Hiking
Canyon bottoms, rim routes, and slickrock traverses — the walking worth the drive.
-
Hiking
Delicate Arch Trail
Arches National Park
The iconic slickrock trail to Utah's most famous natural arch, best at sunset when the sandstone glows.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Chesler Park Loop
Canyonlands National Park
An 11-mile loop through sandstone spires and narrow slot canyons in the Needles District of Canyonlands.
Full Day Commitment
-
Hiking
Bell Canyon Lower Falls
Wasatch Range
The classic moderate day hike in Bell Canyon. From the Boulders or Granite Trailhead, climb past the Lower Reservoir through a U-shaped glacial section to the Lower Falls at 6,732 ft. Most hikers turn around here; the trail continues steeply to the Upper Falls and beyond. Enters the Lone Peak Wilderness above the reservoir.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Broads Fork
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short, hard climb to an alpine meadow and beaver ponds beneath the north faces of Twin Peaks, Dromedary, and Sunrise — about 2,100 feet of gain in 2.4 miles.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Cecret Lake
Wasatch Range
Utah's most photographed wildflower hike. A short trail from the Albion Basin Campground to a glacial cirque lake at 9,875 ft, passing through the Albion Basin meadows — the state's most ostentatious alpine wildflower bloom, peaking mid-July through early August. Devils Castle forms a jagged headwall over the lake. A family-friendly classic during Alta's summer road season.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Desolation Lake
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A steady, gradual climb up Mill D North Fork to a large alpine cirque lake below the Wasatch Crest — about 8 miles round trip and ~2,000 feet of gain.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Dog Lake (Big Cottonwood Canyon)
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A moderate forest climb to a small divide-top lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon — dogs banned (watershed) despite the name; the dog-friendly Dog Lake is in Mill Creek.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Donut Falls
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short family hike to a unique donut-shaped waterfall in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Ensign Peak Trail
Salt Lake City Foothills
Short, steep summit above the State Capitol — panoramic views of the Salt Lake Valley, Wasatch Front, and Great Salt Lake from the hilltop where Brigham Young first surveyed the valley.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Grandeur Peak
Millcreek Canyon
The most accessible Wasatch summit — a sustained 2,600-foot climb through Millcreek Canyon to a rocky peak with commanding views of the entire Salt Lake Valley and central Wasatch.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Lake Blanche
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A steep climb to a glacial alpine lake at 8,920 feet beneath the Sundial, Monte Cristo, and Dromedary — one of the best alpine lake hikes in the Wasatch, 25 minutes from downtown.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Lake Mary
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short, high-payoff climb from the Brighton base to a dammed subalpine lake below the Wasatch crest — and the gateway to the whole Brighton Lakes chain.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Living Room Trail
Salt Lake City Foothills
Steep social trail to a stone furniture viewpoint above the University of Utah — informal, beloved, and one of the best sunset perches on the Wasatch Front.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Mineral Fork Trail
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A strenuous climb up an eroded mining road to silver-era ruins and a cliff-walled cirque on the south side of Big Cottonwood Canyon — about 9.9 miles round trip and 3,480 feet of gain.
Full Day Commitment
-
Hiking
Mount Olympus
Wasatch Front
The hardest standard day hike in the metro Wasatch — a relentless 4,150-foot climb ending in a Class 3 scramble to the most prominent summit visible from the Salt Lake Valley.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Pfeifferhorn
Wasatch Range
The signature Wasatch summit hike out of LCC. Eleven miles round trip and 3,676 ft of gain to the 11,326-ft summit — known as the 'Little Matterhorn' for its sharp triangular profile. The route passes Red Pine Lake, climbs the west ridge via a Class 3 granite boulder traverse, and finishes with an exposed knife-edge section just below the summit. Not a beginner scramble.
Full Day Commitment
-
Hiking
Silver Lake (Brighton) Loop
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A flat, wheelchair-accessible boardwalk loop around an alpine lake at the head of Big Cottonwood Canyon — the easiest hike in the canyon and a premier moose-viewing spot.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Twin Lakes (Brighton)
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short, moderate climb to a dammed alpine reservoir in a granite cirque at the head of Big Cottonwood Canyon — gateway to the Brighton lakes and the Wasatch Crest.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Willow Heights (Willow Lake)
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short, moderate climb to an aspen-ringed beaver pond in upper Big Cottonwood Canyon — prime moose habitat and a fall-color favorite.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Gobblers Knob & Mount Raymond (Butler Fork)
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A strenuous Butler Fork climb to two paired Wasatch summits above Big Cottonwood Canyon, with a short ridge scramble to the top of each.
Full Day Commitment
-
HikingLeprechaun Canyon Hike
North Wash
A non-technical bottom-up walk into the lower narrows of Leprechaun Canyon, North Wash — the roped descent's walking counterpart.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Little Hole National Recreation Trail
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
Seven-mile riverside trail below Flaming Gorge Dam — anglers' access to the A Section tailwater, with Red Canyon walls overhead the whole way.
Full Day Commitment
-
HikingGates of Lodore Nature Trail
Dinosaur National Monument
Short interpretive climb from Lodore Campground to the overlook where the Green disappears into the canyon Powell named in 1869.
Half Day Light
-
Hiking
Beartrap Fork
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A short, relentlessly steep connector trail from Big Cottonwood Canyon to the Wasatch crest.
Full Day Commitment
-
Hiking
Hidden Falls
Big Cottonwood Canyon
A few-minute walk in Big Cottonwood Canyon to a small fall hidden just off the road.
High Payoff Easy Day
-
Hiking
Middle Fork of Taylor Creek
Kolob Canyons — Zion National Park
A quiet, non-technical Kolob Canyons hike up a streambed to the Double Arch Alcove, past two historic homestead cabins.
High Payoff Easy Day