Just six days at Kents Lake, Utah…
Why we came…
Like our previous stop in Beaver, Kents Lake was a filler because we couldn’t get into the little RV park at Panguitch Lake. We knew the Forest Service campground at Kents Lake was decent and that the fishing was good. Kents Lake is tucked up in the Tushar Mountains at nearly 9,000 feet so the temperature would be comfortable. There are miles of trails, a few other lakes, a good amount of geocaches, and even disc golf at nearby Eagle Point Ski Resort. There would be plenty to keep us busy!
Campground…
The campground is about 15 miles east of Beaver. The final 5 miles of road is a lane and a half wide well maintained dirt road. We dreaded oncoming vehicles, especially decent sized rigs like ours. Thankfully, this wasn’t a problem and the tense drive went smoothly.
We had one site reserved but upgraded to a lakeside one after talking to the hard-working and kind campground host, Mike. We ended up with a sweet site just 50 feet from the water. We could see the trout jumping from our cozy recliners! We had no hook-ups, but there were dispersed water spigots and 3 vault toilets. The cell phone signal was almost nil, but the signal booster made it fairly useable. The short distance from town and easy access allowed lots of folks to spend a couple of hours at the lake each day. Sometimes things got noisy, but it was peaceful at night.
The sweet spot at Kents Lake / The view from our front door (that’s me in the kayak)
Hiking and Geocaching…
We parked about a half mile from LeBaron Lake and walked up old logging roads to the shoulder of Circleville Mountain just above 11,000 feet. We saw many wild flowers, a few deer, and a few elk. The view of Circleville and the Sevier Valley was awesome! We found two geocaches and had to walk through 2-3 inches of marble-sized hail that had fallen the previous afternoon.
Arleen in meadow of lupines with 12,122ft Mount Baldy in background / Near top of Circleville Mountain
We have a nephew, Erin, who likes to conquer 14ers (mountain peaks with an elevation of at least 14,000 ft). That may be beyond our league now, but we decided to start amassing 12ers. So we added this incredible hike to the top of Delano Peak, 12,173 feet elevation, to our collection. It was a steady, sometimes rocky, climb on a barely discernable trail. On the way up we saw a sizeable herd of deer that scrambled across steep slopes to avoid us. A couple of the big bucks turned and gave us the eye before they took off. Recent drenching rains made the wild flowers happy…we especially liked the wild delphiniums. I crested the final ridge well ahead of Arleen and backed off immediately after spotting a big herd of mountain goats. When Arleen caught me, we quietly snuck up to the ridge to avoid spooking the critters on the other side. We watched about 100 mountain goats for an hour! 50 or 60 nanny goats with kids were feeding in the meadow below and 30 or 40 big billies were sprawled across the steep slopes. It was just us and the goats at the top of southern Utah!
Six of the deer we spooked
Arleen on 12,173 feet high Delano Peak…The white specks along the ridgeline to her right are mountain goats…they are mostly the billies. There are 50-60 mommy goats with kids behind Arleen.
Nearing the top of Delano Peak…looking west / Arleen standing on the peak
Looking northwest…Mount Baldy, elevation 12,122 feet, on left and Mount Belknap, elevation 12,137, on right / Looking south towards Eagle Point Ski Resort
Heading down Delano Peak…Mount Baldy and Mount Belknap
We started this hike at LeBaron Lake and walked two miles to a geocache that hadn’t been found in two years. The cache was at the end of a pretty mountain meadow and was in good shape. We kept a close eye out for king bolete mushrooms, but only found aspen boletes. There was lots of spruce and it looked like a great place to find the treasured kings, but it was too early in the season.
Kayaking and Fishing…
Above Arleen is fishing LeBaron Lake. We caught 15-20 trout, most were 8-12 inch rainbows, but we also landed a few 8-12 inch brook trout. The fish kept pouncing on our lake leech flies…it was fun!
At Kents Lake, we caught mainly stocker rainbows, 6-12 inches long, on leech flies. I also caught one brook trout, a couple of cutthroat trout, and one tiger trout! I enjoyed watching turkey vultures clean the lake shore of dead trout.
One afternoon, I walked a mile up the road to Upper Kents Lake. I caught a couple of nice 11-14 inch long cutthroat trout before an approaching thunder storm forced me to walk back.
A young man, Daren, and his parents, Bill and Vicki, were great neighbors. Daren was enthralled with the lake, the fish, the deer, and was genuinely happy to be in the mountains. He liked talking to me and I enjoyed talking to him. One morning I asked his parents if Daren could take a spin in a kayak. I gave him lessons on the shore and warned him that the hardest thing about kayaking was getting in and out of the kayak. Though Daren was nervous, it didn’t like long before he paddled like a pro and really enjoyed himself. As we neared the shore, I asked him what the hardest part of kayaking was. He didn’t miss a beat and said “getting in and out!”. Daren and his parents were grateful for the little adventure and I was proud to contribute to a fond memory for all of us!
Other Stuff…
We played disc golf at Eagle Point Ski Resort. The place was closed, the course wasn’t marked, and we didn’t have a map…it was a bit tough! We walked up and down the gently sloped ski runs around 10,000 feet elevation and found six of the “holes”. Wandering around the flower-filled slopes reminded us of the Alps…it was very pretty! We got some good exercise and a had a lot of fun.
Pioneer Day, 24 July…
We enjoy learning about the history of the areas we visit. In Utah we have learned about the early settlements of the Mormon pioneers. The 24th of July is set aside as Pioneer Day to commemorate the entry of the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Most banks and businesses are closed and communities celebrate with parades and potlucks. We drove down to Beaver to discover they also had thorough bred horse racing at the fairgrounds. In addition, almost every home had a 2’x3’ American flag proudly waving in the front yard from a 10’ pole. Since Pioneer Day fell on a Wednesday this year, it seemed everyone took a 5 day weekend. The campground and the national forest dispersed camping areas were just as crowded as you would expect over the 4th of July. Keep this in mind when planning a trip to Utah in July.
The Tushar Mountains are a great playground and very pretty! We would gladly spend more time exploring them.
We send this from Panguitch Lake, Utah. We have a nice view of the beautiful lake and our kayaks are parked on the bank. Cedar Breaks National Monument is up the road and there are lots of trails and mushrooms waiting for us to find them!
Parting Shots…
Thunderstorm at Kents Lake / Hail stone near LeBaron Lake…It had been on the ground for over 12 hours!
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Great blog with good information. We are thinking of heading up to those mountains this July. Really want to camp in the trees near the water. Do you think it's worth the extra trip to camp up at Labaron lake away from the crowds or was Kents just fine? My original idea was to camp at Anderson Meadow, but that lake is drained for repairs.
ReplyDeleteHello Vegas Vic! Both Labaron and Kents Lakes are good places to camp near the water, but I'd lean towards Labaron. It should be a bit quieter, especially during the weekend when lots of folks go to the Tushar Mountains to escape the summer heat.
ReplyDeleteWe have had a place for 30 years up at Eagle Point and just love it up there. Glad to see that you had a good time; you guys really look like you love each other. How sweet.
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