West Palisade Lake Loop

Enjoyable walk around the reservoir. The view from the West side of the water was really pretty. The trail is partially shaded. It is an nice nature walk about half way around. The rest of the way around has no shade and is more like a dirt road; I didn't mind, but the rest of my group did. A beautiful view of a western desert mountain range, and the town Sterling can be seen from the trail. There is a large rock formation on the west side of the lake that the trail runs right next to. It is really pretty from the lake side; however, human feces were all over the trail side of the rock formation. It was disgusting, and the smell was horrible. Take the gross stuff away, and it would have been 5☆s.

This hike follows a ridge on the west side of the reservoir, and you have great views on either side - of the reservoir on one side, and of Sanpete Valley and farmland on the other. We started at the north end near the playground, and went up to the ridge and followed it along. At some point toward the middle, about halfway down the length of the reservoir, there is a trail you can take down toward the reservoir to shorten the hike. Palisade State Park is a great place to hike and swim. We went in the morning and hiked first before it got very warm, then swam for a few hours and rented a kayak and had a ton of fun. And as mentioned, there's a playground for kids to play on as well at the west side of the parking area at the north end of the reservoir. The hike was the best part of visiting in my opinion, surprisingly good due to the views and it was easy for my family of six. We did a loop along the ridge, then followed the trail that goes right close to the water on the way back to the parking lot and playground area.

I mean it’s just a normal looking trail not hard at all some shady parts some sunny parts. I did it twice, one during the day and one during sunset. Highly recommend during sunset!!