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Quick Details:
Length: About 3.2 out and back
Trail Type:Out and Back.
Difficulty: DR3. There was some climbing but not too bad.
Elevation Gain: Probably about 350 to 400 feet. I did some extra exploring today so I did a bit more climbing.
Restroom: I am sure there is one at Tunnel Springs Park.
Dogs? Yes, leashed.
To Get Here:
To get here: Take HW89 in North Salt Lake to Eagle Ridge Dr. Head east up the mountains and continue forward through the roundabout. About .8 miles later turn right on Parkway dr. Parkway winds right then back left for about .9 miles. After which you will turn right on Eagle Point Dr. 100 more feet and you will see the park with a parking lot. Address is 1080 Eagle Point Dr. If you want you can drive another 100 feet or so on gravel to a back parking lot.
The Trail:
The foothills are still super green and lush right now.
Stansbury and Antelope Islands.
I am still not 100% sure where the spring of Tunnel Springs is, but this might be it.
Not far from the parking lot you will come to this little gate. I believe the fence is the county line and we will cross into Salt Lake County here.
Sign about the preserve here. It’s nice to know that this section will never be developed. Although I can’t help but know that there is a mining operation directly below here so, it’s probably not really desirable land, but still it’s nice to have.
The trail is nice and wide.
Looking out towards the point of the mountain. This is a lovely wide bench.
Beautiful green hills.
Little canyon. We explored a little bit up there last time we were out here.
Another info sign, this one about the birds of the Great Salt Lake. I am pretty sure these signs are new.
Another set of small canyons.
Here the trail becomes a double track. I think this entire section of the BST was an old dirt road at some point.
Wild snapdragons.
Antelope Island. Now that we have done some of the higher points on it, it is kind of fun to look for them.
We haven’t done Frary Peak (highest on the island) but The Sentry, Dooley Knob, and Beacon Knob.
Quick panoramic.
Now, the climbing starts, it was pretty flat up until now. But, it’s not too bad.
Okay, this post is going to have a lot of wildflower pictures. The wet spring has really made them just explode! I am not sure what these are but think they are a type a vetch.
They are growing in spades through here.
Some paintbrush.
More climbing.
Becks Spring below. This is a natural warm spring, and a very long time ago a resort of sorts was built here. Now i15 crosses right through it.
More vetch.
The mine below.
Looking back north. You can see all the way to Ben Lomond in Ogden.
The radio tower above.
A lower sub peak I decided to explore today and downtown SLC next to it.
Short little ~20 foot off shoot takes you to this little overlook.
You can see part of downtown SLC from here.
Panoramic from here.
Hills above. Hard to capture in a photo but I love the way it looks when the winds blow the grasses around.
Weird looking tree.
Closer look at the flowers.
The flowering branches.
Little peak I made it to.
More radio towers.
A couple of crows.
I was on the hunt for a random Easter egg, so I followed this trail to the right up to a short peak.
Which honestly isn’t too bad. This will add about a quarter mile out and back.
More wildflowers.
Nearing the top.
The top. This is a super easy random peak to do. At just about a mile. From what I can tell it is not named.
It offers a pretty great view of downtown though. We have made it to this peak before but, like I said I was looking for an Easter egg.
Looking across the Salt Lake Valley towards Utah County. I love the strait lines of roads.
Today I decided to continue down to the lower peak. The ridge was wide enough it wasn’t so bad.
Lower peak.
The actual peak. This one had some steeper drop-offs so I was not doing the best here, but, I made it.
The lower peak has a USGS marker on it. I don’t know what that means really, but hey, it’s there.
I mustered up the courage to look over the edge. Meep!
An even better view of downtown from here.
View west from the lower peak.
Panoramic from here.
Well, the Easter egg I was after is somewhere down there. That is a little bit much more than I am comfortable with. If you are more mountain goat than I am, there is a small arch down there, called Industrial Arch. I imagine die to being above the industrial area here.
Downtown and the mountains above.
Relaxing on the lower peak.
Well, that was fun but I decided to head back up to the upper peak.
Pretty flowers.
Antelope Island again.
The Kenecott smoke stack. Tallest building west of the Mississippi. You can see this better from Lee Creek.
Downtown again.
Looking across the valley.
A beautiful sego lily. Utah’s state flower.
The upper peak again. If there is a USGS marker on it, I didn’t see it.
I think this is a flax flower.
Looking back at the peak I just came down from.
More side canyons.
What is this?
It looks like and old spillway. But, uh.. there are absolutely no significant water sources around here? I really don’t understand what this is doing here.
