Bryony Richards

Silver Lake is one of the easiest, most accessible hikes in the Wasatch, located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, close to the ski resorts of Brighton and Solitude.The lake is accessible all year; with a boardwalk or a well-signed path circling the lake through spring to fall. In the winter the lake become a frozen snowshoe and nordic skiing area.A full hike around the lake takes abou...

Park at the main parking lot at Brighton Ski Resort and head up the hill (under the Majestic Lift is a good place to start). Hiking is generally easy, even with snow on the ground, due to compaction of the snowpack during the daytime. However, snowshoeing and skinning with skis can be a good alternative if there have been recent storms.Approximately 0.5 miles up the slope, the stars will be vis...

Early spring is a unique time to photograph the Milky Way due to its low angle and the distinctive perspective of its galactic core. The low angle position of the Milky Way arc during the early morning hours, prior to dawn, allows for some striking panoramas, with the still snow-covered Wasatch Mountains providing a dramatic foreground.To photograph the Milky Way arc during the springtime, you ...

Visiting Yellowstone National Park during the daytime is enchanting; with its geysers, lake and wildlife attracting tourists and photographers from across the world. Stay after dark however, and the park takes on a magic that is as indescribable as it is dynamic. Combine this magic with clear; dark skies, very few people, the Milky Way, and if you are extra lucky, the Aurora Borealis, and you h...

In the days of Utah's Wild West gold rush (circa 1890s), a man named Henry Honaker decided to build a supply route from the San Juan River to the cliffs tops, roughly 1200 feet, above. The roughly hewn trail that Henry built; aptly named the ‘Honaker Trail’ was to act as a supply route for the gold miners in the area. Sadly for Henry, the gold rush was short-lived (at least in this part of the ...

From the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon, follow the road approximately 7 miles until you reach the area between the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts. Looking north, several mountain peaks are visible, including both Mount Superior and Hellgate Spring. The mountain face of Hellgate Spring (GPS coordinates in decimal degrees 40.5886200 latitude, -111.6494200 longitude) comprises a dramatic 500 mil...

Located in the Wasatch Mountains, less 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, Big Cottonwood Canyon, provides some of the best rural dark-sky viewing of the Milky Way in the Wasatch.The Donut Falls trail head/Mill D trail head, close to the ski resorts of Brighton and Solitude, additionally provides one of the easiest (and most accessible) areas to view the stars year-round. The position of the canyon...