Category: Hike

San Francisco Botanical Gardens, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

After two days of walking around San Francisco, I found myself longing to see some green. I live in the mountains and took for granted the joy growing things brings to my daily life. The city is a buzzing, exciting, access to everything place, but it could use some more trees, parks and wild places.

So it was with this desire in mind that my sisters-in-law and I made our way to San Francisco Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park is home to the California Academy of Sciences, De Young Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, a Conservatory of Flowers and my favorite, the Botanical Gardens of San Francisco.

 The streets and parking garage were packed with people on the Sunday afternoon we visited. Perhaps it was the local bagpipe band that was scheduled to play at the outdoor stage that drew the crowd, but I’m pretty sure Golden Gate Park is just the place to be on a Sunday afternoon.
The ladies and I wondered through an Andean Cloud Forest, California Native Garden and the Zellerbach Garden of Perennials, but my favorite place was the Garden of Fragrances.
  
I enjoyed listening to my two California native sisters and their numerous gardening attempts. Where I live the summers are short and glorious, and my gardening attempts has mostly just contributed to the deer and wild turkey population. So it was nice to hear success stories of growing things. 
The San Francisco Botanical Gardens was a beautiful haven in the center of the city. For anyone planning a trip, I would highly recommend a stop at Golden Gate Park.
Info:
Distance: Varies
Price: $7.00 for visitors, free for San Francisco natives
Tips: Give yourself lots of time. There’s no reason to be rushed here.

Cecret Lake, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake City, Utah

The tots and I met up with our friends from Rocky Mountain Mammas Meetup to explore the secret that is Cecret Lake. Above Alta ski resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon lies the Albion Basin. A beautiful high altitude area guarded on all sides by soaring cliffs and pines. 

In the winter this area is extreme skiers paradise, but luckily for us there was none of the 50 average annual feet of snow on the ground yet. 

I had read about the Cecret Lake hike in Greg Witt’s book, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles Salt Lake City. From the excellent information in that book I had concluded that the hike to Cecret Lake would be flat and easy. Surprise! It was not that flat, especially toward the end and not that easy hauling an extra  forty pounds of pack and baby. 

Little g constantly said “I wanna WAAK!” to which I replied, “Sorry, your legs are just too short to keep up.” Did I mention it was steep toward the end?
Big E, on the other hand, ran the entire way up and back along with his buddies from the Rocky Mountain meetup crew. He loved building cairns along the way, taking mental photos and throwing rocks into the water. Unfortunately he got so distracted by those fun activities he neglected to answer when nature called. Luckily I found a pair of dry pants in the bottom of my diaper bag back at the truck, and even though they were size two, he was able to stretch into them (thank you elastic)!

To get to the trailhead, drive ten miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Albion Basin entrance booth. Follow the dirt road another 2.5 miles to find the trailhead parking lot on your left.

Even though the hike was tougher than I expected it was still a great adventure and good exercise. We saw some beautiful autumn colors along the way and I will definitely visit again. Only next time it might be on my skis.

Trail Info:
Length: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Tips: Bring a sweatshirt. It was surprisingly cold up there for mid September.

Hidden Falls, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake City, Utah

I’m a sucker for waterfalls, especially if the hike to them is short. Last weekend the whole fam went out to see Hidden Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon, thanks to a tip from the book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City by Greg Witt.

Hidden Falls is just a short walk starting at Mill B North Fork Parking Area, about 4.5 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It could be added as an addendum to any activity up the canyon, as the hike to the falls took all of five minutes. Well, to be honest it took Big E and little g a little longer, but mostly because of the rocks along the way.

Hidden Falls is surrounded by variegated cliffs, towering titans guarding the precious water. As we followed the stream just across the road from the parking area, Hidden Falls appeared within minutes, a beautiful mountain waterfall.

After splashing at the base of the waterfall, Big E scrambled up the nearby rocks like a true Mountain Kid. We all enjoyed the sounds of rushing water and the energy of being in the great outdoors.

Trail Info:
Distance: 200 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Tips: Combine this hike with a visit to Doughnut Falls just a few miles further up the canyon.

Red Butte Gardens, Salt Lake City, Utah

Recently, the tots and I went to explore Red Butte Gardens along with some friends from the Rocky Mountain Mammas meetup group. We started our journey by pushing our strollers through the fragrance garden, rose garden and medicinal herbs garden before stopping to feed the ducks and fish at the grasslands area of the park.

Beautiful plants lined the path all around, but my favorite were the pear and apple trees growing up the archway that surrounded the path near the rose garden.

The best part of the trip was the Children’s Garden Area. Big E and little g loved the kid sized house, complete with tree trunk seats. A sandbox, lizard statues and kid friendly displays on vegetable gardening were fun to play in and around.

We spent most of our time in the water, however. Red Butte Gardens boasts a rattlesnake fountain splash pad that was perfect for spontaneous soaking. Tots can travel inside the rattlesnake tunnel (a trellis with creeping plants covering the top) through to the snake’s head, complete with fangs and a flickering tongue fountain.

I had never been to Red Butte Gardens before, so I didn’t know this splash pad even existed. If I had, I would’ve come better prepared; Big E ended up riding home in his soaking wet jeans.

The outing was a fun one, but probably not worth the general admission price of $10 for adults, $6 for children. If you enjoy exploring the local flora I would suggest an annual pass, or become a University of Utah student since they get in for free.

Red Butte Gardens:
Distance: Varies
Difficulty: Easy, paved trails are stroller accessible
Tips: Don’t forget a water bottle, sun screen and a camera. The place is truly beautiful.