I know the early settlers were really industrialist with moving water to areas they wanted them, see, Mossy Cave, but I still don’t get it.
It gets a little more over grown the further you go.
The random side excursion did allow me to get a much better picture of the flax.
It just ends at this canyon. Alright then.
Radio towers above.
View down canyon.
Raptor hunting up above. Kicking myself for not bringing the telephoto lens today!
Heading back up the old random spillway.
Near the top.
That added maybe another quarter mile at most.
I decided to continue on to the ridge.
The spillway I was just in.
Yet another trail split. It looks like the main road went left, and a shortcut has been created right. It’s a little steep, but right is the more direct route.
But oh boy is it steep!
Eventually it reconnects to the old dirt road again.
Looking back down towards the un-named peak, and lower peak I climbed earlier.
Almost to the saddle.
Huge white wildflower.
Getting close to the westernmost radio towers.
Gate signifying I am entering Salt Lake City.
Oh neat! There is a car wreck below. I always find these fascinating. Something about, well, that doesn’t belong there! If you like these as much as I do, some other trails that have one or more are Farmington Canyon, Middle Canyon, and Ghost Falls.
Almost to the saddle.
The car again.
Getting close to the radio tower.
The lower peak I climbed earlier.
4 way split at the saddle. Right goes to the radio towers. left goes to more towers, and what appears to be Meridian Peak which appears to be another… 7-8/10’s of a mile. Forward will continue along the BST. You can also take this another ~2 ish miles to Ensign Peak.
Speaking of Ensign Peak, this is a rather different view of it than I am used to!
A little closer. You can see the monument on top, and if you look really close you can see the large crowd of people around it too.
With more of the city.
Panoramic.
Another look at Ensign Peak.
The peak I climbed earlier with Antelope Island in the background.
The radio towers. I thought about climbing up there but I can see the no trespassing signs from here. I probably would have been alright if I stayed outside the fence, but eh.
Red tailed hawk soaring above. Kicking myself for not bringing the telephoto lens today. Oi.
Well, that was fun but I decided to head on back.
The steep descent.
The wrecked car again.
Stansbury Island.
Another flax.
Oi. Down into a canyon and up to another saddle.
I swear the paintbrush has been the most vibrant red this spring.
Back to the old spillway.
Finished the down, now I have the up!
Rolling green hills.
The little peak again.
Some pretty yellow flowers.
Becks Springs below again.
Wildflowers in the grass.
A crow flying above.
Looking across the point towards the trailhead.
More wildflowers. Wow, right now, this trail is starting to be almost as amazing as the Albion Meadows trail. Which I imagine will be absolutely phenomenal this year.
Striped hillsides. I am still wondering what caused this.
The lower trail.
More vetch.
Kind of on a whim I decided to take this split out to the lower trail. I was still hoping to find this arch, and I still had some energy so I figured what the hell.
It is a bit thinner, but still strong.
Another sego lily. They sure are pretty flowers.
So far this lower trail is just great.
More wildflowers.
Super thin trail through the grass.
Rock formation above. neat, but not what I am looking for.
The lower peak I did earlier.
Well, I successfully located Industrial Arch! Wewt! But the trail started to get a little thin on a steeper incline, and since I was alone today, I opted to call it here. I definitely wanted to get closer, but will do so when I have my regular hiking buddy with me.
A little closer. Again, wishing I had brought the telephoto lens.
Downtown Salt Lake again.
Heading back.
The pretty yellow flowers again.
Another sego lily. I don’t think I have ever seen so many of these on one trail before! But then again, I am typically seeking higher elevation this time of year. This wet spring has allowed us to explore some more lower elevation adventures a littler later than normal.
More paintbrush.
Ragged tree.
I don’t know what these are but they are pretty.
Striped hills again.
Back to the main trail.
Wild snapdragon.
I don’t know exactly what these are but they are neat.
Pretty side canyon.
Striped hillside.
Looking out towards the point.
Back to the fence line.
Again, looking for the spring I ventured into the reeds. No spring.
Another red tailed hawk hunting. Again, really kicking myself for not bringing my telephoto lens today!
The trail near the parking lot.
I had a lot of fun exploring the area. I found my stupid easter egg, but didn’t get as close as I would have wanted. But it was neat to see. Plus the red tailed hawk sightings were neat. This trail was about the perfect mount of people. Just enough to not feel absolutely isolated. but not so much that it felt crowded. 8 out of 10 squirrels!
As for difficulty, the main trail was easy enough with one spot that was a freaking climb. Going with DR3.
Dogs are allowed, but must be leashed. Please clean up after your furry friends.
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