Stairs Gulch–Fall

Stairs gulch in Big Cottonwood Canyon is a great trail the follows a stream as it cascades down steps along a gulch eventually leading to a nice little waterfall. It was a little tougher than I remembered it being, but it was still a nice fall hike.

Quick Details:

Length: 2.5 miles out and back but we only did 1.2 miles out and back.
Difficulty: DR4 a lot of UP.
Elevation Gain: 1161 feet we did about 700.
Restroom: No. There might be one in the Storm Mountain Picnic Area but that has a day use fee. Next one I am aware of is at Mill B about 2 miles up canyon.
Dogs? No. Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Head up Big Cottonwood Canyon about 2.8 miles. Across from the Storm Mountain Picnic area is a small 4-5 car parking lot. If it is full you will need to drive up a little higher and park at the Storm Mountain quartzite mound just before the road goes through the mountain.

Fall colors near the mouth of the canyon (DBP). This also kind of shows just how much traffic was in the canyon today, I swear half the valley is up here. But I mean, they just had the same idea we did.

Storm Mountain.

More color, and lots of cars and people. The quartzite mound was a popular spot today!

It is a very short walk back down to the trailhead from here.

More color in the picnic area.

Pretty color.

The Trail:

And here is the trailhead. It is not signed.

But just a couple feet in you will see this large rockslide so that should tell you that you are on the right path.

Already seeing some nice color.

Colorful hillside.

Storm Mountain through the trees.

Warning sign for explosives. Keep an eye out for them.

More color.

A couple little windows.

Some more great color.

There are a few side trails out to different little waterfalls. This one is nice.

The trail is quite a bit more overgrown than I remember. But last time we were here was during an unusually dry winter.

Looking back down towards Big Cottonwood Canyon.

More color.

The creek.

With the peaks above.

Twin waterfall.

Some nice color.

Another nice waterfall.

More color.

Looking down canyon again.

Another little waterfall.

Great color.

The second creek crossing.

Not sure if I am still looking at Storm Mountain or another peak at this point.

Little hanging waterfall.

The creak cascading down next to a granite wall.

Closer look at one of the falls.

Looking back down. You can see Mule Hollow from here.

More pretty color.

The trail is getting a little steep and slick.

The tallest waterfall we saw today.

Narrow gorge below.

The texture of the rocks is neat.

Looking down again.

The trail got a little too thin and steep for my liking. So we called it a day and turned around.

The waterfall from below.

With a peak.

Peaks and color.

Mule Hollow again. Starting to see some blue skies.

The color in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Some flowers.

Crossing the creek. It is super clear.

Color.

A little bit of sunlight on the color.

Mid change.

Looking out across the canyon again.

Mule Hollow.

More color.

More color.

Some rock climbers on Challenge Buttress, a popular rock climbing wall.

We found another side trail down and it led to this nice waterfall.

Looking down canyon again.

More color.

The windows again. The bigger one on the right looks like it could open up more at any time.

Colors and peaks.

Pretty leaves.

Tri-tree.

Back down to the rock slide.

The pretty color in the Storm Mountain Picnic Area.

Storm Mountain.

After that we decided to drive up the canyon and explore the color.

Some pretty aspens (DBP).

Color above Mill D. Trail heads for Donut Falls and Dog Lake can be found here.

Aspens near the top (DBP).

Snow on Mount Millicent.

We decided to do a quick jaunt around Silver Lake. I’ll keep it short.

Quite a bit of snow up here. Brr!

Heading back down (DBP).

Lots of color, and lots of traffic (DBP).

The S curve near Mill B (DBP). Trails for Lake Blanch, Hidden Falls and Mill B North can be found here.

And color near the mouth of the canyon (DBP).

The section we did is great, and I bet the section beyond is as well. Maybe one day I will muster up the courage to get past that spot, but I did enjoy what we explored today. The part we did today is pretty family friendly, beyond though probably not so much. With how crowded the canyon was today we only ran into one group. Most people seemed content with hitting the roadside attractions. But hey, that means more nature for us! Removing 1 squirrel for steepness. Finalizing on 9 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, this one was steep, thin in a lot of places, rocky and loose gravel. Going with a DR4.

Dogs are not allowed. Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed.