Bell Canyon Preservation Trailhead Nature Trail

 There is a new 3rd trailhead to Bell Canyon called the Bell Canyon Preservation Trailhead. This is in addition to the closer Granite Trailhead and the separate Boulders Trailhead. With the new trailhead they have built a new Nature Trail that I thought we’d check out after our hike up to the Lower Reservoir. There isn’t much to it right now, but I anticipate they will be adding to it eventually.

This new trailhead offers 130 new parking spots! Flush toilets, and drinking fountains. There will eventually be picnic areas and a pavilion.

Quick Details:

Length: We did about 3/10ths of a mile on the outer loop, but there is a middle trail that appears to be just over a 10th of a mile, with some spurs.
Trail Type: Loop with middle options.
Difficulty: DR2. It’s paved and fairly flat
Elevation Gain: About 30 feet.
Restroom: Yes, flush toilets at the TH.
Dogs? No. Bell Canyon is watershed.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Take the 90th south exit from i15 and head east up to Wasatch Blvd. Turn right. Go about 600 feet and turn left. Head up the hill. There is a big parking lot at the top, and a smaller lot just below. The trail is accessed from the upper lot.

The Trail:

Nice paved trail.

The 2 oldest Sandy City families agreed to sell the land to the city at a discounted rate, with the promise that it would be turned into a community resource.

After removing all of the junk left on the land, the city started this project that includes a nature trail, restrooms, and  130 parking spots. While I think it will be awesome to not have to fight for parking, I do worry that a good portion of people who would have decided to go elsewhere, due to not finding parking, will make this already busy trail even more busy. But, I guess it is a trade off.

The new area will eventually include picnic areas, a pavilion as well as a helipad and staging area to serve as a base of operations for forest fires and search and rescue operations. Not just for Bell Canyon (which requires those services 4-5 times a year) but other nearby areas.

More info (outside link)

Here is a picture I took from the Bell Canyon trail back in 2020

And here is one I took today from a similar vantage.

Nice view into the little canyon between the ridges before Bell Canyon. Lower Bell Reservoir is on the other side of that ridge to the right.

Continuing around.

Gloomy view to the south.

Sign about the local flora.

Fake boulder storage containers.

Err, I guess they are disguising RF emitters?

Sign about the watershed.

Continuing around.

Looking out across the valley.

Nice granite bench that shows some drill marks. Not sure if they used an existing one, or cut one in the same style as the old quarrying method you can find along the Bell Canyon trail, and nearby Temple Quarry Trail. Either way, I find it to be a fun nod towards the history of the area.

More fake stone RF emitters.

Cell tower disguised as a tree. Hah, this is a great trail to find disguised electronics.

Already back to the parking lot.

Snow sliding off of the restrooms.

Currently, there is not a whole lot to this tril. Maybe I should have checked out the middle section. However, I imagine they are still working on it, and there will be a bit more to it eventually. However, in it’s current state it is a nice easy way to get a nice view of the valley and get a short little stroll in. 7 out of 10 squirrels for now.

As for difficulty, it is paved and fairly flat. DR2.

Dogs are not allowed in Bell Canyon as it is watershed.