Yesterday, we decided that it was going to be the day that we put on our yoga pants, tennis shoes, and ball caps and went for a hike. Prior to coming to Utah, we stumbled across an article on Pinterest that listed all the must-visit hikes near Park City. Spanish Fork and Diamond Fork Canyon were about an hour and a half from where we are staying; driving here is really easy because of the beautiful views.
As we approached our destination, we lost all cell phone reception and we were perfectly okay with that. We grabbed our backpacks and used the knowledge that we had of Diamond Fork to navigate our way around. To our surprise, when we did pass people on the trail and asked if we were going in the correct direction, they confirmed– though they joked that we had a bit of a hike ahead of us. They were right. It was uphill, a bit rocky, and at times, really tough, especially being at such a high altitude.
2.5 miles, roughly 600-foot elevation change, and a few warnings of snakes later and we were finally at the top of the springs. The smell of sulfur was strong but the waterfall was beautiful. It was a little crowded with other hikers and as we asked around we learned that this is a really popular spot, especially on the weekends. We hit it at a pretty decent time because a lot of people started clearing out once we got there.
Ashley was able to pull out her drone while we were getting things set up and got some awesome footage. We decided to take a break from the technology and dip into those very hot springs. It was the craziest experience. Certain pools were so hot that you couldn’t stand it (over 100°), others were so ice cold it hurt your bones, but the mixture left a few just the right temperature.
Typically, the water is this beautiful ice blue color, but due to the volume of people, the dirt was kicked around in the water, making it a bit mucky. By the end of the day, once people started clearing out, we did catch glimpses of what the color ends up looking like in the early morning sun. You can see that it looks bluer in some of our photos and grey in others. Rumor has it you need to be there by 6AM to avoid crowds and to see the water at its bluest.
At one point Ashley pulled out the Terrible Towel. Usually when this happens people (especially those from Pittsburgh) migrate to the black and gold. We have found that most of the people we encounter on our travels who are extremely nice are “Yinzers.” We met some really nice people who were originally from the Pittsburgh area and Ashley even had a mutual friend with one of them!
We’d spent a few wonderful and peaceful hours at the Springs. As we were talking about wrapping up our trip, about 3 feet from our stuff sat a water snake. Erin was terrified, but Ashley was surprisingly brave and it didn’t seem to phase her (though a spider in the shower left her extremely frightened and Erin killed it, so we have a good balance). That was the motivation Erin needed to head back to the car. We snapped a few photos and Erin tore everything out of her backpack to make sure that there wasn’t a snake residing in there. Then we headed back down the 2.5 miles to our car.
Heading out of Diamond Fork we stopped at the Red Ledge for some photos with the red rock. It was getting chilly, but the perfect photo op.
We ended the day with some Chick-fil-a and a pink and sunset sky above the mountains. It was a great way to spend Summer Solstice. We haven’t gotten tired of staring at the beautiful snow-capped Rocky Mountains yet– and we plan on seeing more of them today!
xo,
Ash & Er
Glad you were able to experience the beauty of our snow capped Utah mountains and enjoy a spot I haven’t even visited, yet. On my bucket list now.