Lower Bell Reservoir And One Of The Bell Bottom Twins Via Boulders Trail

Lower Bell Reservoir is a fairly easy to reach reservoir that, in my opinion, is probably one of the most scenic. There are a pair of twin peaks on the west end of it that, as far as I can tell are unnamed. I have always referred to them as The Butt, or Bells Butt cause from below, they well, look like a butt. I suppose I can be less crass and refer to them as the Bell Bottom Twins (they are at the bottom of Bell Canyon, and it still retains 12 year old me’s original butt idea, win win). Every time we have come up here I thought about climbing one or both, and well, just never had. Today, that was the goal. I found an easy way to reach the top of the north twin today, we tried to find a way up the south one, but were unsuccessful. I might try again when there is less snow. Avalanche conditions are still not good but I really wanted to get up in the mountains since it’s been a minute. I figured as long as we stayed to the lower reservoir this would be a good option.



The lower reservoir.



Me on the north twin.

Quick Details:

Length: With the trail reroute (more on that below) the boulders trail is now about 6/10th’s of a mile to the lower reservoir and an additional 1/10th of a mile to the north twin.
Trail Type: Out and back, balloon and loop options.
Difficulty: DR4 rocky sections, and long sections of climbing
Elevation Gain: About 500 ft.
Restroom: Not at this TH. There is one at the nearby Granite Trailhead which will also get you here, but it just a smidge longer.
Dogs? No. Bell Canyon is watershed.

To Get Here:

From Wasatch BLVD and 9400 South, go south on Wasatch for about 2/10 of a mile. The parking lot is on the left, and you will have to do a U-turn just a smidge beyond it due to the median. If parking is full, consider the Granite Trailhead, or there is overflow parking between both trails as well.

The Trail:

My original plan was to hike up from the Granite Trailhead, as that one while slightly longer, is a little easier. Anyway, the parking lot was full so we decided to go to the Boulders trailhead instead.



The parking lot at the Boulders Trailhead. It was nearly full, but we found a couple spots at the far end here.



Trailhead signs.



The trail starts with these stairs.



Then you will follow this trail sandwiched between some private property. please obey the numerous signs asking you to stay on trail.



The trail will take us up right between the twin peaks. You can see these pretty well from the nearby Dimple Dell North Rim Trail.



Then comes.. the staircase of DOOM. Oi. Quite the climb.



Starting to hit some snow.



The staircase of DOOM goes on… and on….



Starting to get a good view into Dimple Dell Canyon.



I think that is Sunset Point.



Stairs of DOOM, I swear they just keep going!



Nice view across the valley.



Well, here is the first sign that they have done some work on this trail. It now goes around this old pit.



Quick panoramic. A little gloomy today.



Super muddy section. This was the worst of it.



Here we can see some more trail work someone has done here. I checked the usual suspects, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, and Sandy City, even Lone Peak Wilderness, but I was not successful in locating who did this. Either way, it is an amazing improvement.



Oh wow, I didn’t know the granite quarrying extended out to this trail as well! These are drill marks from when the were splitting the granite stones building the Salt Lake Temple. There are more signs of this on the Granite Trailhead, and even more, as well as some great interpretive signs located on the nearby Temple Quarry Trail.



The bridge over Dry Creek.



Ok. This is whimsical and wonderful in December. But it’s mid February, at this point its just litter. If you decided to do random trail side Christmas decorating, be sure to come back and collect it all back up.



Dry Creek.



Fun ice formations.





On to the new switchbacks! Oh my gosh these are sooooo much better!



Here is where the original trail connected to here. Protip: If you see a bunch of branches crossing over an old or faint trail, it generally means the rangers are trying to dissuade people from using it.



Here is where I screwed up. The trail to the right is the old trail, the trail to the left are the new switchbacks. It looked like it went on longer than it should have, and I know they have been working on extending the Bonneville Shoreline Trail out this way (last I saw they have left off at Rocky Mouth Falls last year). Anyway, there were no branches blocking the old split, so I decided to just go that way. Trust me, do yourself a favor and stay on the new trail to the left. We came down the new way, that is how I was able to track the new mileage as well as see how nice it is.



This is what you will have to contend with taking the old trail oi.



At the top of the old/new trail split there are branches. Oi. That is a little silly. People experiencing the trail change for the first time are, I donno, going to experience it on the way IN, not out. Oh well, now I know.



However, I was able to confirm the new trail does connect here, so alright we will go down that way.



Looking out of the narrow canyon across the valley.



First view of the upper canyon.



Oh. That bridge is new.



The upper canyon again.



The lower reservoir. It has been super low on water every time we have visited for the past few years. At first I thought it was cause we were in a drought, but that is no longer the case. I wonder if they are doing some other maintenance.



We wandered up along the main trail, which is an old access road, looking to see if there was a way up the north twin. There were quite a few steep scrambly looking trails, and I was starting to feel a little discouraged.

By the way, if you are wanting to go up to the upper canyon, this is the most direct route.



View of the reservoir and the upper canyon.



On the north side of the north twin I saw something more promising.



The north twin again.



Mount Jordan. You know, we have been spending a lot of time under the shadow of Mount Jordan lately.



I am not sure if this is an actual trail, I am kind of just following footsteps in the snow. But this route doesn’t seem too bad. I guess we will see if it is a trail next time.



Going up through the trees.



Success! We made it to the top.



Great view of the valley below. Would be better if it weren’t so smoggy though.



