It’s about 3:15 PM and you can’t stop looking at your computer’s clock. When will you finally be freed from the confines of your world in cubicle-ville? But more importantly, what will you do when you get off of work?

In Salt Lake City, Utah I have an advantage that many other people just don’t have access to: the great, easily accessed Wasatch Mountains – and within 30 minutes from my front door.

When I’m in a rut at work and the Summer seems to be passing me by, I look to the hills for a quick and fulfilling hike. More often than not I prefer my hikes to come with the cache of some fishing; relaxation, zen like repetitive movement. Nothing has really soothed the savagely over-worked beast quite like the combination of the two (well, except for having a nice pizza, but that’s another story all together).

So, here is a “Quick Hike” recommendation that just so happens to blend those two joys of mine together.

Twin Lakes, Brighton (View Larger Map)
Round Trip: 2.6 total miles
Elevation Gain: 650 feet
Difficulty: Easy (there is a section of about 100 yards where you gain a good portion of elevation, so take your time).

My average time to hike in has been hovering around 40 minutes. The fishing has been, well… the  last two trips for me has been non-existent, but I went at bad times of the day for the fishing to be expected to be any good – so overall I would say that the fishing is medium-okay.

NOTE: You cannot use bait up there as it is a watershed! Flies, and Spinners only! (which also means NO DOGS! this is our drinking water people)

This is a lovely place to pack a lunch, or small dinner and head up to, or even put a small hammock in your backpack and setup for an afternoon nap (yes, I did this once and it was divine).

One word of warning: the Silver Lake recreation area below is quite popular and sometimes the parking lot can fill up quickly on holiday weekends so be prepared to do a little bit more hoofing it should you have to utilize a non-traditional parking spot.

NOTE: Verizon has great cell phone coverage up there so if you’re trying to escape the phone, turn it off.