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The Little Cottonwood Trail goes from the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon all the way up to Tanners Flat Campground. It features amazing granite cliffs, a pretty forest and a creek. I generally save this one to enjoy the fall color, but we wanted something a little on the easier side today and well, this is what I came up with. It is one of my general go-to trails when we want a little easier, so we do it fairly often.
Quick Details:
Length: We did about 3 miles out and back, but it does keep going.
Trail Type: Out and back, connector.
Difficulty: DR3. It is a bit of a climb.
Elevation Gain: We did About 560 feet.
Restroom: There is a vault toilet in the parking lot. If you prefer a flush toilet I can recommend the Bell Canyon Preservation trailhead just a bit to the southwest.
Dogs? No. Little Cottonwood Canyon is protected watershed.
Other Info:
To Get Here:
Using 90th turning into South Little Cottonwood Road, follow it to just below where the roads merge at the mouth of the canyon. The trailhead will be on the right. Or, coming from the north, take Wasatch until it becomes North Little Cottonwood Road. Hang a right onto south Little Cottonwood Road at the mouth of the canyon, then immediately left into the trailhead parking lot.
We have some dark clouds looming overhead (passenger Seat Photography (PSP)). The forecast calls for scattered storms, which contributed to me choosing this trail. I knew it wouldn’t be too bad to run back to car if it came down to it. Luckily it did not.
The mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (PSP).
A little bit of fall color above the Bell Canyon Granite Trailhead (PSP).
The Trail:
Trailhead Kiosk.
Heading up the trail.
Granite Cliffs to the south. Towards the end of winter this is a good spot to look for mountain goats.
Old power plant.
It is about that time of year where the sunflowers take over.
The creepy LD$ vault. I managed to capture the top of one of the portals.
Another sunflower.
Some other yellow flowers.
A pair of sunflowers.
And another.
Continuing up.
Mushroom.
Cliffs to the south.
Random boulders on a larger boulder. Obviously someone put these there, but man, that had to be a bit of effort!
Yellow flowers.
Bee on a sunflower.
Another sunflower.
More.
The creek is dry down here.
Cliff walls to the north.
Old equipment that was left behind years and years ago.
More sunflowers.
Closer.
Even closer.
Cliffs to the south.
More sunflowers.
Passing through a cabin neighborhood. Here you want the left fork. There is a small sign directing you that way saying Trail ←.
Lots of sunflowers lining the road.
2nd split, you want to go right here. There is another small sign saying Trail →.
Cliffs to the south again.
More sunflowers below the power plant.
I don’t know what this is, but it looks old and fun.
Well now there is water in the creek! I guess it is diverted somewhere else below here.
The gate next to the power plant.
After the plant the trail get more thick and lush.
A little bit of water in the creek.
Cliffs.
Daisy like flowers.
Pipeline.
This section had some severe water damage after the epic 2022-23 winter run off. It looks like it has been filled in nicely.
You can still see some of it off to the side though.
Forest.
The creek.
The lower bridge.
Upstream Little Cottonwood Creek.
Downstream. Its so crazy seeing it this low. this bridge kind of makes me nervous during runoff when the creek is raging.
Someone made a rock stack.
Clear water.
After the bridge the trail gets a little more steep, and a little more rocky.
Some chopped up logs.
Looks like it broke off up there. It was probably blocking the trail so they chopped it up.
Continuing up.
They tried really, REALLY hard to quarry this rock!
So, to explain: They would put a drill bit into the granite stones, and hit it with a sledge hammer several times until the rock split into smaller blocks. They used those blocks to build buildings like the Salt Lake Temple, the Muir Poulsen Home, and other buildings. You can learn more about that at the Temple Quarry Trail located in the same parking lot at the trailhead at the bottom of this trail.
My nerdy brain retaining information like that was useful to the couple who came along and asked if I knew why there were all of those hole in the rock haha. Hooray, I’m useful!
The creek again.
Itty bitty waterfalls.
Continuing up.
Cliffs to the north.
Goldenrod.
Pretty forest.
Moon Rock.
