Unlike the busy Donut Falls Trail just down the road, the Willow Heights to Willow Lake is a wonderful trail if you want to get away from the crowd. Located in Willow Heights Conservation Area near Salt Lake, Utah, Willow Heights to Willow Lake is known for its breathtaking aspen fall foliage and many wildlife sightings of moose, deer, ducks, and beavers. Even if you’re not visiting during the fall foliage, this trail also has tons of wildflowers and lush scenery.
Willow Heights Trailhead
40.630308, -111.604615
Parking along the side of the road.
FREE
No restrooms. The closest vault toilet is down the road, at the trailhead for Donut Falls.
Leave your pet at home. They are not allowed on the trail because the trail lies within a protected watershed.
2.5 miles R.T.
629 ft
Moderate
Takes an average of 1-2 hours
Late June – early July is the best time if you want to see wildflowers and a fuller Willow Lake. Late September – October is best if you want to see fall foliage.
The trailhead for the Willow Heights to Willow Lake Trail is located along Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. If you’re coming from Salt Lake, it is on the left-hand side, about 11.7 miles from the start of Big Cottonwood Canyon Road. Look for a small boulder that is engraved with “Willow Heights Conservation Area.” If you pass Solitude, you’ve missed it. Street parking is available on both sides of the road.
After finishing our hike at Donut Falls, we wanted to do another hike. Our friend Megan wanted to see if we could find beavers or moose, so we decided to hike the Willow Heights to Willow Lake trail. Once we parked, we crossed over the road to start our hike.
Willow Heights to Willow Lake Trail is a loop trail. If you want to circle the lake, it is a Figure 8 loop. After leaving the “Willow Heights Conservation Area” boulder, we walked for a short distance before reaching the first intersection. This is the start of the first loop. From this point, if you go left (clockwise), it is steeper at the beginning, but you’ll have a gentler downhill on the way back. If you go counter-clockwise, the ascent is not as steep. We went clockwise because we wanted a gentler downhill.
Once we crossed the wooden bridge, the Willow Heights Trail started its ascent. The trail meanders between lush vegetation, wildflowers, and tons of aspen trees. We visited in late summer, so the aspen trees still hadn’t changed their foliage color yet. But we could imagine how beautiful this trail would be in the Fall.
After a steady climb for about 1 mile, we reached a beautiful meadow. At this point, we were close to our second intersection and Willow Lake. At this intersection, you can go either right or left to circle the lake and complete the Figure 8 loop. You also have the option to just check out the lake and return. We went left (clockwise).
There were some openings between the vegetation that led down to the lake. Depending on when you go, Willow Lake can be bone dry. When we were there, the lake had a decent amount of water. We also spotted a beaver dam. Sadly, we didn’t see any beavers or moose. Beavers usually come out early in the morning or toward the evening. If you see wildlife, give them plenty of space and DO NOT feed them.
After taking some photos of the lake, we continued clockwise to circle the lake. The Willow Heights Trail was once again tucked between the lush vegetation before crossing over a small puddle. On the other side of the lake, the scenery opened up to a meadow. A bunch of ducks were hanging out on the shore. We stopped for a snack, and they came to us. These ducks were very friendly.
When we were ready to say goodbye to our little buddies, we continued to follow the trail around the lake. The trail started from a small meadow, then ducked in between tall vegetation and aspen trees. It soon met back up at the second intersection. At this intersection, we followed left to finish the other side of the loop. The Willow Heights trail followed the same beautiful meadow that we came from, before diverging between the trees. Along the way, we spotted some of the biggest dandelions. They were almost as big as my face!!
If you love fall foliage, check out Letchworth State Park. That place has some of the best fall foliage. We also love Bridal Veil Falls near Orem and Stewart Falls in Provo, Utah. If you’re in the area, we also love Gloria Falls and Albion Meadows to Cecret Lake.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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