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View from Dry Creek Overlook at the tip of Flanders Point.
Quick Details:
Length: 1.26 mile balloon. There are also shorter options by accessing it from alternate trailheads including from Flanders Road.
Trail Type: Balloon with shorter loop option from alternate TH.
Difficulty: DR3. It’s pretty easy going.
Elevation Gain: About 100 ft.
Restroom: Yes, closed in winters. Alternate option is the nearby Smiths.
Dogs? Yes. Leash laws strictly enforced.
Other Info: Access from the Wrangler Trailhead from 13th east.
To Get Here:
Take 106th South to 13th east, Go south for about 1200 feet then turn right*. Go another 300 feet and you will see the Wrangler TH on the right.
*if you pass Smiths on 13th east, you went to far, but go ahead and turn into their parking lot and head south it’ll get there too.
The Trail:
You will head east from the trail head, not south next to the kiosk. This will be on the North Rim Trail, AKA the Dimple Dell Trail. Which we actually just did last month.
They are in the process of relining the trail with the wood ships, so there are a bunch of big piles of it.
Fantastic view of Mount Jordan.
Sign post so you know you are on the right trail.
Nice wide path.
This first trail split is not signed, but it is not what you want. This is the Sego Lily Trail.
Mount Jordan again.
The trail again.
The pups are having a great time exploring.
Looking south towards The Point Of The Mountain. I think I can recognize the peak that Alien Tower is located on.
The second split, at about 3/10ths of a mile is what you are looking for. As you can see, it is signed, and there is also a kiosk here.
Not much information at the kiosk, other than a map.
Nice view of the mountains as we work our way out along the loop.
I mentioned this was an interpretive trail, so there are some informative signs. The one talks about the sand dunes created by wind blowing sand along the shores of ancient Lake Bonneville. You know, I never really thought about why the city of Sandy was named so, but, now I wonder if this is why. Perusing Wikipedia, looks like the favored theory is the sandy, “thirsty” soil. So, yea kind of.
Somewhat of a dune.
Kennecott out west.
Looking across the gully.
Bitter Brush. I didn’t notice a nearby plant that appeared to match, there probably was one though.
Gambel Oak.
Looking across the point towards Little Cottonwood Canyon, Bell Canyon, and Dry Canyons.
Down into the gully again.
Fragrant Sumac.
Native American Campsites are found throughout the area. They don’t tell you exactly where, which is probably for the best.
Great view down into the gully.
Talking about some bad fires here.
I don’t see really any signs of a scar, so it may have been long enough to mostly have regrown.
Looking west down the gully.
Enjoying the snowy mountains.
Quick panoramic. Big Cottonwood Canyon, Twin Peaks, Little Cottonwood Canyon and Mount Jordan (lone peak at the top).
At the tip of Flanders Point there is a nice bench to enjoy the Dry Creek Overlook.
Overlook sign. It talks about some birds you might see here. Robins, hummingbirds and orioles.
It is a pretty excellent viewpoint!
Panoramic from here. Lets see. Little Cottonwood Canyon, Bell Canyon, Dry Gulch, Rocky Mouth Canyon, Big Willow Canyon, Little Willow Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Corner Canyon. All of the little canyons on Mount Jordan.
Back on the wide trail.
Native wildflowers of the area.
Mount Jordan again.
There is cryptobiotic crust here? Here? I knew it existed in more desert like areas like Arches, and Kodachrome State Park and such, but wow. That is neat to learn we have it here.
Possible example. Hard to tell for sure.
Where Dimple Dell Gully swings to the north.
One can never take too many panoramas.
Sign discussing where dry Creek originates.
A view of the pioneer log slide the sign above pointed out. I have climbed all over that mountain and never head of that before.
View of the trail that was a historical pioneer irrigation ditch.
Nice view from here as well.
Moody clouds to the west.
Fragrant sumac.
More on the log slide. Early settlers would cut trees in the mountains and drag them down to what was known as the 'Old Pioneer Log Slide' where they would slide down to be cut and processed.
Sego Lily Overlook. They explain that there is often a large bloom of sego lilies near here. I like sego lilies, so I might have to come back by in the summer and hope to see this impressive display. Sego lilies are the state flower, and I have seen them along the benches, including the Bonneville Shoreline Trail near Tunnel Springs.
Also a great view point.
The Wasatch fault line.
Comparative view.
View across the flats to the west.
This sign covers how important the natural area is to all of us, and that we should strive to keep it the way it is. Which is oddly at odds with what I learned from the cities plans for the area last time we came though the area. The city is still considering continuing Highland Drive across the gully.
Almost back to the North Rim Trail.
Flanders point Trail sign claims to show how the area looked as the pioneers saw it.
The east end of the loop.
Wow! The woodchip refreshing project has made significant progress since the least time we were here. I mean, it’s been over a month, but they were clear at the far northeast end!
I don’t know for sure but those kind of look like mammatus clouds.
Seeing some rain out west. I was considering another trail out that way so I am glad we ended up here.
We reached were they left off on the wood chips. I wonder why they bother with this. I know the canyon is popular with equestrians, so perhaps it is better for the horses?
This one talks about the grasses that grow here.
This certainly solves the mystery of why there was one random interpretive sign along the North Rim Trail, because this part of it is part of the Flanders Loop.
Looking across the point.
You can access the loop from Flanders Rd. It will shave off about 6/10ths of a mile, but I don’t know what the parking situation is there.
Oh there are 2 signs on the North Rim Trail. I must have missed the 2nd one last time. This one talks about how weeds introduced by man choke out the natural vegetation.
The mammatus clouds again.
Back down to the west end of the loop. Just 3/10ths of a mile to go.
The mammatus clouds again. Really fascinated by these.
Rain over the Kennecott mine.
Glad to see the locals caring about the wonderful area just beyond their back yards. No one wants paved trails in this park, no one. I really hope they keep it the way it is.
Swirling storm clouds with some more (what I think might be) mammatus clouds.
Back down to the trailhead. we made it just as the first couple of raindrops were felt, so perfect timing.
I like how they recycled old tires to designate the parking stalls.
As we headed home I noticed a layer of fog settling into the valley (PSP).
That was a great shorter option. I also enjoyed the interpretive signs which helped me to learn a little bit more about the area. It was pretty quiet today, only ran into a few people, however that could be due to the weather. The viewpoints were spectacular as well! Going with 9 out of 10 squirrels.
As for difficulty, it’s a nice wide woodchip lined trail. Some mild ups and downs but overall pretty easy going. DR3.
Dogs are allowed. They are really serious about the leash laws, so keep your pup leashed! And as always, please clean up after your furry friends.
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