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Dina Freedman Reporting If you've been sweating it out down in the valley, you could take a trip to the Cottonwood Canyons this weekend and check out the Wildflower Festival. The flowers are out, the temperatures are cool, there's no better place to be this weekend than in the great outdoors checking out some of mother nature's great creations.
The Wasatch Wildflower Festival starts today and goes through Sunday and the best part about it, it's free!
Patrick Nelson, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation: "These red ones are a type of paint brush we have up in the basin here. You'll see different shapes and different colors, you'll see red, you'll get pink you'll get white and you'll get orange. Paintbrushes are different colors all over the place."
That is what you'll see if you come up to many places in the Wasatch this weekend, but the Wildflower Festival is happening in the Cottonwood Canyons.
The wildflowers are at their peak this weekend and they're really beautiful so you want to get out here and see them, but they want to remind you, don't pick the flowers and don't bring your dog.
Patrick Nelson, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation: "I don't think people realize that even if you pick one flower, how much it adds up. There's a lot of different people that come up here and if everyone picked one flower there would hardly be any left. So first and foremost, don't pick the flowers; and second, stay on the trail. We're trying to keep the impact to a minimum, so follow the guide down the trail."
The festival is free and you don't have to be an experienced hiker to participate. There will be walks with trained volunteers ranging from easy to difficult, but you've got to get there early to sign up.
Sara Gibbs, Alta Community Enrichment: "At the wildflower festival we'll be conducting walks, and if you do sign up for a walk, we'll have a van service so you won't have to drive up to the base."
If you sign up for the walk, you can take the van. If you want to go on your own, that's fine too, but be prepared for a busy weekend up there.
Patrick Nelson, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation: "So if people come up, just expect it to be a little short on parking and be patient. Don't park on the vegetation. But people can come up, we have a new wildflower guide that we just built for Big and Little Cottonwood canyons that's easy to navigate and go through; so if people don't want to go on a walk, they can get a guide from us and go on their own."
Sara Gibbs , Alta Community Enrichment: "It's a great opportunity to come up to Alta to see the flowers, and see what it's like in the summer. Most people come up during the winter time and they never come up in the summertime. The flowers are unbelievable this year."
There are 150 to 200 different types of flowers growing in the Cottonwoods and temperatures on Saturday and Sunday will be in the 70's and lower 80's.
The Festival actually starts this afternoon and runs through Sunday. And if you want to sign up for a guided walk to learn about those beautiful flowers, get there early and bring your water, sunscreen, bug spray and of course, your camera.
