Trail #8 is an 8-9 mile loop, depending on whether you take the side detour to Jenkinson Lake. We took the detour. I can’t pay up on an opportunity to photograph this lake. Directions: Highway 80 from either direction, Sly Park exit, to Mormon-Emigrant Trail (paved road), drive past the lake until you see trailhead sign. Free parking. $5 parking @ lake.
There’s a small outhouse style restroom in the parking lot, which was surprisingly clean, but not surprisingly had a lot of flies.
IMPORTANT: Once you park, if you are hiking, take a hard right to use trail #8. The other loops are fine for horses and mountain bikes, but pretty blah to hike.
TRAIL SCORES (1-10):
Note: Tiffany and I prefer less crowded and less noisy hikes, so considered inverting those score, but decided it might be confusing. So a lower noise scores = less noise. Thought, comments, feedback?
Also, climb/difficulty rating is tricky. Tiffany and I recently climbed Ralston Peak, which gives you 2,800 feet of climbing in 3 ¼ miles. I’d give that an 8-9 climb score, because it’s not a long hike, and I think 10 should be saved for Mt. Shasta or something of that nature.
| Climb | 5 | Rolling hills. Surprised we climbed 1,300 feet over 9 miles. |
| Trail | 8 | Well marked & maintained. |
| Shade | 6/7 | Great 1st half |
| Crowds | 2 | Saw a few mountain bikers 1st 20 min and nobody after that. |
| Noise | 4 | Boat noise near the lake |
| Wildlife | 3/4 | Birds, squirrels, and butterflies. One amazing hawk! |
| Photography | 5/6 | Birds, butterflies, trees. |