We’re pleased to check in roughly halfway through the peak summer season, as large numbers of people continue to flock to Albion Basin as an escape from the valley floor’s unrelenting temperatures. We have implemented some fairly big changes to the way Albion Basin works in the summer, including limiting vehicle traffic on the Summer Road to correspond with available parking in designated lots. We feel this has led to fewer rogue trails being created than in years past, by hikers parking up and down the summer road. It’s also exciting to see that hikers have been dispersed more throughout the basin than before, with the Catherine’s pass trail gaining popularity.

The Albion Grill has served as the hub of activity for launching any Albion Basin excursion. The Sunnyside lift has been consistently used on both weekends and holidays, while many have taken advantage of the fact that the Albion Grill is serving great food seven days a week, with live music offered up every Saturday. Shifting focus away from food and music and back to the mountain, the Alta Environmental Center has been as busy as ever offering or facilitating weekly stewardship and environmental education events. Also, Mountain Hosts have been very active in reminding hikers and photographers to stay on trails and to not pick the wildflowers. This is an important message that we all need to continue to help push. With more hosts on the mountain there has been greater opportunity to inform professional photographers that they need a Forest Service permit to conduct business in the forest.

Thanks to all of our partners in managing summer recreation in Alta; including the US Forest Service Salt Lake Ranger District, the Town of Alta, Friends of Alta, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, and Salt Lake City Public Utilties Watershed Division.