Backpacking to Salt Lake City’s Red Pine Lake

When I first moved to Salt Lake City, I didn’t waste any time getting out exploring the beautiful mountains around town. One of the spots I was really excited to check out was Red Pine Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon. The best part of this hike is it’s literally a 35-minute drive from downtown Salt Lake and whether you do it as a day hike or a quick overnight camping trip, you can easily squeeze this adventure into a weekend with very little planning.

At 7 miles round trip, the hike to Red Pine Lake is easily doable as a day hike, but my friend and I also wanted to tack on a trip up the Pfeifferhorn, the third tallest peak in Utah’s Wasatch Range at 11,326 feet.

Since the Pfeifferhorn is accessed from the same trail, we decided we would hike up to Red Pine Lake and camp for a night, and then climb the peak the next day. That way we’d have time to enjoy the gorgeous Wasatch scenery and start out in the morning with fresh legs and nothing but light day packs.

In this post, I share all the info you need to plan an overnight at Red Pine Lake.

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Red Pine Lake Trail Stats

Best time of year to backpack to Red Pine Lake

June (after the snow melts) through September is the best time to plan a backpacking trip to Red Pine Lake. Conditions do vary from year to year, though, so always check the snowpack and the forecast before planning your trip.

Are campfires allowed?

Campfires are not allowed at Red Pine Lakes. Backpacking stoves are allowed for cooking.

Do I need a permit?

Permits are not required for camping at Red Pine Lakes.

Can I swim?

Unfortunately, swimming is not allowed at the Red Pine Lakes. These lakes provide drinking water to Salt Lake City, so swimming and wading are not permitted.

Leave No Trace

Brush up on the 7 Leave No Trace Principles before heading out on your trip. Most importantly, these include:

The Hike to Red Pine Lake

The hike to Red Pine Lake (and the Pfeifferhorn) begins at the White Pine Lake Trailhead and starts by climbing gently up through a grove of aspen trees.

About one mile in, you’ll reach a stream and a fork in the trail. The lower jeep trail to the left goes up to White Pine Lake. Instead, you want to follow the trail straight behind the trail sign.

About 400 feet after taking this junction, you will reach a bridge that crosses the stream. Here, you can opt to take a short detour to Gloria Falls, which is a nice place to take a break.

After the bridge, the trail is very easy to follow and continues rising up above the canyon and the Salt Lake Valley.

After 3.5 miles you’ll reach lower Red Pine Lake. This is the largest of the lakes and is where most people choose to camp. To reach the campsites, head right to the base of the lake and cross the dam.

Just keep in mind that all camping must be done at least 200 feet from the water and because this area provides Salt Lake City’s drinking water, no swimming is allowed. But feel free to bring along your fishing pole as the lake has plenty of cutthroat trout.

We decided to continue on past the lower lake to see if we could find a secluded camping spot at Upper Red Pine Lake which is about 1/2 mile further up the trail. To get there, skirt the east (left) side of the lower lake and then climb an additional 500 feet of elevation. You’ll also have to scramble up through a short boulder field.

We found that there weren’t a ton of options for camping at the Upper Lake, but we settled on a nice spot back in the trees just beneath the peak called White Baldy.

After getting set up, we still had about 4 hours of daylight to relax and enjoy the views. So we set off with our cameras to explore the lake and find some perfect rocks for sunning.

The ridgeline in the first picture below is what we would be hiking the next day to reach the summit of the Pfeifferhorn.

Once the sun started to drop, it got a bit chilly. So we headed back to camp, and my friend cooked up some delicious dinner. We watched the sunset and the full moon rise and got ready for the peak we would be tackling in the morning.

To see pics and read about our next day’s ascent up the Pfeifferhorn, check out my post on Climbing the Pfeifferhorn: A Guide to Bagging Salt Lake City’s Third Tallest Peak.

Gear Considerations

On a quick overnight trip like this, you should be able to travel very lightly. Check out my 3-day backpacking gear packing list for a full list of what to bring.

A few other gear considerations to keep in mind are:

Have you hiked up to Red Pine Lakes? What was your trip like? Would you like to summit Pfeifferhorn? Leave a comment below!