You can barely make out downtown SLC.



Looking east towards the upper canyon.



Me on the peak. I’m not really a peak bagger as I am afraid of heights and really struggle with thin trails on steep slopes. So, even this little peak is big for me. I am working on a small list of peaks that are not to bad to reach. Please let me know if there are any you can think of.



The upper canyon again.



Decided to pull out the telephoto lens to see if I could locate the Lower Waterfall. I am pretty sure I have the spot right (if you zoom in you can see people around it), but either it is hidden by trees, or the frozen waterfall blends in with the snow.



While I had the telephoto out, got a little closer view of downtown.



Panoramic of the mountains.



Landis made a smiley face in the snow.

This little peak is amazing! But, we decided to go explore some more.



You can see the Granite Trail from up here.



Looking back up at the peak. It looks like a tiny hill from here, but considering we hiked up from Wasatch Blvd. I think I can still call it a peak.



The lower reservoir again.



Panoramic of it.



Looking towards the north end.



Duckies!

I was a kind of surprised at how many people we saw wandering on the ice today. It doesn’t seem thick enough to me, but we didn’t see anybody fall in, so maybe I am just overly cautious.



Dry creek meandering across the mostly dry reservoir bed. We decided to wander around it.
Safety tip: If you are not familiar with an area, and are unsure if you are walking across snow over ground vs. snow over ice, best to not do it.





I think those bright yellow branches are willows of some sort. The red might be too.



Dry Creek again.



The north twin.



The south twin. They aren’t particularly twin like from here though.



Panoramic.



Making our way around the back end of the reservoir. Be advised there are a couple swampy areas. I knew they were there, but thought they would be under enough snow. Unfortunately, I punched through one of them and got a bit of a wet foot. Not particularly fun.

Also, when the reservoir is full, there isn't a way through here, there is a trail a little higher up in the trees through.



Ducks on the pond.



A faint solar halo.



Little side stream.



You can see the rings from higher water levels.



Looking south.



We pulled out some snacks and this mallard just marched right up to us. LOL. Eh, what we had was probably okay to feed them, but I didn’t know for sure, so I didn’t. I always forget to bring some halved grapes up with me when we come up here.



Here come his friends. Sorry guys! Nothing for you either.



Round back to the west end.



Must be good eating next to the ice shelf.



Another panoramic.



Random structure out on the ice.



Up on the upper trail.

After circumnavigating the reservoir, we decided to see if we could make our way up the south twin.



The south twin. Doesn’t look too difficult, however I wasn’t just going to blaze my way up there.



We’ve never done this part of the trail up here, so this is new and exciting.



Little tree tunnel.

We passed by some guys that asked us what where we were going and if we knew the area. They described some interesting sounding stuff, but weren’t completely clear on where they were, but alright, some more exploring is due.



At the far south end of the reservoir.



Cool view of the south end of the valley.



All the way out to the Point Of The Mountain. The narrow area that connects the Salt Lake Valley to Utah Valley.



Looking back at the south twin.



Yay! We made it into Dry Canyon. This is the only canyon on the front of Mount Jordan that we haven’t explored yet, and well, we still haven’t but now I can say I have stepped foot in it. Eventually, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail will cross through there, and there are plans to add a trailhead or 2 to access it. I am looking forward to that. Like I said, I recently saw they have completed from Big Willow Canyon to Rocky Mouth Falls, so hopefully this shouldn’t be too far off.

We decided we had explored enough for the day and it was time to head on back.



View across the valley and into Dimple Dell Canyon.



The main, official trail continues to the right, or east of here. We have yet to explore that segment of it, so another trip is in store.



The southern twin. I am a little sad we didn’t see a good trail up. Like I said, we’ll come back when there is less snow to see if we can make it up there.



Back through the tree tunnel.



The lower reservoir again.



The north twin again.



The new bridge again.



2018? Wow. Last time we were here was August 2018 and the trail was still the old way, and the bridge was not here, so, it must have happened shortly afterwards.

I made note of the mileage we had done so I could track how long the new trail was on the way down.



Heading down.



View of Dry Creek below.



Tree clinging on.



New trail to the right, old trail to the left. It is a lot more obviously closed on this end haha.



Onto the switchbacks.



I am a little concerned that they may have left some of these large boulders a little more unstable and a really good rainstorm could send some of them loose. I mean, I am no expert, but a couple of them did look awfully precarious.



You know, normally I am kind of uncomfortable on open switchbacks, but they made these wide enough that it wasn’t so bad.



Another switchback.



Back down to the bridge.



One last look at Dry Creek.



Looking back at the new switchbacks.



Looking back at the twin peaks.



Now, we just have the staircase of DOOM to go down. It seems shorter going down than up.



Back down to the parking lot. With a view of Big and Little Willow Canyons.

That was fun. I like when we do a trail we are very familiar with, and still find new stuff to explore. It’s also fun to hit another, albeit small, peak. I am a little bummed we didn’t get to the other one, but we will try again. The new switchbacks are a fantastic improvement! They made the trail just a tiny smidge longer, but definitely easier on the knees. For how packed both parking lots were, it wasn’t too busy. I guess most people headed up into the upper canyon. That trail kicks my butt in the summer. I am not particularly interested in doing it with the added challenge of snow and ice. o.O. Anyway, 10 squirrels today!



As for difficulty, It’s a whole lot of UP, and there are still some rocky sections. DR4.

Dogs are not allowed as this is watershed. Be sure to leave Fido at home.