Camp at Fire Lake

The hike to Fire Lake starts at the Crystal Lake Trailhead just off the Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta mountains. The main trailhead parking lot fills up quickly on weekends since it serves multiple trail options. If it’s full, no need to worry, there is an overflow lot down the road. 

The trail to Fire Lake heads almost due west from the trailhead and passes numerous lakes. At 2 miles you’ll come to Long Lake, and at 3.3 miles you’ll reach the Duck Lake Junction. From here, you’ll begin your climb to Island Lake. At 4 miles you’ll hit Island Lake and can hook a left to Fire Lake. From there is a lightly traveled trail, but you’ll probably need to follow your GPS and use route-finding skills. 

On your way from Island Lake to Fire Lake, you’ll pass numerous small lakes that offer excellent options for camping. I choose to camp between Fire Lake and the small lake above it. On a busy weekend with multiple groups camping at Island Lake, I was solo with no one around at my campsite at Fire Lake. Total distance to Fire Lake from the trailhead is approximately 4.25 miles. 

Spend the day hiking around Fire Lake to explore all of the smaller nooks and crannies. If you make it far enough along the southwest bench, you’ll have magnificent views of Mt Timpanogos to the west.