SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — The popular Mirror Lake Highway officially opened this week. Lots of Utahns made the drive up on this first weekend and saw something you don’t normally see this late in the year.
“The last time I saw snow, probably not even this late, was probably what, 2012? It is impressive,” Jon Webb said.
He and his wife Jill decided to take their dog, Margo, for a hike at the top near Bald Mountain. It felt like early spring, but it still looked like winter. Even though it’s now summer.
“We have been up in the mountains in Idaho and there wasn’t this much snow, so yeah, this is quite nice,” Jill Webb said.
It is a reminder of just how much snow Utah had this past winter. In some places along the highway, snowbanks were still higher than cars.
(Mark Less/KSL TV)
Snow wasn’t the only attraction.
The Upper Provo Falls, a popular stop along the Mirror Lake Highway, roared with the force of melting snow.
Ashton Boyle, a Provo resident, had anticipated the falls to be like this because of all the snow. It’s why she and her husband brought their kids here.
They figured this was an opportunity to create lasting memories. It seemed to work as their children skipped rocks in the raging river.
“We want to make core memories where they are doing something different that we don’t do every single day, so it’s nice to get in nature and see the beauty that’s around us,” Boyle said.
The Upper Provo Falls. (Mark Less/KSL TV)
The natural beauty of the area also brought in a lot of people who wanted to see what winter left behind.
Mirror Lake Highway has always been a source of breathtaking views, but the addition of late-season snow made it even more spectacular.
“Oh, it’s incredible,” said Claudio Wight, who rode a motorcycle with her friends up the highway. “We have lots of snow still. Our rivers are so full, and everything is so green and beautiful. There’s nothing better than just enjoy our state.”
Temperatures near the top at Bald Mountain were about 20 degrees cooler than in Kamas at the bottom.
“It’s hard to believe it is still like this here,” Jon Webb said, and July is only about a week away.
It's the first weekend Mirror Lake Highway is officially open! There is still a lot of snow at the top and the river is raging. Lots of people were up there to see it all. We're doing a story on this for @KSL5TV tonight at 4:30 and 5:00 #ksltv pic.twitter.com/hzxnTOMeIG
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) June 24, 2023
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