.  Only Alta still exists, and on top of the former Central City.  With minors, the town had about 1,000 people.  When the mining went bust, the town was almost deserted.

This is how Alta is typically remembered.

In the 1930s, several Salt Lake City businessmen formed a committee to see if a ski area could be developed in the Alta area.  The town of Alta had been deeded to the U.S. Forest Service.  Using Sun Valley, Idaho, as a model, a ski area was developed under Alf Engen, a Norwegian-born skiier.

The two red lines to the left are the Albion and Sunnyside lifts, located in the Albion Basin.  This is where the original town of Alta was.  Central City was located near the right two red lines (Collins and Wildcat lifts). 

The modern town of Alta, population around 400, lies directly west of Wildcat run.

Our Hike

Our group had originally planned to hike up to Cecret Lake.  However, the road was closed.  We could have still hiked up, but with six small children with us, we elected to hike the Albion Meadows area below the Albion ski lift.  Enjoy the pictures.

The road to Cecret Lake

Where we went.

We saw a moose.  The next three pictures are mountain views.

This area is known as Catherine's Area, named for Catherine Brighton.

Our youngest "hiker" was Elliot, who is about 18 months old.  He "hikes" with his daddy, Dave.

Part way up, I spotted a chair from the chairlift.