Last month when we were hiking with John & Mary, on Cedar Mesa, we began planning a trip to the Boulder Mountains. Specifically, we decided to do some hiking and fishing in the Barker Lakes area which is about 15 miles northwest of Escalante, Utah. This recreation area has ten lakes that are all connected by a great trail system, high on the edge of the Aquarius Plateau (9,000 -10,000 ft) . With the temperatures nearing 100° in southern Utah, this seemed like the perfect time to get up in the pines and aspens and enjoy some cooler air. We were right . . . it was!
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We hiked into all 10 lakes!
(Click on the picture for a larger view - Click here for a link to this map)
Each lake was unique and beautiful . . . and while they were all touted to hold trout . . . some were shallow and reedy making it difficult to cast from the shore |
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Barker Recreation Area is located at an elevation of 9300 ft . . . it is surrounded by aspens and spruce trees
The 13 campsites come equipped with a bear box for food storage . . . while we didn't see any bears, the deer were prevalent and seemed to think they owned the campground! |
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| A mamma Grouse with two of her cheepers (one is right by her feet) |
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After dinner Kent & Allison drove back down the road to fish North and Twitchell Creeks . . .
We didn't have much luck . . . only caught one small cutthroat . . . there's no doubt there are some nice ones in these creeks! |
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The next morning we started our first lakes loop hike at Lower Barker Reservoir . . . we are off to Flat Lake, Yellow Lake, Blue Lake and Joe Lay Reservoir . . .
Although there was good signage we always check our maps & GPS |
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| Much of the Barker Lakes Loop utilizes the Great Western Trail |
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| Rock Clematis |
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| Here we are at Blue Lake . . . the northern most lake on the loop |
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| Here is one of two nice Tiger Trout that Kent caught . . . they are a cross between a Brown & Brook trout |
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Mary gave it a try, but the fish didn't seem too interested in flies
(Kent was using worms . . . cheater!) |
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| Mary thought she saw a turtle . . . it was just Allison taking a picture of dandelions! |
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| Columbine were blooming along the creeks |
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| Kent loves to fish small streams and he could see trout in the pool behind this rock |
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| He pulled out this Colorado Cutthroat from the pool |
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Lower Barker Reservoir comes into view as we complete a five-lake loop . . .
for us it was about four miles roundtrip |
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After a little rest, at camp, Kent & Allison headed out again . . . Kent really wanted to see Dougherty Lake
(Dougherty Lake is maintained by the DNR for planting Colorado Cutthroat in the Boulder Mtns) |
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Nearby was Tall Four Reservoir . . .
It was a little tricky to locate (no obvious trail), but we found it by following the Dougherty outlet stream and the help of a GPS . . . it, too, is used for Colorado Cutthroat brooding stock |
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| On our way back to camp, we got a nice view of Upper Barker Reservoir |
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After dinner, we all went back to Lower Barker Reservoir for some fishing . . .
Unfortunately, none of us had any luck! |
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| Allison taking in the setting sun |
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As soon as the sun begin to set it got cool quickly, so we started a campfire . . .
It sure felt good and was the perfect way to end a great day! |
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We were tired and hit the sack early . . .
While we were in our Teardrop, Mary saw this curious deer exploring our camp |
What a great day! If you're interested in hiking to these lakes you can click
here for a nice article and map from the US Forest Service. Altogether, we ended up hiking about six-miles (r/t) for the day, it was fairly easy, level walking and allowed us plenty of time to fish and march along at a leisurely pace. Don't put off doing this adventure (like we did)! This is certainly an area you will want to add to your list. Mosquitos are prevalent, wear long sleeves and pants and don't forget to bring insect repellant! Click
here for Day Two of our time in the Barker Lake area.
