Uinta Mountains are a favorite destination in Utah

The Uinta Mountains are about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah and span northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. They're the highest mountain range that runs east to west in the United States. The highest peak is called Kings Peak, which is also the highest point in Utah. Its elevation is 13,528 ft. above sea level. Most of the peaks range from 11,000-13,500 ft.

Named for the Uintaat Indians, early relatives of the modern Ute Tribe, the mountains are a favorite destination for people in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas. There's more than 400 miles of streams, over 1,000 small lakes and ponds, and 545 miles of trails.  Many of the mountains are above the tree line, and one of the most popular hikes is to the top of Bald Mountain, aptly named because of its lack of trees.

The Uinta Mountains are home to black bear, bighorn sheep, cougar, coyote, elk, moose, mountain goat, mule deer, pine marten, ptarmigan, river otter and 3/4 of Utah's bird species.

Fishing, hiking, backpacking, four-wheeling, climbing, camping, and pretty much anything else related to the outdoors can be done here.

Since the lakes are small, most of the fish are under a pound in size, but they're still fun to catch. Mirror Lake, Trial Lake, Washington Lake, and Lost Lake are some of the more popular fishing destinations; however, a lot of the more remote lakes are stocked from the nearby hatchery in Kamas via helicopter, where they literally dump thousands of fish into the lakes. Most of the fish in the Uintas are brook trout and cutthroat, a few lakes have rainbow trout, and 15-20 lakes have grayline. There are even a few albino trout raised in the hatchery and stocked in various lakes in the Uintas.

Below is a map showing how to get to the Uintas from Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Sources: 

• Wikipedia Entry on the Uintas
• Fishing the Uintas
• Photo Credit: Brian Broderick - 2002