Saratoga Springs, Utah

To get to the Grizzly Gulch trailhead, drive up Little Cottonwood until you reach Alta Ski Resort. Keep left along the road and park in the upper Alta parking lot. Head up the cat track with all the cats and snowmobiles parked to the side. About 100 yards up, you'll take a left and head up the st...

The trailhead begins along Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, with a relatively small parking lot at the trailhead. Starting early in the day is advised, as on nice summer days it will fill up quickly. The trail has a steady ascent for the first 2 miles starting around 6700' through aspen forests and cr...

Cardiff Fork and Donut Falls share the same parking lot, so depending on what time of week you go exploring here, it may be the most packed parking in all of the Wasatch. Head up on a weekday for less crowds.  The Cardiff Fork trailhead is follows the rocky jeep road around the parking lot to the...

To get to the trailhead, drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon 8 miles. The parking lot is on the left side of the road. The first half mile is the steepest of the whole trail so don't get too intimidated by it, it mellows out a lot after. You will come to fork in the trail about a mile in, you can eith...

The trail head for Butler Fork is 8 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon on the left side of the road. Throw your gear on and head up the trail. Continue along the skin track and after about 20 minutes you'll come upon a fork in the trail. The right trail will take you up the East Fork towards Butler B...

To get to the trailhead drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Spruces Campground. Once in the parking lot, walk to the southwest corner of the parking lot and go up the road past the bathrooms. The trailhead will be next to the overgrown baseball field.  The trail is awesome single track the whole wa...

Largely runnable trail up through pines and aspens with a few steep climbs. Incredible wildflowers. You can stop at Desolation Lake then continue up towards the ridge and up to Desolation Peak. You have to listen and watch for descending bikers coming fast around corners.  

You can access the trailhead to Beartrap by driving up Big Cottonwood Canyon 10.4 miles and parking on the right side of the road. You will see the "Bear Trap Fork Rd" sign on the left side of the road, this is where the trailhead begins. Make your way up the skin track through the dense aspens u...

Willow Fork is just across the mountain from Solitude Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. You can access Willow Fork from a few different trailheads; either from the Willow Heights Trailhead or across the street from both the lower and upper Solitude parking lots. The Willow Heights Trailhead wi...

Are you planning a big adventure and need a boost getting ready for it? You came to the right place. This is my go-to when I’m preparing to climb a big mountain. It’s hard to find a steeper trail in the area (that’s not a game trail), and the West Face is usually free of snow early in the season....

If you want to avoid the crowds heading to the Salt Lake Overlook and are looking for a bigger challenge with better views, Thayne Canyon is the ticket. The trail is 6 miles roundtrip with 2,800 feet of elevation gain. It’s a great evening hike and the peak is a nice place to watch the sunset. Th...

This popular trail follows a portion of the Desolation Trail leaving from Mill Creek Canyon. The trail to the overlook is 4.75 miles round trip with a 1700 ft elevation gain. You begin at the Desolation Trailhead and then turn around once you have a view of the Salt Lake Valley. It is a perfect h...

Porter Fork starts at the aptly named Porter Fork Trailhead about 4 miles up Millcreek Canyon. It’s actually Porter Fork Road for the first 1.5 miles of the trail. This section is a pleasant, paved path winding up through a dozen or so cabins. You’ll gain about 1,000 feet. If you make it past the...

To get to the trailhead, drive up Millcreek Canyon about 4.5 miles until you reach the Terraces Picnic area. Turn here and drive up the small road until you reach the parking lot by the bathrooms. You'll see the Bowman Fork trailhead marker next to the parking lot. The trail climbs steadily and i...

The Burch Hollow trailhead is about a quarter mile up the Pipeline trail in Millcreek Canyon. After hiking along the switchbacks of the Pipeline trail, you'll see a sharp turn in the trail that leads you up the side of the mountain. This turn can easily be missed so keep a good look out for it. C...

Named for a toddler who died of Lukemia in 1995, Jacks Mountain is a beautiful place to sit above the valley and contemplate mortality. On the peak, you’ll find a couple mailboxes containing heartfelt notes from hundreds of hikers throughout the years. It’s the kind of place that restores your fa...