Secret Adventures At The Resorts: The first one - Brighton
The spring snow is slushy. You're tired of avoiding bare spots and rocks on the slopes, and wondering if you should even go to the mountains. The answer: yes.
Here's a secret: There are hidden adventures awaiting at local resorts.
Brighton is a good place to start this regular feature.
Most people know this resort at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon has great snow, lower-priced lift tickets and fairly easy terrain.
But did you know it also offers a rustic, romantic getaway in an old fashioned ski lodge at an amazing price? Plus, outside your room door is wilderness hiking, biking, fishing and even summer skiing?
The lodge is at the base of the ski hill. Technically a motel, it goes unnoticed by most of the skiers and snowboarders that fill the slopes in winter. Since few people know about it, it's never crowded.
"It's like an old ski lodge where everyone gathers around the big fireplace in the lobby at night," says mountain manger Randy Doyle.
But the best thing is the price: about $60 per night for two people. Even better, that also includes a diner for two at Molly Green's. Yes, you read right. A night's lodging and dinner: sixty bucks. The delicious food at Molly Green's has always been underrated. The restaurant has the large, open hearth fireplace in the center; and offers everything from antipasto and fresh crusty Italian bread to pasta, salads, burgers and fish dishes. There's also a large selection of imported beers.
A short walk away from the lodge is Silver Lake, which is stocked once a week with trout. Many visitors come up to spend a weekend fishing. A boardwalk leads over the marshy wetlands to the lake, and as you walk, you will see geese, ducks and other wildfowl taking their ease in this bird refuge. Some visitors bring inflatable boats and do their fishing from the middle of the freshwater lake. There's even a Forest Service history shack where you can purchase bait.
You don't even have to walk as far as the lake. A stream runs right outside the lodge, well stocked with fat brook trout. Open the door of your room, take a few steps, and cast your line. Bring your catch to Molly Green's, and they will clean and cook it for you.
But if you can't bear to hang 'em up once the lifts stop, hike up to the snow.
Doyle says "In April and May, you can walk up and find some snow, the hardier folks walk to the top of the hill, sometimes until late as July."
Once the snow melts on the lower levels, the hiking trails appear. There are dozens of trails all around Brighton, many of which are mapped. The hike up to Desolation Lake is easy and shady, and the view is breathtaking. Wildflowers color the hills; the flowers are at their peak in July.
While the trails are steep for most mountain bikers, there are paved and graveled roads, including the road over Guardsman's Pass, that are ridable even for novices, and will still prove a true test of altitude stamina.
But even if all you choose to do is relax with a friend on an overnight outing to the lodge, and watch the sunset while having a dinner at Molly Green's, it will be enough. A night in the mountains after the tourists have all gone home is an adventure all its own.
For reservations and information, call Brighton at: (801) 532-4731.