We love our wildflowers! Here in Utah, wildflower season is early July in the mountains. We have a whole post with ideas of where to hike in Utah to enjoy the wildflowers. The best place we’ve found to see the full splendor of the wildflowers is the Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Take a trip into the mountains to cool down and see the amazing colors during July. The Albion Meadows Trail is a top notch wildflower trail.
Main Trailhead
The trailhead for Albion Meadows Trail is at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The official trailhead is past the fee station and you hike from the Sunnyside ski lift down into the meadow. This requires a $12 fee (2025 pricing) and a 3.5 mile hike, and a big wait at the fee station because parking is super limited. So we have a better option to enjoy this same trail!
Our Trailhead Recommendation
In the village of Alta, there is a spot called the Albion Grill. It is located at the end of a large, free, parking area just before you get to the fee station. Turn down and to the right as you approach the fee kiosk and park as far down the parking lot as you can. Then walk down to the Albion Grill building.
The trail starts to the left of the Sunnyside ski lift. It hikes from there steeply upward into the basin, running a little over a mile in a lollipop loop. Along the way, there are signs that read “Ske-cology” that feature animals that you might see along the trail. These signs are a fun educational way to keep the kids motivated as they ascend into Albion Basin.
Albion Basin
The Albion Meadows trail climbs right under the ski-lifts until it comes to a junction. To the left, the trail continues up to the basin. To the right, is the return trail. Head left, and you should already be surrounded by yellows, purples, oranges, reds, pinks, and whites. The flowers are very beautiful and grow thickly all around the trail. Stand at the edge of the trail, but don’t blaze your way off the trail, and definitely don’t pick wildflowers. There are signs reminding you of this. Also, no dogs are allowed in this part of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The trail runs through the basin for about another half mile. Eventually, it comes to some buildings, and a large man-hole cover sits in the middle of the trail as it climbs up a hill to the buildings. The trail continues up to Cecret Lake if you want to make your hike longer. But before you make that short climb to the buildings, turn down and right on the trail. This path will take you back through the Alpine Meadow to the trail junction. Doing the trail in this way gives it a total distance of about 2.0 miles.
Albion Meadows is one of our favorite summer hikes, and it is very popular, so don’t expect to be alone. The wildflowers only last a few weeks, so plan the middle of July for peak season. There are other trails in this area, but use the signs and these instructions, and you can easily see the wildflowers surrounded by the soaring mountains. This hike is one of Utah’s best!
