For some 60 years, in one form or another, Moon Lake Resort has been there, hiding in the trees, overlooking the lake it is named after. Rustic cabins and a two-story lodge are tucked away in a thick stand of lodgepole and aspen, and below it there is a large sandy alpine beach and the lake. It's a getaway place, 8,000 feet high in the High Uintas. At night, snug in your cabin, you can hear the wind whisper in the trees overhead; during the day you can catch your limit.
In a way, the name of the place is misleading. Moon Lake Resort. "It makes it sound like a dude ranch," says Hilda Clark, who tends the lodge. The story goes that one day a lady showed up in fashionable knee-high boots and a sequinned jacket and booked a cabin for two nights. She barely lasted one. She must have been looking for the tennis club.Be warned, here's what you don't get at Moon Lake Resort: Love Boat reruns, in-room movies, a pool, the neighbor's noisy lawnmower, a jacuzzi, a mint on your pillow . . . Here's what you do get: a room with a view, fresh air (scrubbed regularly by cool afternoon showers), solitude, fishing, miles of beach, scenery, a parade of wildlife, a lake, boating . . . .
It's not for everyone. Then again, some people have been coming to the place annually for more than 25 years. The resort doesn't bother to advertise; it can rely on old customers and word of mouth.
Moon Lake, a mere 150 miles from Salt Lake City, is another of Utah's many natural secrets. Drive to Duchesne, turn north for another 32 miles, slow down for the eight miles of dirt road that crosses the Ouray Indian Reservation, and you're there.
Moon Lake is the biggest of the 1,000 or so natural lakes that pocket the High Uintas. A dam was built during the late 1930s, stretching the original natural lake to 3.2 miles from one end to the other. It's fed continually by three streams - Brown Duck, Fish Creek and Lake Fork.
The locals say you can get anywhere in the High Uintas from Moon Lake. "Gateway to the Primitive Area," they call it, and indeed the border to the primitive area splits the lake. Moon Lake is the main trail head for some 44 lakes and 38 streams.
According to those familiar with the history of the resort itself, the place has seen wilder times. The original lodge served as a dance and pool hall during a rather rowdy era in the '30s, and rodeos were held in the sage near the lake. But those days are long gone. Moon Lake Resort has settled contentedly into middle age.
"We get mostly families, church groups and reunions," says Cal Clark, a Salt Lake lawyer who has owned and operated the resort for the past 30 years with the help of his family. "It's family-oriented. We try to keep it that way."
After spending an hour or so staring at the stars overhead and the campfire in front of their cabin, visitors tend to retire early and sleep late.
There are 18 cabins at the resort, some of which are 60 years old; 13 of them are modern, which means they have hot and cold running water, electricity, a stove, refrigerator, shower, heater, beds, table and chairs. They rent for $31 to $36 per night. The five remaining cabins go for $10 to $20 per night, depending on whether they have the one modern convenience of cold running water.
The price includes access to volleyball and basketball courts and a horseshoe pit. The cabins also give easy access to the lake and to the trails that wind through the thick evergreen forests that border the lake. Here there is an abundance of wildlife - moose, elk, bear, lion, deer, coyote, fox, owl, eagles - some of which occasionally turn up by the cabins.For an additional fee, you can ride horses, arrange for catered horse pack/fishing trips into the Uintas, and rent small boats to tour the lake or to troll it with a fishing pole.
Ah, yes, the fishing. It is easily the area's most popular activity. You can hike to remote lakes and streams or try your luck in the lake, which is home to kokanee salmon, eastern brook trout, cutthroat, rainbow trout, German trout, Arctic grayling, lake trout. Most are pan size, but Clark says, "There are big ones in there. There were some eight-pounders caught last year. You just have to fish deeper."
Aside from the lake itself, the area's most arresting feature is the long, wide beach that wraps around the western half of the lake. Instead of the usual rocks that are characteristic of mountain lakes, there is sand.
"I can't think of another beach in the high Uintas with a beach like that," says Ray Jessem, a local Forest Ranger. "It's pretty unusual."
Sitting on the beach, however, might be as close to the water as you get. Swimming is only for the hardy. The waters are so cold (34 degrees in deep water, 50 or so on the surface) that even wading can be painful.
Perhaps it's just as well. If the water were warmer, there might be more visitors, and then Moon Lake wouldn't be much of a secret anymore. After all, it's not for everyone.