They tried to quarry this one too, but gave up sooner.
Forest.
Fun moss.
Another large boulder.
Little trail split. The main trail is left, the little trail to the right connects back to it after 100 feet or so. We went right today.
Oh, they have opened up the revegetation area.
There used to be an old, old pavilion here. Sadly, it became a spot for the local ruffians to hangout and vandalize, so they tore it down. Then they closed the area for revegetation for a while, so it’s nice to see it open again. It looks like a big patch of thimbleberries has taken over.
I used to come up and hang out in the pavilion with my friends too back when we were teens, but we never vandalized it. We were definitely trouble makers, but we didn’t vandalize natural areas.
Here is what the now gone pavilion looked like in 2016.
Where the pavilion was again.
Big boulder scree field. The assholes used to tag these as well. As sad as I am to see the pavilion go, it being gone, and the closure seems to have reigned in the vandalism.
You can see through this tree. I am not sure, but I am guessing lightning damage?
Some bamboo like plants.
Another small clearing.
Another moss covered rock.
The pipeline.
Forest. I think it was about here that we hit a mile and a half and decided to call it for the day. We were wanting something a little shorter and easier today so this was good.
More thimbleberry leaves. They look like tree stars.
Heading down.
The bamboo looking plant. Google is suggesting it is rough horsetail.
Little side stream.
The Pipe as we used to call it. It is where the pipeline crosses over the creek.
Cute little twin falls by Moon Rock.
Upstream a bit, the creek fans out along this granite slab into the channels that make the little twin falls.
Moon Rock again.
Continuing down.
Goldenrods.
More trail.
The creek.
The boulder they couldn’t quarry. I wonder if there are any of this size that they did manage to quarry. I know of a couple along the Bell Canyon Trail that might come close, but they were not flat topped like this one would have been if they had managed to split it.
Down to the lower bridge.
Pretty yellow flowers.
No swimming sign. It uh.. seems to be facing the wrong way.
The bridge.
Downstream.
The rock stack again.
Upstream.
I was hoping this viewpoint would let us see some of the small waterfalls, but it didn’t. I was not in the mood for the scramble that would have today.
The creek.
Pretty flowers.
Closer.
The waterfalls I was hoping to see. They were hard to see through the foliage here.
Continuing down.
Boulders.
Elderberries.
I love this neat metal moose statue in one of the private cabins yards.
Continuing down.
Daisy like flowers.
The pipeline.
Bee on a sunflower.
Down to the power plant.
Old valves.
The holding pools.
Sunflower.
Lots of them.
A new cabin being built. I wondered what construction company would be working on a Sunday… during a holiday weekend no less. Landis suggested maybe the owners are doing it themselves… ah. yeah. that makes sense.
Bunny!
Super cute. It’s been a minute since we have had a wild bunny sighting!
Munching on the grass.
Little closer. These shots have been cropped, we are not as close as it seems, but we still got closer than most rabbits let us. They usually bolt at the fist sign of us.
From the other side. Still munching.
Lots of sunflowers.
Back into the woods.
View down.
It looks like the bikers have been using the rock as a natural jump.
.Moody clouds.
We took one of the many little side trails down to the creek. This one crosses over the pipeline.
The creek.. bed.
Back on the main trail, with the old equipment again.
Sunflower.
Cliffs to the south.
Cliffs to the north.
Continuing along.
Sunflower.
With the trail.
I love the cliffs along this trail.
Cliffs.
Split rock.
Back to the parking lot.
Cliffs again.
It is about that time when the sunflowers start lining the roads (PSP).
Kennecott (PSP).
Moody clouds (PSP).
Interesting clouds (PSP).
Well, that was a good, fun, chill adventure. I like this trail for days that we just want something that is a little bit easier. I love the granite cliffs soaring above. I love the creek, even when it is just a trickle. It wasn’t very busy either. 8 out of 10 squirrels today.
As for difficulty, it is pretty easy, with just a mild climb. DR3.
Dogs are not allowed due to protected watershed restrictions. Be sure to leave Fido home.
