Little Cottonwood Canyon
Distance: ~2.5 miles one way (~5 miles RT), ~1200 feet elevation
Difficulty: Moderate
Accessible year-round
Dogs ARE NOT allowed
(*You can get to this trail from Lake Mary up Big Cottonwood Canyon, but my favorite way to access this hike is in Little Cottonwood Canyon via Catherine Pass.)
The trailhead for Catherine Pass is located at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Right before you head down the final hill to the Cecret Lake in Albion Basin, there's a parking lot to the right, and the trailhead is on the left side of the road. Parking is free and includes restrooms. This lot can fill up fast though, so I'd recommend going at hours that aren't quite as popular.
The hike to Catherine Pass is ~1.5 miles up, but in order to reach Sunset Peak, you hike an additional mile for a total of 2.5 miles (one way). The hike is moderate difficulty. I've seen plenty of young kids do this trail, but most of them stop at Catherine Pass. The beginning of the hike has moderate incline, but it flattens out midway through the hike and passes through a beautiful meadow with big boulders.
From Catherine Pass, I highly recommend going further to reach the summit of Sunset Peak. (The first picture below is the view from Catherine Pass and the second picture is taken from Sunset Peak.) From the very top, you can see a panorama that includes Lake Mary, Lake Martha, and Lake Catherine to the north. A group of my friends did this together a couple years ago and caught the sun starting to set on the peak. It was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend this hike. I believe it took us about an hour and twenty minutes to reach the top, and less than an hour to get down.
