Echo Lake vicinity

The western Uinta Mountains provide many wonderful hikes that include solitude and a wonderful variety of scenery. Many short hikes (fewer than 5 miles) can treat you to many lakes and ponds in the forested back country of the Uintas. 

Getting to Echo Lake is also an adventure in and of itself because the road is very rough but, with a good 4X4 vehicle it’s possible. I drove up to the lake one morning to see what lakes and ponds I could explore during that day.

There are no official trails in these basins so excellent route finding skills is a must. Having studied Google Earth and a topo map I headed out along the east shoreline of Echo Lake. Moving quietly can also benefit you in being able to see more wild life.  After reaching the northeast end of the lake I made my way up the slope around ledges to ascend up to the next bench in the basin. This climb is the steepest of the changes from one bench to the next.  The views of Echo Lake from above are fantastic.  Here I encountered the first un-named pond lined with boulders and surrounded with fir trees.  A short hike from there and I arrived at a much larger lake that had grassy meadows along its shore and was flanked along the uphill side with a great cliff that reflected in the clear water of the lake. I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife short of birds and a few chirping squirrels. Circling the lake I climbed up to the next bench in the basin and came to a narrow pond that reflected the mountain and the forest beautifully.  

Half covered in water lilies in bloom making it a beautiful spot.  

From here I wandered up another meadow to the next lake I large round lake surrounded with grass and wildflowers.  While I don’t believe there are any fish in this lake the thought of camping on this lake was really appealing having the entire place to yourself is a very real possibility. It would be sooo peaceful.

After relaxing in the solitude for a while I moved on and climbed to the next bench in the basin. Now reaching close to the tree line the forest floor gave way to a more rocky landscape with shorter trees that were scattered more sparsely on the mountain side.  The next three ponds were filled with boulders and didn’t hold too much interest but the next one was bordered with grass and had such a remarkable little forested rock island jutting above its surface.  Wildflowers surrounded this nice little pond. It is kind of amazing to think about each of these pockets that are tight enough to hold the water that falls or drains to them. The entire area would make it easy for wildlife to obtain water.  This being the highest bench to have significant bodies of water I moved along it in search of a few more lakes and ponds on my return trip to Echo Lake. After a short hike I came upon a small stream and followed it down off the higher bench to the next one down and came on to Gem lake on the broad bench which holds the largest of the upper bench lakes Joan Lake. Joan has much character with a number of small coves and peninsulas that poke out into the water. Many great fishing and camping opportunities exist at Joan.

From Joan there is a rough trail down off the last two benches (now combined into one) to our starting point at Echo Lake. This was a great day trip to see some wonderful alpine lakes and ponds in Murdock Basin region of the western Uinta Mountains.