You ever just go to a place with one thing in mind, but somewhere along the way an unknown force compels you to continue putting one foot in front of the other and just keep on trucking?

Then let’s talk about one of my favorite areas to do some hiking in the Uintas. Loosely I’ve heard it referred to as the “Clyde Lake basin” or the “Divide Lake Basin” but essentially, it is a great ~5.75 mile round trip that brings you by 9 fish-able lakes with the option to hit about 8 more (some more fish-able than others), with backdrops being set by Mount Watson, “the Notch” and Bald Mountain.

Fishing basically consists of brook trout, but you will come across Rainbows, and even some Tiger and Brown trout depending on which lake you are at.

Shade graces the trails for a good portion of the time, an important aspect on those hot summer days, and there are more than enough “oh wow” spots to choose from for an impromptu watering stop, or, to just sort of take it all in.

PS – don’t forget your fishing license!

How to get there:
Drive from Kamas up the Mirror Lake Highway, at mile marker #26, prepare to turn left for the Crystal Lake Trailhead.

From Crystal Lake Trailhead, take the Notch Mountain Trail to Wall Lake. This trail is next to the horse ramp in the parking area.

Start easy, head towards Wall Lake – after about a mile of nice easy rolling hills you will come across this larger Uinta lake (note, the fishing can be spotty due to it’s ease of access).

Look North from the lake, the depression in the mountains you see is called, The Notch. Continue on the trail towards The Notch, slowly climbing your way towards it. The trail will pass by a few unnamed lakes, giving you some switchbacks which lead to a cliff face , then bringing you to the feet of Hope Lake (roughly 2 miles in).

At about the 3 mile mark you arrive at The Notch. As soon as you arrive, head left along the mountain shelf, watching for cairns to guide you down to Clyde Lake. You can spot Clyde Lake to the West of said shelf with Mount Watson as it’s backdrop.

Once at Clyde, you may choose to go for a swim on a warm day – there are some great large flat rocks to lie on and dry off (or run down into the water). This nice basin also contains the three Divide Lakes (in high mosquito season you may want to skip checking them out as it’s a bit swampy and they can get thick and “buggy”)

After Clyde Lake the trail will turn south towards the next set of lakes: Watson, Linear, Petite and Cliff. Keep an eye out for cairns marking the way as at varying times of the year the trail may become muddled, or covered with some snow.

Once at Cliff lake, the trail will wind down towards Crystal Lake, and then back into the parking lot.

Some basics for you to know…
Difficulty: Moderate
Round-trip: 5.75 miles
Hiking time: 4 to 5 hours
Elevation gain: 903 ft.