The Living Room Trailhead — Attraction in Salt Lake City

Ballet dancers spend most of the summer in doors. Unless we make a great effort, we usually end the summer just as pale as we started it. Our brains tend to get the same treatment, limited exposure to nature sunlight, and fresh air. I spent the summer away from as a company member in a small ballet company on the east coast and had hardly made it to the beach at all. My hiking buddy had spent the summer working with two different companies and getting more and more stressed and tired as the season went on. This hike is a favorite for both of us. The worse either if us feels the more we run away to the high hills to skip around rocks and climb the steep ridges. These trails almost have foot work as difficult as some of our ballet classes. But there is no pressure to get it perfect in front of a judgemental director, just the motivation to stay upright. Today I got up as six despite being tired from hours of teaching ballet the evening before. There is an exhilaration in climbing higher and higher, though sometimes I forgot to enjoy it because I had to watch for rocks and plants and a lot of uneven footing. We were both still getting used to the mountain elevation as well; she'd been in California all summer so we were both coming from sea level. It takes a lot of work to get to that final ridge tip above The Living Room. I had to ask her to stop several times, the air felt so thin. But it was worth every painful gasp and every cramp in my leg. The valley is clear and broad and beautiful. The hills are y'all and deeply gorged and in this late late summer, covers in soft greens and yellows. This is exactly the kind of therapy a pair of somewhat burned out ballerinas needed. My friend had brought along her blue healer mix dog. This lovely animal bounds around the slanted rocks and craggy plants like a small goat. She can race up and down a hill that takes us twenty minutes to scale. On one part of our descent she'd bounded ahead of us and was out of site. Suddenly a pale brown deer bounded out of the bushes and nearly knocked the two of us over as it flew up the trail for a few leaps then jumped back into the undergrowth. Our hearts stopped in our throats for several minutes as the little blue grey dog followed and also disappeared into the brush. We finished just as the sun was beginning to approach intolerable; perfect timing. If you need outdoor therapy, this area in the hills is perfect. Take a friend, definitely take a dog (take water for the dog too, there aren't a lot of natural springs) and look...

Online hiking/trail websites keep labeling this hike as 2.9 or 2.7 miles round trip, well let me just say..that's a lie! I've done this hike 4 or 5 times now over the past few years and it is most definitely not less than about 4 miles. I wish I had remembered that because I told the group I went with last night it would be 2.9mi and may not have gone on this particular hike with this particular group had the reviews had the correct info. The trail is very steep with a few switchbacks and believe me, that extra mile makes a big difference especially on the uphill stretch.

With that being said, although I would not call this an easy hike, it is doable even for those who are not avid hikers, just take your time and go at a moderate, steady pace. Even my 4lb Pomeranian makes it without breaking a sweat, in fact, she pulls me along lol.

I've always done this hike well after dark and only once brought flashlights. If the moon is bright you can find your way along just fine. Yesterday, I went with a group and we started right before sunset, and by the time we got to the top it was dark. However it was very overcast because we were expecting a rainstorm so the down hill climb was a bit more difficult since there was no moonlight. Overall, it took us about 2.5 hours including the 20 min rest at the top (1.5 hours for the hike up). Granted, we had a couple of slower hikers so I doubt it would take everyone that long.

You can start this hike out along Colorow Road where several entrances including the official Bonneville Shoreline Trailhead will lead you up towards the mountain or you can start in the parking lot of Red Butte Gardens. The trail that veers to go to "The Living Room" is not marked however it is the first major trail that veers left uphill into a grove of scrub oak (sorry, I don't know the exact distance but like I said, I've always started this hike in the middle of the night, have never started the hike at the same place and yet have still always managed to make it so it isn't too difficult to find). "The Living Room" has always been a fun hike for me and the night views are really pretty! It's great for a midnight adventure and maybe one of these days I'll get started early enough to...

For out of towners- Not "easy" but definitely possible. It starts in a nice little wooded area then you come up and out onto the main flat trail on the Bonneville shoreline. Continuing across you start a gradual climb weaving up and up and up. It gets narrow in a few places and they are single file. Then you start making a big turn to the left and more rocks and elevation. Along the way was beautiful wild flowers and on this left turn you can start to look out over slc. Continuing further the climbing trail feels very steep and but keep going! You turn again to the left and things get easier and smoother and the views increasingly get better! When you come to the top of that gentle rise you can get your view of all SLC and the Salt Lake. We came at sunset and it was worth it. There indeed is furniture in the form of rocks that have been compiled together for sitting places. If you are adventurous you can turn to your right and make your way up further on this summit. But you will have to actually climb and there are large slates of loose rock to watch out for.

The trip back down after sunset was a breeze. And the cool air was great! And you get to see the night scape of the city on the way back down. I definitely recommend good shoes for loose rock on downgrades. It was a...