Vineyard, Utah

Butterfield Canyon is a little-known canyon on the west side of Utah Valley. Beautiful any time of the year, it is especially beautiful in the fall—all the leaves changing colors! When you reach the marked location, turn onto Butterfield Canyon Road. Drive until you reach the end of the road (it...

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...

Mineral Fork is on the right side of the road about 5.8 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon next to a cell tower and a giant brown Forest Service gate. There is room on the side of the road to park your car and throw your gear on. Once on the trail, you'll do a few switchbacks up the side of the mount...

Heughs Canyon starts right on the edge of Salt Lake City, but within minutes, you’re in a shady forest next to a gurgling stream. This is the prefect after-work hike that can be enjoyed year-round. Two miles round-trip and just over 1,000 feet, the path takes you to a beautiful waterfall that flo...

Clayton Peak is approximately 1.5 miles from Guardsman Pass (3 miles round trip), and you'll gain about 1,600 feet of climbing.  There is parking on top of the pass, but it fills up quickly with hikers and mountain bikers during peak season as this serves as the trailhead for Bloods Lake, Jupiter...

There are two popular starting points from Guardsman Road. The lower trail climbs and the higher one trail descends, then they converge at Scott's Pass below Puke Hill. The shuttled ride ends with a pavement rush down Mill Creek Canyon (and a possible detour onto Mill Creek Pipeline on the way do...

To get the the trailhead, drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon until you reach the upper entrance into Solitude Ski Resort. You can park on the road just below the entrance to the resort. Across the street is a road called Old Stage Road, this is where the trail head begins. The road is covered in snow...

From Salt Lake City go on UT-201W, then take Bacchus Highway all the way until the intersection with Butterfield Canyon Road. This is where you can park your car and follow the dirt road for roughly 2 miles until you come to a fork. One road from the fork leads to Middle Canyon and the other to t...

The Trail Follow the trail for just a little bit and when it forks, stay to the left and you will arrive to Donut Falls. Once at the waterfall, climb up the rocks to get to the cave at the top, which is not visible from the bottom. To take pictures inside of the cave, you will most likely get yo...

Kessler Peak is a 10,403-foot peak located in Big Cottonwood Canyon. From the top, you can see all the way to the Uintas to the East, The tram at Snowbird to the south, and the Salt Lake Valley to the west. To the north is Mount Raymond and Gobblers Knob.  Kessler Peak is the terminus and highes...

Located in the Wasatch Mountains, less 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, Big Cottonwood Canyon, provides some of the best rural dark-sky viewing of the Milky Way in the Wasatch.The Donut Falls trail head/Mill D trail head, close to the ski resorts of Brighton and Solitude, additionally provides one...

The trail starts from the same trailhead as Donut Falls which is extremely popular. In the winter, the gates are closed and you need to park just off the highway. Follow the road and crowds along the trail but once you cross the bridge continue straight ahead instead of following the trail that c...

Drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon until you reach the Mill D South parking lot (aka Donut Falls parking). Head up the main road until you reach the bathrooms at the Donut Falls trailhead. Here you can either keep straight past the bathrooms, but the best way to go is to keep right along the road. Yo...

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...

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...

Willow Lake has become my favorite spot in all of Utah.  It feels so distant from civilization in the mountains, but is only a 25 minute drive from Salt Lake City. I have hiked to Willow Lake close to 10 times this year during different seasons, and have never seen more than 5 people on the trail...