Ferguson Canyon Trail Head — Attraction in Cottonwood Heights

One of my favorite trails which is located right by the base of Big Cottonwood canyon on the south side. You are allowed to take your dogs on a leash which is a huge bonus because who likes to hike without their fur babies? You will be surrounded by beautiful cliffs and there are cascading waterfalls throughout the whole hike. This trail provides excellent views of the Salt Lake valley (As long as it's a clear day on the 4th and/or the 24th of July; I recommend hiking to the water tower, which is a very short way up the trail, to catch the entire valley's absolutely stunning firework display from this vantage point! You can see from Ensign Peak to South Mountain. Ferguson also offers great rock climbing for beginners, but is also enjoyable for more advanced climbers. This trail provides lots of shade and usually has a nice breeze for those hot summer days. You cannot go wrong when choosing to make Ferguson your...

Nice hiking trail with a good view of Salt Lake City and the valley at the end of the trail. Out and back it takes us between 2-3 hours, but we stop for photos and wildlife watching. Children and dogs do well on this trail if you let them have breaks to rest and drink water. The wind up top can be fierce, and there are several areas with streambeds and flowing springwater that come up under or right next to the trail, making the path muddy or wet in certain areas. Some of the trail has shaded areas with trees, while others are quite open and get hot in the summer. Higher elevations get slippery when it snows, so be careful if hiking in winter, even if the ground is clear at the start of the trail as there may still be snow and ice further up. The view at the top is lovely and is worth the steep trek up...

If you’re looking for a relatively short hike, this is the trail for you. It has some challenging terrain but is overall an easy hike. It’s an hour and a half to the top of the trail if you’re not stopping to drink water or take photos. Bring a big bottle of water (or several plastic bottles) for your hike up. The challenging parts of the hike are about halfway up the trail so it’s a good place to stop if you’re looking for a casual hike, but the view is spectacular if you go on 15-20 mins after the steep incline. In the Spring it’s a lush trail covered by the trees until about 3/4 through the hike. It’s possible to spot rattlesnakes and coyote as big as German Shepards crossing the trail in the Spring if...