Heugh’s Canyon

Heugh’s Canyon is a beautiful trail alongside a creek that eventually leads to a pretty spectacular waterfall. It was mostly fairly easy going with a steep section at the end, followed by a sketchy boulder field to scramble across. However it is my new favorite springtime trail.

Quick Details:

Length: About 1.5 Miles to the waterfall, 3 miles round trip.
Difficulty: DR4 – Mostly easy, but but there was a steep section and a sketchy boulder field.
Elevation Gain: 1,260 ft.
Restroom: None
Dogs? Yes
Extra Info: There is no parking at the trailhead. The first .15 miles will be up a road.

Trail sign. This is where you will need to park.

And then hike up this steep side road.

And almost to the actual trail! You do have to go across the driveway for that house. As I don’t see any other way around, and the trial is directly on the other side, I am pretty sure it is the right way to go. I am happy the city allows us regular folk to hike between these 1.3 million dollar homes to get to the trail (this one is for sale, we looked it up out of curiosity).

And onto the trail!

Into the woods!

Pretty wildflowers. I think the upper is Northern Sweetvetch and the lower is Leonard's Penstemon.

Looking down towards the valley.

I am really enjoying the woods along the trail.

A couple thin, steep parts, but nothing too crazy.

This trail is amazing!

Landis next to Heugh’s Creek.

More wildflowers. Upper is Dogwood and the lower is an Annual Honesty.

The creek looking pretty clear.

For the most part the trail seemed to have a gentle slope.

Pretty little side stream.

And another one.

I am really loving how green and lush this trail is. Of course, this is probably due to it being May. I love just about every trail we do for the first time in May.

Beautiful green hillsides.

Through the lush woods again.

More wildflowers. Chokecherry I believe.

After a while about 20-30 people wielding shovels and pick-axes came down the trail. I asked what they were up to. They said they are trail workers. They said they are extending the Bonneville Shoreline Trail into this canyon. Neat! Eventually the BST will connect all the way from Idaho to Nephi, Utah, most of it is in place, but they are still working on sections of it. You can learn more about that on the official website (external link).

Heugh’s Creek.

More woods.

It might not just be the fact that it is May. A lot of my favorite trails follow a creek. If you enjoy that as well, I recommend Ford Canyon, Adams Canyon, Stairs Gulch, Farmington Creek, or Deuel Creek. Just a few off the top of my head.

Old pipeline.

More wildflowers, Annual Honesties, they are pretty, and all over this trail.

More of the woods.

Amazing green hillsides!

I think this is Mount Olympus.

More flowers.

Holy crap look at the size of this wasp nest! it took me a minute to figure out what the heck I was looking at. I think this is the biggest one I have ever seen.

Neat little cave. It looked steep, and the bottom appeared to be full of water, so I did not decide to climb in and check it out.

More beautiful green hillsides.

The creek again.

Spring coming up in the middle of the trail.

Another shot of Mount Olympus. I don’t think we can see the peak from here, but definitely looking towards it. Then again, I think we are technically ON Mount Olympus.

With the trail through the woods.

Super green and lush!

I particularly like this shot of the pretty purple flowers.

Another peak.

Some parts are just lined with them.

The creek splitting around a small island.

More fun forest shots.

Purple flowers and Mount Olympus.

The first creek crossing is a couple of logs. It’s pretty sturdy, and the creek isn’t anything to worry about even if it wasn’t.

The creek.

Green forest again.

With beautiful purple flowers.

Wild snapdragons.

Forests and peaks. I think that is Mount Olympus on the left. This part of the trail reminds me of Bell Canyon.

The second crossing is a lot more stable. This is a good indicator that you are almost there, however now the trail is about to get pretty steep and tough.

Steep and rocky.

Mount Olympus on the left.

Fun chutes above, with the first view of the waterfall.

We just have to figure out how to get across this boulder field/landslide. We kind of went back and forth, looking for the best way across, and nothing looked good. I mean, it just looks like one wrong step could possibly send the whole thing crashing down. However after a while, we found a way across. It is traversable, but you know, do so at your own risk.

Better shot of the falls.

Traversing the boulders.

After crossing the boulder field, you have to shimmy along the cliff wall to get to the falls. There are some logs and rocks to step on, but uh, just accept the fact that your feet are gonna get wet.

WOW! This is a great waterfall!

Like the last waterfall we visited, Upper Falls, you can only see the lower tier from the base, but it is still great!

The base of the falls.

With peaks above.

Old shaft near the base of the falls. I wonder if this had to do with the pipeline.

It looks like at one point there was a wall diverting water to the shaft, that has been removed and a wall covering the shaft went up. Not sure if that is what actually happened, but it would seem that is the case.

Me for scale. Looks to be about 30 feet high.

Looking up.

Last parting shot of the waterfall.

Back through the narrow area.

And the boulder field again.

A view down the canyon into the SL valley.

Peaks and the falls.

Wallflower.

I think this is Mallow Ninebark.

The 2nd bridge again.

Not too far below the bridge we found this old looking structure.

Lovely cascades.

The creek and the woods.

Wildflower lined trail.

Finally one of the pretty swallowtail butterfly's stayed still for a minute.

Cliff sides along Olympus.

The lower bridge.

The creek.

Forest and mountains.

More flowers.

Much better shots of a swallowtail.

Amongst the flowers.

Little window in the cliffs above.

Green hills.

Green forest.

More green hillsides.

Another shot of the creek.

And one more of the cave.

Pretty spider, blends in with the rocks pretty well. Cell Phone pic, camera died.

View of the valley below. Cell phone pic.

And back to the trailhead. Cell phone pic.

Well, that was an incredible hike! It had just about everything I really enjoy, woods, wildflowers, butterfly's, cliffs, caves, a creek to follow, and a fantastic waterfall to enjoy at the end. The boulder field made me super nervous, but we made it across with no issues, and I didn’t mind my feet getting wet to see this great waterfall. Lastly, other than the group of trail workers we only ran across a few other couples along the trail. So, it is not too populated, definitely better than what I could see as we passed the Mount Olympus trail! Wow, that is one popular trail!

Going with a perfect 10 squirrels out of 10.

As for difficulty, well, for the most part it didn’t seem so bad. That last steep section and the boulder field were pretty intense though. Going with a DR4.

Dogs are allowed! Baggies are not offered, so be sure to bring some with you. And remember to pack them out with you!