White Pine Lake (Bear River Range)
This is one of the most scenic
hikes you will find anywhere, especially if it is done around
the first of August when the wildflowers are at their peak. The
first two-thirds of the trail pass through a series of alpine
meadows that are filled with acres and acres of pink, blue, purple,
yellow, and white flowers. No other trail in this book offers
the abundance of wildflowers you will see on the White Pine Lake
trail. You might want to stop at the Forest Service Ranger Station
in Logan and buy a guide to the wildflowers on your way to the
trailhead. As you leave Logan you will see it on the right side
of Highway 89 just 2.1 miles after you leave Main Street.
Given the natural beauty of White
Pine Lake and its environs, it is unfortunate that it is not
a part of the Mount Naomi Wilderness Area. The lake lies about
a mile outside of the wilderness area’s eastern boundary.
It is a popular destination among snowmobile sportsmen during
the winter months, and it was their lobbying effort that led
to its exclusion when Ronald Reagan signed the Utah Wilderness
Bill into law in 1984. White Pine Lake is still pristine, but
there is no guarantee that it will not be developed in the future.
Already there exists a jeep road within 0.6 mile of the lake.
From Tony Grove Lake the trail
climbs gently uphill for a quarter mile to the junction with
the Naomi Peak trail. Turn right here and continue climbing for
another 1.9 miles until you reach the highest point on the hike,
some 780 feet above the trailhead. Up to this point the trail
goes through open meadows with occasional groves of Engelmann
spruce and limber pine. The limber pines are the trees with large
clusters of needles near the ends of the twigs that look almost
like tufts of fur. They get their name because the branches are
so limber they can be bent double or even tied in knots without
breaking.
Finally, 2.1 miles from the trailhead
the trail starts down into White Pine Basin. The prominent peak
west of this point is Mount Magog and, although you cannot see
it yet, the lake is located just north of this peak. When you
reach the bottom of the basin you will come to another trail
junction where you must turn west for the last half mile to White
Pine Lake.
The lake itself is small and very
shallow, but the beauty of its setting makes up for its deficiencies.
It is situated directly between two 9,700 peaks, Mount Magog
and Mount Gog, with a magnificent stand of spruce on one side.
There are a number of good camp sites above the eastern shore,
and if you have the time it is a very pleasant place to spend
a night.
Hike provided by www.utahtrails.com