Random Rambler: Big Cottonwood Reginal Park

Big Cottonwood Regional Park is a large park in Millcreek. It features a small pond, nice mountain views and a nice little trail that meanders through some nice woods, and a big field. One of the special things about this park is there is a small community of local foxes, and you have a pretty good chance of seeing one.

I should also mention there are 4 Big Cottonwood Regional Parks. This one, which I consider the main one, but appears to have been given the subname of Holladay Lions Area. It is located at 4650 S 1950 E. There is also Big Cottonwood Regional Park - Creekside Park, Big Cottonwood Regional Park - Big Cottonwood Area, and Big Cottonwood Regional Park - Hillview Area (which as far as I can tell, is not accessible to the public). They are all near each other, but just be careful to not get lost, as we did the first time we tried haha. In viewing the master plan, it looks like the plan is to connect all 4 areas with a dedicated path to make 1 big park, which I guess explains why they all have the same name.

We’ve been here before but I like this one a lot so naturally I thought it was worth visiting again.

Quick Details:

Length: The main loop is about 1.25 miles. There are shorter and longer options. With some additional exploring we did about 1.64 miles.
Trail Type: Loop
Difficulty: DR3 it’s pretty flat and like paved most of the way.
Elevation Gain: About 20 feet.
Restroom: Yes! But I am not sure if it is open in winter.
Dogs? Yes, but they should remain leashed at all times. Also, be aware a lot of people think that rule doesn't apply to them.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Take i15 to 4500 so. Head east to 13th east go right. Go about 6/10s of a mile and turn left on Murray Holliday Blvd. You can turn a little earlier, but it requires another left turn. Anyway, go about 4/10ths of a mile and turn left on 1590 east. You can go about .15 of a mile and park by the restroom, or go to the end of 1590 east.

The Trail:

We parked by the playground are and took the loop to the right going counter clockwise today.

Still a little fall color to enjoy.

Fantastic view of Mount Olympus above the wetland.

The little pond.

More color.

Lovely forested section.

Then it opens up a bit.

Mountains again.

More woods.

One of the options to do a shorter loop if you want, otherwise keep right.

More forest.

Interesting color.

Another shorter loop option, otherwise keep right.

Cute artistic sign about cleaning up after your dogs.

Success! A fox!

Do not feed the foxes.

More information about not feeding the foxes. Basically it unnaturally increases their population, which makes them a nuisance and it also ultimately hurts them by making them reliant on the food and hurting their natural ability to fend for themselves.

And the final reason to not feed them. People are leaving food that the horses on this farm are finding and eating and it is making them sick and can kill them. This has led the farm owners to feel like they need to build a fence, and they have. So far, it sounds like they plan to leave this one spot open. However I suspect if the problem persists, they will close the fence in completely, removing this amazing opportunity for all of us. So please, please, do not feed the foxes!!

Man they are quick!

But he stopped to look at me for a second.

Fun clouds.

The new fence. :( This was another great spot to see the foxes, I am super sad it is blocked now. I get it, it is their property and they have the right to protect it, but it just sucks that a few perhaps well meaning, but ultimately asshole people ruined it for the rest of us.

From here the trail becomes kind of a desire path around the field.

Somewhat of a sunset with some sun rays.

Last light on the mountains.

Ponies on the farm next door.

More sunset.

Now we are walking around this big field with a little wetland in the middle.

From the north end.

More sunset.

Mount Olympus again.

Panoramic.

Mountains again.

Another panoramic.

The thin desire path we are following around the field.

Back to the main trail.

Back to the woods.

Right will get you back to the parking lot making a 1.25ish loop. But I wanted to see the foxes again so we went left.

More woods.

View of the mountains again.

The fox viewing area they have left open with the new fencing on either side. I really hope this stays open like this for some time.

Hello cutey!

Little blurry, but here is another one.

I decided to take the south middle route back.

They are working on restoring the riparian area of the park. It looks like they plan to expand the pond, which I think would be nice.

I love this whimsical little message about cleaning up after your dogs. There is a similar one at Crestwood Park.

"When walking your dogs around the park or the hood
Remember to do something that we all think is good

Stop and take a moment to pick up your dog's poo
Because no one likes it when it's stuck to their shoe!!!"

The little pond again.

With the mountains.

We both initially thought this looked like a really sad and boring playground. But I guessed, and am backing that guess up with the marks on the poles, that there are additional components that have been removed for winter.

More color.

We noticed this pathway we hadn’t noticed before, so we decided to check it out.

More forest.

I was hoping it led to another pond or something, but no. Looking at the map it just appears to be another loop.

More forest.

Last bit of sunset.

I really like this park! It is pretty scenic, and well, seeing wildlife is always a treat! It’s not too busy, but unfortunately, despite numerous signs, there are quite a few entitled jerks who let their dogs off leash. So that is a bit annoying. Going to take a squirrel due to that. 9 out of 10 squirrels.