Yellow Fork

(Herriman)

5 mi RT

2.5-3.5 hrs

Easy, 725 elevation gain

Partial shade

No restrooms or water at trailhead

Spring, summer, fall, snowshoe in winter

*west on Bangerter Hwy, left on 134 south, left on Rose Canyon road, right at stop sign

Red Baldy

Red Baldy from White Pine TH via White Pine Lake
 Hike Time (roundtrip): 5.5 to 9.0 hours
 Distance (roundtrip): 10 miles
 Elevation Gain: 3511 feet
Main Aspect: All Directions
 Climb Rate: 702 feet per mile
 Average Grade: 13%
Notes: Stay left when the trail forks. Follow an on service road up to White Pine Lake. Scramble up talus from there to west pass (the pass between White and Red Baldy). At the saddle head east. There is a short expose scramble for the last hundred feet, as you go over a false summit. The point where white meets red is kinda cool.

Trailhead
White Pine TH
 White Pine TH
Trailhead Elevation: 7660 ft
Trailhead Outhouse: Yes
Distance from Park-N-Ride: 5.3 miles
Area: Little Cottonwood Canyon
Area Location: East on 9400 S (SR210) in Salt Lake County
Area Fee: None
Dogs Allowed: No
Notes: Watch for a sign that says White Pine Trailhead about half way up Little Cottonwood Canyon, just after passing Tanners Flat. It is a good size parking lot on the south side of the road, with an outhouse. This trail leads to several canyons.


Waypoint 1
White Pine Lake
 White Pine Lake
 Elevation: 10170 Feature: Lake
Notes: It is a beautiful alpine lake that sits below White Baldy. Incidentally, White Pine refers to Engelmann Spruce that was harvested from the canyon in the late 1800s. Red Pine refers to Douglas Fir.


Destination
Red Baldy
 Red Baldy
 Elevation: 11171 Feature: Peak
Notes: Looking south, you can see 4 lakes lined up. They are Silver Glance, Silver Lake, Silver Flat Reservior and Tibble Fork Reservior. Looking North, you only see 1 lake, White Pine Lake.

Rocky Mouth Canyon Trail/ Rocky Mouth Falls

(Sandy)

1 mi RT

*trailhead is at 11300 S. Wasatch Blvd in Sandy

*park at the trailhead, NOT in the neighborhood

*goes through a slot canyon to a waterfall!

We found a new waterfall to try this week. Near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon is a short hike beginning in a residential neighborhood that leads to a beautiful little waterfall. The trail is rocky and steep, but only about a little over a mile round trip. To get to the trailhead, take Wasatch Blvd. to 11250 South. There is a small parking lot labeled Rocky Mouth Falls. Park here and walk up the stairs to the left. At the top of the steps, you run into a residential neighborhood. Turn right on the sidewalk and stay on the right hand side on the road as it curves around to the east. The trailhead starts between two fences and is clearly marked. (Note: it is illegal to park on the street here for the hike, and it would only save about 1 block of walking.) The trail is uphill for quite awhile, but it’s so short and it’s such a beautiful walk in the fall, you hardly notice the climb. The trail gets steep and rocky here, but it is well-marked and easy to follow. There are two little “caves” though neither is deep enough to actually be a called a cave. Still, the boys felt like regular spelunkers. The waterfall is quite beautiful, and is sort of a carved out grotto that cascades down a good 30+ feet. We’ve heard that you can hike up around to the top (go left), though it looked to us that this trail would be challenging for most mountain goats. In the summer, this would be a perfect place to play in the water running down from the waterfall. It was too cold when we went. This hike was definitely one more of Utah’s little gems– short, accessible, and absolutely beautiful.


Rocky Mouth Falls is a fantastic family-friendly hike to a beautiful 70-foot waterfall on the southeast side of the Salt Lake Valley. The trail is short at just under a half mile one-way but packs in some fantastic scener, including one of the most scenic waterfalls in the area. Though short in distance, this hike does have some steep, rocky sections as it climbs nearly 300 feet in elevation over just under a half mile. Trailhead The Rocky Mouth Trailhead is located at 11200 South Wasatch Blvd in Sandy, UT (40.547125, -111.806514). From I-15 Take Exit 291 for 12300 South in Draper. Turn east onto 12300 South. Continue on 12300 South for 3.2 miles as the road turns north and becomes 1700 East. Turn east onto Wasatch Blvd. Continue 2.3 miles to the signed Rocky Mouth Trailhead and parking area on the east side of the road (40.547125, -111.806514). The Hike From the Rocky Mouth Trailhead, begin hiking up the stairs at the northeast end of the parking area. The stairs climb to Eagle View Drive. Once to the street, turn right and continue up Eagle View Drive on the sidewalk. The trail leaves the street about 250 yards up the road at (40.545316, -111.805126). There is no trailhead parking allowed along Eagle View Drive. After leaving Eagle View Drive, continue hiking up the steep trail ahead. This short section is the steepest, most rugged part of the hike. Fantastic views of the Salt Lake Valley are available as the trail climbs above the homes nearby. Continue on the trail as it enters a lush, forested area before arriving at Rocky Mouth Falls (40.543168, -111.803744). There is plenty of room to view the falls from dry ground about 100 feet away, or you may walk on rocks through the stream to get a closer look if conditions permit. Return the way you came. Round trip hiking distance is approximately 0.8 miles. Rules and Regulations Open dawn to dusk. No dogs allowed. Pack out trash. No trailhead parking on Eagle View Drive. Special Considerations The first part of this trail travels through a residential neighborhood. Please respect local property owners as you pass through.

Bells Canyon Upper Waterfall

(Little Cottonwood, Granite trailhead) 

5.6mi RT

2.5-3 hours

Hard, 2361 elevation gain

Mostly shaded

Restrooms and water at trailhead

Spring, summer, fall

*1.7 miles one way to the Lower Falls (can stop there for a shorter hike)

Bells Canyon Falls Hike Time (roundtrip): 2.5 to 4.5 hours Distance (roundtrip): 4.6 miles Elevation Gain: 1570 feet
Main Aspect: West Climb Rate: 683 feet per mile Average Grade: 13% Notes: Bells Canyon can be the gateway to many great destinations. Most of them will require a long strenuous day. The trail to the falls is steep and rugged.

***There are two trailheads for Bells Canyon. If you can not find parking at one, try the other. Trailhead: Bells Canyon South TH (around 10250 South Wasatch Blvd, on the east side of the road) Trailhead Elevation: 5160 ft Trailhead Outhouse: No
OR
Trailhead: Bells Canyon North TH (on the south side of the road around 3400 Little Cottonwood Rd) Trailhead Elevation: 5240 ft Trailhead Outhouse: Yes

Area: Salt Lake Valley Area Location: Various locations on East Bench in Salt Lake Area Fee: None Dogs Allowed: No Waypoint 1: Lower Bells Canyon Reservoir Elevation: 5575 Feature: Lake Notes: The Lower Bells reservoir is a good hike to find out how in shape you are for the season. It is a very small lake that can be approached from 2 trailheads. Destination: Bells Canyon Falls Elevation: 6680 Feature: Falls Notes: The falls are impressive most of the year, but especially during the spring runoff. It freezes over in the winter.

Temple Quarry Trail

(mouth of Little Cottonwood) 

0.3mi loop interpretive trail

Shaded

*Parking lot with restrooms on the east side of UT 209, just south of intersection with UT 210

There is a bathroom at the trailhead, but it is primitive. Bring your own hand sanitizer.

*There is an amphitheater with regularly scheduled presentations; there are also signs to read

*Same parking lot as the Little Cottonwood Trail's main trailhead, so combine them!

Mormon Pioneers used this site to quarry rock used in building the Salt Lake Temple. As you walk the trail, you will see the marks of quarrying left on the rocks. Enjoy learning more about the canyon resources people have relied upon for hundreds of years, and will rely upon for many years to come. Access: History has left its mark on Little Cottonwood Canyon. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, this was a busy place! Mining, lumbering, and quarrying drew hundreds, even thousands of people to towns that have since died. Graniteville, Wasatch, Hogum, Tannersville, Central City, Alta, and Emmaville are gone, but the stories and evidence of occupation remain.
Distance: 1/4 mile Elevation Gain: 20 feet Access Rating: Paved 
The granite used in the construction was from a large field of huge boulders covering the area broken by nature's forces from adjacent cliffs. The quarrying of these boulders was begun about 1862 by James C. Livingston, under supervision of John Sharp. The names of the faithful quarrymen who continued the work until the temple was finished in 1893 are enclosed in the monument. Rough stones were hauled to the temple block suspended under great two wheel carts drawn by ox-teams, until the railroad was built in 1872. LDS Historic Sites From the south, take the 90th South I-15 exit, which turns into 94th South. Continue east to the mouth of Little Cottonwood. Just before the stop sign (where you turn right onto the road up the canyon), you'll see a paved turnoff to your right taking you to the Temple Quarry Trail parking area. From the north, take Wasatch Blvd. When you see the illuminated road condition sign at the mouth of Little Cottonwood, turn right then immediately left again into the Temple Quarry parking.

Stones for the walls of the Salt Lake Temple were selected as the "best material that can be furnished in the mountains of North America." The work continued almost nonstop for twenty-five years. Immigrants from Europe taught quarrymen to split off rocks into various sizes. Then teamsters hauled the rough-hewn stones to Temple Square, were expert stonecutters gave them their final shape. Moving the stones from the canyon was a real challenge. Smaller stones were loaded onto ox-drawn wagons. Larger stones, some measuring three-feet square and weighing over two tons, could not be lifted. Workers drove a reinforced wagon over such a stone and dug trenches under the wheels until the frame rested on it. With the stone lashed under the frame, oxen or mules pulled the wagon out of the trenches and onto the road. Many wagons broke down under the stress of carrying that much weight twenty miles to the temple. This slow transport delayed construction, so in the late 1860's crews dug a canal to float the stones to Salt Lake City on barges. This method did not work well and was abandoned when the railroad came to Utah. Beginning in 1871 the stones were hauled on flat cars from the railroad station in Sandy right onto Temple Square. In 1873 the Church and local miners built a narrow gauge railway up into the canyon. Some of today's main roads follow the routes pioneered by those stone-laden wagons and rails. By the late 1880's the temple walls were up and activity at the quarries stopped. Stones from here have also been used for a few other structures, notably the Utah State Capitol Building and the "This is the Place" Monument. However, this site is still best known as the Temple Stone Quarry. Little Cottonwood TrailLittle Cottonwood Canyon quarryQuarry Trail Little Cottonwood Trail If you want to do some more walking, the Little Cottonwood Trail starts from the same trailhead and goes several miles up the canyon.

Lisa Falls

(Little Cottonwood)

0.2 mi RT

easy, 80' elevation gain
*2.7 mi up the canyon on the north/left side (park on either side of the road)
*just on the south side is the Little Cottonwood Trail, which can be combined with this one!

White Pine Lake

(Little Cottonwood)

9.8mi out and back

5-7 hours

Moderate, 2452 elevation gain

Mostly shaded at beginning, partially shaded at higher elevations

Restrooms at trailhead

Spring, summer, fall (also snowshoe once snow has stabilized)