Bumper crop of wildflowers brings big crowds to Albion Basin


4 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ALTA — Utah is known for having the "Greatest Snow on Earth." With a wide range of world-class ski resorts, the wintertime pastime brings millions of dollars to the state. Although ski season may be long gone, there's something else the mountains have to offer.

Up Little Cottonwood Canyon, the snow is long melted, and the ski lifts are silent. But high above Alta, something is in the air: one of the worst kept secrets in Utah.

People climb a dirt road on a quest for one thing: alpine wildflowers, by the thousands — a botanical basin, beckoning to explorers like a blossom to a bee.

"This field tonight is really beautiful," said John Clair of Sandy.

"This spot reminds me of a Van Gogh painting," said his wife, Jane Santoro.

They didn't just drop in to breathe these natural bouquets — they're here to ensure these memories never wilt.

John Clair and Jane are budding photographers, with matching cameras and the small seed of a rivalry.

"We went to photography class together," said Santoro.

"I think she's much more creative than I am," said Clair.

"He wants to get prints of them and hang them in his office," said Santoro.

Their love bloomed on the slopes of Vermont.

"We came here to ski," said Clair.

After retirement, they planted themselves in Sandy, put down roots and unearthed a treasure.

Ray Boone/KSL-TV

"Now we're discovering the things like the flowers that make it even better here," said Santoro.

But this mountaintop Eden is anything but a private paradise.

"I guess the word is out," said Santoro, observing the large crowds moving in.

It's not just visitors from the valley who descend on this dramatic display. Don Halffield came from Colorado.

"It's probably the best I've seen," he said.

He's here to capture some images of his sprout of a granddaughter, but that didn't pan out.

"Baby is not cooperating," said Halffield. "Must be time to eat."

He won't have many chances to harvest these moments — because for the wildflowers, time flies like the wind.

"They could be peak for two days of certain colors, and that could be gone," said Santoro.

Ray Boone/KSL-TV

Though their fragrance may be fleeting, the red, the yellow and the purple means green in the pockets of the professionals.

"It's a hard thing to time," said pro photographer Kris Doman, as she snapped photos of a couple. "You get somebody who books a session, and you don't know if the flowers are going to be prime, and what week they're going to go prime, and so you have to kind of play it by ear and be flexible, but it's definitely one of the spots that people watch the calendar for."

The area is perfect for the professional and the amateur alike. And while the crowds may continue to grow, these flourishing artists will keep cultivating their adulation of the Albion Basin.

"Why do I come up here?" asked Santoro. "One of the natural wonders of the world. Like 'Alice in Wonderland.'"

The Albion Basin is so crowded that the town of Alta runs a shuttle service on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Many say due to the weather, the wildflowers are more spectacular than they have been in years.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahOutdoors
Ray Boone

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast