Utah Hikes: Red Ledges (Mini Moab)

If you have ever been to Southern Utah, one of the main features you notice is the red rock all over.  Unfortunately, we live about 4 hours away from there and so we don't have the chance to enjoy the red rock very often.  I had heard of a hiking trail called Red Ledges, or Mini Moab, about 15 minutes up Spanish Fork Canyon that sounded like fun for the family.  What we didn't know when we got there was that there are multiple paths and some are more difficult than others.  When you get to the trailhead, there are a few paths you can take.

If you go straight, it starts off fairly flat, but quickly turns steep.  We had our two kids with us (3.5 year old and 16 month old) and the older one did alright at first, but my husband had to carry her up a few spots and I had to carry the baby most of the way.  Since it's red rock, it is a little slick and sandy, and doubled with some steep spots, it was fairly difficult to hike with small children.  However, if you are hiking with older kids (age 6+) they could do most of it without help.  When we got to the top, there were a few trails we could choose from to get back down.  We decided not to try and go down the same way we came up and instead took another of the paths that wound around until we made it back down to the road, where we walked back to the parking lot.

Albion Meadows and Cecret Lake Trails

This one was a little out of the way for us, but it was well worth the trip! We drove up to Albion Basin in Alta, UT and did two trails in one day. It was intense, but absolutely beautiful and if I had the day to do again, I wouldn't have changed a thing. We did the Upper Albion Meadows Trail and the Cecret Lake Trail.

Location: Albion Basin in Alta, UT. Here are the directions from Provo, UT and here are the directions from Salt Lake City, UT.
Distance: Upper Albion Meadows Trail is 1.5 miles one way and Cecret Lake Trail is 1 mile one way. Here's a map of the trails!
Kid-Friendly: Yes
Toddler-Friendly: Yes
Baby-Friendly: Strap 'em on!
Special Notes: The end of the Cecret Lake Trail gets a little steep. Make sure you take the switchbacks! We accidentally followed another path and got stuck in a very precarious situation on the side of the mountain. But if you take the switchbacks, it is perfectly doable for little ones!

Mt. Timpanogos Trail Falls

I'm super excited about this post because this hike is arguably my family's favorite Utah hike of all time. I know it's not the best hike in Utah, but there was something great about today. We had the perfect weather and this hike was the perfect length for our little family. That and Utah is so green this summer! It is blowing my mind and I'm loving it!

Anyway, I heard that you could hike up one mile on the Mt. Timpanogos trail and you would get to a waterfall. I figured it sounded like a good length and we love a good waterfall, so we set out this morning to try it. The hike was definitely a hike--not a stroll. It steadily climbed for a mile.

Location: Alpine Loop, right next to the Stewart Falls trail head. Coming from Provo or Orem, go up Provo Canyon, turn left when you see a sign for Sundance (after the tunnel), drive past Sundance and Aspen Grove and you will eventually reach a booth. Pay (or if it's closed, just drive past) and turn left immediately. This is the parking lot for both Stewart Falls and Mt. Timpanogos.
Cost: $6 in the summer. Some months of the year the booth is closed and it's free!
Distance: 2 miles round-trip
Kid-Friendly: Yes!
Toddler-Friendly: Yes! (depending on their mood, of course)
Baby-Friendly: Yes! Strap 'em on.
Stroller-Friendly: No