Silver lake is an AMAZING escape into the mountains when you’re short on time and needing to get away from reality for a bit. I found myself with a couple of free days and looking for a getaway that wasn’t going to require a lot of preparation. Silver Lake, located in American Fork Canyon, checked the boxes. So with about an hours’ worth of preparation, my friend Savvy and I went for it. Here’s everything you need to know about hiking to/camping at Silver Lake! Feel free to skip through and find the information you need.

Parking and camping fees

Once you enter the canyon, you’ll need to pull over at the booth and pay for a parking permit. It’s only 6 dollars for a three day parking pass, and this is the only fee you’ll have to pay for this adventure.

If you get to the booth and it is CLOSED, keep driving until you find camping or picnic areas and you’ll find something that looks a bit like a big brown letter box. Inside you’ll find an envelope and a receipt slip. All you have to do is put cash in the envelope and return it to the box. Then fill out the receipt to leave on your dash.

A side note about the drive to the trailhead: the road is quite bumpy and washed out in places. If you have a vehicle with a low undercarriage I wouldn’t recommend taking your car. However, most cars should be able to manage the trail easily at a slow enough pace.

The trail

AllTrails describes the trail to silver lake as moderately difficult. The ascent is so gradual that I would say it’s definitely on the easier side of moderate. Savvy and I were carrying pretty heavy packs (we brought a paddle board with an oar and pump in addition to camping gear), and still found the ascent pretty doable.

The trail itself is well used and obvious to follow. It’s quite a popular trail so we met a lot of people along the way! The ascent is pretty gradual for the most part, not very steep until the very last part of the hike. At the end It does get quite steep but it only lasts for a hundred feet or so before you get to the lake. Given that it’s short and not that steep, I’d say most anyone can do this hike!

What to do about water

Most of this trail is NOT shaded. Savvy and I hiked in the afternoon because that’s what worked with our schedules. We did fine, but we drank a LOT of water. I definitely recommend bringing electrolytes of some sort, because the entirety of the hike, as well as the lake, are very exposed to the sun. I expected there to be a lot of trees surrounding the lake itself but that wasn’t the case.

THERE ARE natural sources of water available. Before you read on though, just know I’m not necessarily recommending this, I’m just saying we didn’t die doing it 🙂 The trail comes quite close to a small, clear running waterfall about half-way through the hike. We filled out water bottles straight from it, no filter used, and it was so refreshing! We DID use a filter to pump water from the lake itself, since it was still water. Neither of us got sick and most of the water we drank was from these sources.

If you are going to spend the night at Silver Lake, or even just stay a few hours, I would definitely recommend bringing a water filter. There are no other water sources available besides what is naturally occuring, and packing up a lot of water is just a pain.

Silver lake

Silver lake itself is BEAUTIFUL! It sits with a rock face as it’s backdrop on one side, and on the other side a view of the valley below. I couldn’t keep my eyes off those mountains. For how relatively easy the lake is to get to, it’s an amazing destination.

You CAN swim in Silver lake. It’s quite cold but after hiking in the sun, it feels amazing to jump in. Savvy and I packed up a whole paddleboard, which was made for a heavy hike but was definitely worth it! You can also fish if you have a Utah fishing license, since the lake is stocked every year with trout. If you’re curious about what the fishing is like at Silver lake, I found an article about it that you can check out here.

Camping!

Silver lake is surrounded with fire pits that people have made over the years. According to the trail rules, however, you aren’t suppose to light a fire or camp within 1/2 mile of the lake. It would be hard to pitch a tent any closer anyways, since the lake is almost entirely surrounded by stone. Sleeping on the ground just wouldn’t be a fun prospect.

Savvy and I packed up hammocks, which we hung to overlook the valley. I will say, we had a hard time finding trees that would support our hammocks. The trees surrounding the lake are for the most part quite small. Still, finding a place for the hammocks was easier then finding a place for a tent would have been.

There is enough dead wood surrounding the lake to start a fire as long as you give yourself time to gather it. You’ll want to bring your own kindling or starter fluid though. A lot of the branches we found already on the ground were still a bit green and took some time to catch fire.

We were the only people who camped at the lake and so had the whole mountainside to ourselves! We camped on a Monday night, and college has started for most schools which likely had a lot to do with it. Regardless, the lake is small enough that it would have been hard to find a place to camp if there were a lot of other people there. I’m glad we timed our trip the way we did.

Wildlife

The bugs, surprisingly, aren’t that big of a struggle. There were TONS of gnats swarming the trail for the first hundred yards of the hike. They thinned out as the trees did and we didn’t see any for the rest of the hike, even when it got dark. There were some mosquitos, but we brought bug spray and neither of us got too many bites.

We heard Coyotes howling in the late afternoon! They sounded like they were over the ridge and never came very close that we could hear. Even if they had, coyotes are rarely a risk to humans. Later, when the stars were out and we were in our hammocks, we heard something crash through the brush and then the sound of hooves on stone. It sounded too big to be a deer, and I heard it breathing every once in awhile, even though we were far from where it sounded like it was. I would guess a small moose, but I never saw it so I can’t say for sure. It was cool to listen to though!

Cell service

I have AT&T so I tend to get really good service up AF canyon. In fact, most phones get decent coverage up to Tibble Fork, which is about half way to the trailhead for Silver Lake. Your phone service should last at least that long. However, once we got to the lake my service got pretty spotty. I was able to place calls but they dropped in under 30 seconds. I still could send pictures and texts in some areas around the lake. Coverage is decent enough that you should be able to get in touch with help in case of an emergency.

What to pack:

Disclaimer: this isn’t a fully comprehensive list. I wont add things like food, utensils or clothing because you know what you’ll need as far as those go. These are simply items you might forget or don’t know you’ll need. You really shouldn’t need to pack very much for this trip! Savvy and I got a lot of looks because our packs were HUGE. We brought a whole paddle board, including oars and a pump, so don’t be discouraged by the size of our backpacks in the picture below:)

1. Flashlights. We went when the moon was full, and the rock face and the lake reflected so much light that seeing for the most part wasn’t an issue. They were still handy to have around for digging through our packs and finding smaller items.
2. Lighter fluid and matches! Like I mentioned before, a lot of the branches you’ll find lying around are green.
3. WATER FILTER. You need this.
4. Warm clothing. It was super hot during the day but it did get chilly at night. Savvy and I both wished for an extra layer in addition to the sweatshirts and sleeping bags we brought.
5. Pepper spray. We brought ours more for the sake of a threatening animal encounter then a human one. A good precaution either way.
6. Zip fizz, Liquid IV or some other form of electrolytes. It’s HOT up there.
7. Bug spray/sunscreen.
8. Oreos. For obvious reasons.

enjoy your trip!

I PROMISE you have time for this hike. It’s so easy to pack for and not hard to get to by car. A ridiculously accessible adventure. Right now, go give someone a call and pick the soonest weekend you have free and make it happen. I’ve tried to answer every question you might have about this hike to make preparing for it painless and easy. But if you have more questions feel free to leave a comment down below!

If you’re looking for a vacation to look forward to next summer, now is the time to start planning. View my post 3 things you need to know for a budget friendly Oahu vacation for ideas! OR, to read about one of my favorite adventures of the summer, check out this post to see what a day looks like in the little town of port protection Alaska.

So you’re looking for an adventure but you don’t have time for a big trip? This stunning (and easy) hike to Silver lake is an amazing overnight or day trip destination!

As always, safe adventures!

And thank you:) I’m glad you’re here.