Payson Lakes is the green heart of the Nebo Loop, about twelve miles up Payson Canyon from the valley floor. Three lakes — Big East, McClellan, and Box — sit in a basin of fir and aspen around 8,000 feet, ringed by easy paved paths and improved picnic and camping areas. The water is cold and clear, stocked with trout, and calm enough by midsummer that people actually swim.
It is the most developed stop on the byway and the one most worth lingering at: a place to put in a canoe, walk the loop around Big East, or just eat lunch under the pines while the temperature sits twenty degrees below the valley. A day-use fee applies at the main lakes, though you can park along the road and walk in.
The closest stops worth working into your route