Brighton Lakes

The Brighton Lakes, located up Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City, are reached from the trailhead at Brighton Resort Lodge at the end of Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. The lakes are Dog Lake, Lake Mary, Lake Martha, and Lake Catherine from lower to higher elevation. The same trail will take you to all four lakes. You can hike to just one lake or to all four in the same outing, whatever you wish to do.

Brighton Lakes Hike Details

Distance – 4.5 miles roundtrip to all lakes
Approximate hiking time – 2.5 to 4 hours
Elevation at trailhead – 8760 feet
Elevation at the Dog Lake – 9375 feet
Elevation at the Lake Mary – 9500 feet
Elevation at the Lake Martha – 9600 feet
Elevation at the Lake Catherine – 9960 feet
Highest Elevation gain – 1200 feet
Difficulty – Moderate, because of some tricky parts between Lake Mary and Lake Martha.
Trail – well marked trail of dirt and rocks.
Amount of water recommended – 3 liters
Bathrooms – By the Silver Lake Information Center about 1/2 mile before you get to the trailhead
Seasons to hike – Late Spring, Summer, and Fall
Permits needed – None
Pets allowed – No, this is a watershed area

How to get there:

If coming from north of Salt Lake City, take I-15 south to I-215 east. Head east to 6200 South exit. If coming from the south, take I-15 north to I-215 east to 6200 South. At the off-ramp get in the second lane from the right heading to 6200 south. Turn right and go south for 1.7 miles (6200 South turns into Wasatch Boulevard). You will see large brown signs leading you to Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. Turn left onto Big Cottonwood Canyon Road and follow it for about 14 miles to the Brighton Loop. The loop is a large oval about 0.5 miles long. Traffic flows around the loop in a counter-clockwise direction. Turn right at the one-way sign and you will see the Silver Lake Information Center just ahead on your right.  If you need to make a stop, restrooms are on the left as you enter the parking lot. If not, continue up the road for another 0.5 mile to the Brighton Resort Lodge. This is the trailhead.

(We created a Google Map for this hike at the bottom of this post)

What to bring on this hike:
(Click on an item for more information)

Hitting the Trail!

Hopefully, before leaving home you have decided which and how many lakes you wish to visit.  This trip report describes a hike to all of the lakes plus an additional short hike to Catherine Pass from which you can get a view into the Albion Basin which is at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon.  The first part of the hike is labeled the Lake Mary trail and follows ski trails up the hill.  Part of the trail follows service roads for the ski lifts. You will hike under two ski lifts on this part of the trail. It is open country with little shade and with a dirt and rock trail. This is a great spot for wildflowers. In mid to late July, wildflowers of all colors are in full bloom along the trails, and make for great pictures. This is a very popular weekend hike, especially for families. If you’re looking for more solitude while on the trail, Lake Catherine will be your best bet, but even there, expect to share the trail with other hikers.

After about 0.7 miles the trail makes a sharp right turn to the west, leaves the service roads and enters some woods. After traversing a couple of ski trails and climbing for another quarter mile, you will come to a sign post with your first option. The directions are reliable, but the distances are approximations. Even though all of the maps of the area spell Lake Catherine with a ‘C’, the sign shows it with a ‘K’. If Dog Lake is your destination for the day, you would turn left at this point. You are just about there. Else, you would continue up the trail to Lake Mary. Dog Lake is a great destination for families with young children that may not have the energy to make it to Lake Mary. On our last visit, we chose to see Dog Lake on the return trip. The trail will take you around the whole lake. Dog Lake is smaller than the rest of the lakes on this trip, but could be your best spot to see moose.

Just to the right of this sign, there is an unofficial observation point that gives you a view of small stream plunging down a very steep rocky slop for about 80 feet.  You cannot quite call it a water fall, but on our last visit in mid July 2015, it was quite impressive. The reason for the increased water flow, we later found out, was because Lake Mary was being emptied to allow for maintenance on the dam that is scheduled to start in mid August 2015. The dam, which is over 100 years old, is in need of some repairs. The rangers could not tell us how long the project would take, but it is probably safe to say that Lake Mary will not be full again until at least sometime during summer of 2016.

For the last half mile to Lake Mary, the trail is a little steep and rocky. It follows the stream that empties Lake Mary. The trail will take you by the base of the concrete dam. Then the main trail climbs to the left up to the Lake on the south end of the dam. An unmarked trail, just short of the the dam, leads up the right side of a small gully and allows access to the north and west sides of the Lake. The Lake was formed by creating the dam at the open end of a large granite bowl. There are many large rocks along the Lake that can be used for resting or admiring the Lake. Lake Mary is quite impressive when full of water.

To continue on to Lake Martha, take the trail to the left (south) of Lake Mary. The trail to Lake Martha is less than 0.5 miles, but very rocky and may be difficult for some, especially those with young children. The trail climbs around 100 feet vertically while crossing a couple of rock faces with no protection from falling. Not recommended for those with a fear of heights! There are a couple of places along this trail where you look back and enjoy great views of Lake Mary. You will find Lake Martha to be a smaller, but still beautiful lake that is nestled down in a basin beside the main trail. It is surrounded by trees and lush vegetation. Several trails break off to take you down to the shores of Lake Martha.

The main trail to Lake Catherine continues to the south, enters woods again, and takes a sharp left turn for a switch back. It is another mile or so to your next stop, Lake Catherine. At the next switch back to the right, you can get a bird’s eye view of Dog Lake down and to your left. As you gain more altitude, you will see occasional views of Lakes Martha and Mary to your right. Hope you brought you camera!

Finally, you will climb over a small ridge and descend into a clearing that resembles a wetlands. This is the area that drains Lake Catherine, thus the vegetation. Here the trail forks. Take the trail on the left to Lake Catherine and the trail to the right will take you up to Catherine Pass. After a couple more minutes, you will see the Lake. Trails go in both directions around Lake Catherine.

If you are not tired enough at this point, you can back track and take the right fork from the clearing. This will take you up the Catherine Pass trail. It is about 0.5 miles and about 300 feet of elevation to the ridge you see to the west across the Lake. From this vantage point, you will be able to see into the Albion Basin, which is at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon. From here you can also see many of the mountain peaks in the area.

This hike, and the many variations on it, can be both awe inspiring and relaxing as you are able to view the world around you from different perspectives. Enjoy your day in the mountains!

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Here are some hiking shoes we recommend for adults:

And these are great hiking shoes for kids:

For more of our favorite hiking trails, click here.