Big Cottonwood Canyon
7580 S Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd, Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City, UT
A soaring granite canyon just minutes from the city, climbing past waterfalls and wildflower meadows to alpine lakes and legendary powder skiing.
Big Cottonwood Canyon is one of the Wasatch Mountains' great canyons, a steep granite gorge that climbs east out of the Salt Lake Valley into a world of waterfalls, forest, and alpine lakes. Its scenic road switchbacks up past sculpted rock walls and roaring Cottonwood Creek to the high country, where meadows blaze with wildflowers in summer and deep snow piles up in winter.
The canyon is beloved on both counts. In the warm months hikers climb to jewel-like lakes such as Lake Blanche and stroll the easy loop around Silver Lake, while in winter the resorts of Solitude and Brighton draw skiers to some of the lightest, deepest powder anywhere. That such wild high country sits minutes from a major city is part of what makes it feel like a gem.
What Guests Love
- Alpine lakes like Silver Lake and the Lake Blanche hike beneath jagged peaks
- Wildflower meadows that light up the high basins in summer
- World-famous powder skiing and snowboarding at Solitude and Brighton
- How quickly the city gives way to genuine mountain wilderness
Worth Knowing
- The canyon is a protected watershed for Salt Lake City, so dogs and swimming are not allowed in the creek
- Winter storms bring heavy snow, and the road can close for avalanche control, so check conditions
- Parking at popular trailheads and resorts fills early on weekends, so arrive early or use transit
- The high country stays cool, and afternoon thunderstorms build fast in summer, so pack layers
Details
Salt Lake City, UT
Learn about Big Cottonwood Canyon
Granite, glaciers, and the shape of the canyon
Big Cottonwood Canyon is carved into hard granitic rock that welled up as molten material deep underground long ago and cooled into the pale, coarse stone that makes up its towering walls. That rock, resistant and jointed, gives the canyon its rugged, blocky character, unlike the softer sedimentary layers found elsewhere in Utah.
The canyon's U-shaped upper reaches and its string of high lakes are the work of Ice Age glaciers, which ground down the valley and scooped out basins that later filled with meltwater. Waterfalls tumble where side streams meet the main creek, and the classic hike to Lake Blanche climbs to a glacially carved bowl beneath the striking peak of Sundial, one of the canyon's signature views.
Hiking, lakes, and wildflowers
Trails climb from the canyon floor to a series of alpine lakes, from the popular, strenuous route to Lake Blanche to gentler destinations higher up. Near the top of the canyon, Silver Lake offers an easy boardwalk loop through wetland and forest, a favorite for families and a good place to spot moose feeding in the willows.
Summer turns the high basins into gardens, with meadows of lupine, paintbrush, and columbine and the fresh green of aspen groves. Fall brings a blaze of golden aspen that draws leaf-peepers up the canyon road, while the cool alpine air makes the high country a welcome escape from summer heat in the valley below.
Ski country and the watershed
At the head of the canyon sit Solitude and Brighton, two ski areas famous for the extraordinary snow that Utah's mountains catch, dry and deep, that has helped make the Wasatch a legend among skiers and snowboarders. Brighton in particular has been a training ground for generations of local riders, and both resorts run into the summer as hiking and scenic-lift destinations.
The canyon is also the drinking-water source for much of Salt Lake City, a protected watershed, which shapes the rules visitors follow: dogs are not permitted, and swimming and wading in the creek are prohibited to keep the water clean. Understanding that the canyon does double duty as a wilderness and a reservoir helps make sense of why it is cared for so closely.
Wildlife and the seasons
The canyon's forests and meadows hold moose, which are often seen browsing near Silver Lake and the beaver ponds, along with mule deer, red foxes, marmots and pikas on the rockslides, and a rich mix of mountain birds. Moose are large and can be dangerous when surprised or with a calf, so watchers keep a respectful distance.
Each season transforms the canyon. Spring runs high and loud with snowmelt and waterfalls; summer opens the high trails and fills the meadows with flowers; fall sets the aspens alight; and winter buries everything in snow, closing high trails but opening the slopes. The road can shut for avalanche control after big storms, so winter visitors always check conditions first.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
About 15 miles west
Utah's capital at the canyon's foot, with Temple Square, museums, dining, and the Wasatch rising directly behind downtown.
Little Cottonwood Canyon
The next canyon south
A granite gorge of towering walls, the resorts of Alta and Snowbird, and famous powder, with rock climbing at its mouth.
Silver Lake
Near the top of the canyon
An easy boardwalk loop around a mountain lake at Brighton, great for families and for spotting moose.
Solitude and Brighton
At the head of the canyon
Two beloved ski areas known for deep, dry Wasatch powder, with summer hiking and scenic lift rides.