Alta Lakes

Alta Lakes and Gold King Basin are located in between the southern boundary of the ski area and Ophir at a high elevation – accessed by a jeep road which is marked off of highway 145 (about 1/4 mile to the north of the “scenic overlook”).

While it’s not necessary to have four wheel drive, a high clearance vehicle is definitely recommended to make the necessary clearance in a few spots.   The same main jeep road brings you past the old mining ghost town of Alta up until the final destination where there’s a fork in the road; the fork to the right (south) will bring you to Gold King Basin and the fork to the left will bring you to Alta Lakes.

In addition to the unique high alpine environment which boasts several lakes, there are some interesting rock outcroppings which surround each of these high elevation basins.  Scree fields and mine tailings remnants dot the landscape, where you are able to hike up to get higher vantage point within each respective basin.