One of the things I love about living in Salt Lake City is all of the easy access to hiking From 10,000+ foot peaks in the canyons to the many trails in the foothills, it seems there is always something new to do to meet my motivation level for the day At about 3 miles and a bit over a 1000' of gain, the Heughs Canyon trail is, in my opinion, an excellent length for an after work or early morning hike The trail starts nondescriptly in a neighborhood and then quickly begins ascending through scrub oak 15 minutes up ...

Perched above the Price River, Grassy Trail is the site of both Native American visitation, as well as early railroad efforts The panels at Grassy Trail are a mix of "gringo graffiti" as well as older rock art, and quite extensive The site is fascinating Grassy Trail was a narrow-gauge railroad that was built in 1882 to connect Grand Junction Colorado to Helper Utah as part of a more significant Desert Mainline effort After only a few years of use, the track was upgraded and re-routed to a more direct path from Woo...

The wherewithal of the early pioneers astounds me! In the summer of 1846, the Donner Party set off for California En route, they learned of Hastings Cutoff, a supposed easier route to California that would make for a shorter trip Nevermind Hastings himself had only traversed the route once of the same year and without wagons! His enthusiasm for California and the fact it was a shorter route convinced the Donner Party to take the new course They chose the route over Big Mountain Pass after scouting determined Weber ...

In the 1860’s when the railroad was completed and crossed the United States for the first time, Lucin was one of many small communities that sprung up along the railroad to provider water and other services to passing trains When first built, it was about a mile north of its current location The trains would pass north around the Great Salt Lake, then south down the west side of the lake before reaching Lucin and heading due west again Surmounting the Great Salt Lake added quite a few miles to the cross-country jou...

“Idle time is the devil's play” as the old saying goes The Devil’s Playground is, then, a good place to have some idle time! The area is a unique geologic feature in north west Utah where granite is exposed and has eroded into large fins, domes, spires, and boulders The Utah Geological Survey has an excellent page on the technical details The rock is quite grainy and exfoliating It is not good for rock climbing, but weathers into interesting shapes The playground does not have any formal trails Roads provide easy a...

The Devil’s Throat is a great example of geology in action In the early 1900’s, during the Gold Butte mining boom, cowboys and miners in the area suddenly saw a large cloud of dust off in the distance Upon investigation, they found a large sinkhole where once had been open desert! The sinkhole, known as the Devil’s Throat, has grown over the years, and is currently between 110-120' across and quite deep It is immense! The sinkhole is impressive, but hard to get the scale of when visiting A safety fence has been put...

Piedmont Wyoming sprung up as a result of the railroad expansion to the west coast In 1869 Moses Byrne began establishing a water station for the railroad Moses soon built the Piedmont Charcoal kilns to supply charcoal to the Utah Valley via the passing railroad The kilns are the most prominent remains of the settlement and were added to the historic register in 1971 During its early days, Piedmont was quite a settlement As railroad men and homesteaders came to the area, the settlement grew to include a mercantile ...

The West Desert is full of colorful characters that left their mark on the history of the region Bob Stinson stands out in my mind as one of the most colorful! Bob, after serving in World War I, returned to find his sweetheart had married another man while he was away Broken-hearted, he headed out to Delta in Utah to visit his brother En route to Delta, Bob's vehicle broke down in Marjum Canyon The canyon was known for rockfall on the road and a steep grade that caused many vehicles to overheat Well, Bob ended up b...

Bowington Arch is a hike that I think experienced Grand Staircase hikers will enjoy, but is equally accessible as an introduction to new Escalante visitors The hike, starting at the highway 12 bridge/Escalante River Trailhead, has a bit of everything Ruins, rock art, towering walls, riparian river sections, an arch, and the colorful walls and textures that I see as iconic to the Escalante region There is a lot to see and do on this hike It is mostly done as an out-and-back 1/2 or full-day hike It would also be well...

Tucked at the south end of Capitol Reef National Park, Halls Creek Narrows is a stunning, convoluted canyon that makes a meandering path through Navajo sandstone The canyon has a bit of everything: deep alcoves, a spring feed stream, narrower sections, and towering walls I would compare it a little in scale and experience to Coyote Gulch, but it is also quite different This is one of those hikes that has been on my list for literally decades When I started going to the desert, a friend showed me photos and told me ...