Silver Lake on the 4th of July

To celebrate Independence Day we decided to hike to Silver Lake located up American Fork Canyon above Silver Lake Flats Reservoir. We started early to avoid the crows but still found a parking shortage. The day was slightly overcast and a bit cooler than it had previously been this summer, a perfect day for a hike.

We had great little hikers that made the entire trip to the lake unassisted. The hike in was 2.2 miles with a 1400 ft elevation gain. The first half of the hike is through green quaky forest riddled with wildflowers. The second half of the hike includes a couple of stream crossings and ascends rapidly toward a granite basin.

The lake is normally pretty cold but is much more bearable after the steep hike. I would only recommend swimming during the warmest parts of the summer. The beginning of July was a little early for a dip but don't tell that to the kids.

As the little ones slowly made their way into the cold water I rigged up a rod and selected a nice looking prince nymph. Every cast produced a bite but it took about two dozen attempts to successfully land a beautiful little Grayling.  After landing a few more grayling I started around the lake in search of another promising spot. The north end was shallow and weedy but produced several colorful Brook Trout.

The kids entertained themselves finding rocks and and a variety of little critters. We only spent a few hours at the lake before prodding the kids back down the trail. The views, dark green forests and beautiful fish species make this hike a splendid and hidden fishing hole. I am sure we will be back soon.

Final Tally:

3 Grayling

4 Brook Trout

1 Frozen Little Girl

5 Skinned Knees