Belated Hike Blogging: Mt. Aire, Wasatch-Cache National Forest

My wife and I did this hike on June 14, 2008.

There are several relatively easy hiking trails near Salt Lake City that allow you to bag a peak in a short time. Mount Aire is probably one of the most popular.

The trail begins at the Elbow Fork trailhead in Millcreek Canyon. At least after July 1st it does; until then the road is closed off more than a mile below that point and you have to start there. It isn't hard hiking but it ends up adding more than 2 miles to the distance. But as you can see, it is picturesque.

The summit itself is less than 2 miles from the trailhead and the trail is well-marked. However, it is deceptively steep, rising about 1,000 feet per mile. When you get on top you can see quite far. Looking to the east you can see Interstate 80 going up over Parley's Summit.

To the west is Salt Lake City and Grandeur Peak. Some people hike the ridgeline all the way down.

To the south is Mount Raymond, Gobbler's Knob, and Twin Peaks.

It's a fairly easy hike and as you can see from the pictures the trail is open and snow-free several weeks before some of the higher peaks in Salt Lake County. There was a section that was still muddy, but overall a good hike.