Bell Canyon is one of my favorite places to hike. The trailhead is very close to where I live in Sandy, Utah, there is plenty of parking and bathrooms are available. The canyon also offers two small reservoirs, some amazing waterfalls, incredible views, rock climbing and anything from a casual mile or so hike to a 10 mile round trip with over 4,000 feet of vertical gain.
The beginning of the Bell Canyon trail gains elevation fairly quickly. It goes up old glacial moraine and is a little rough with a lot of large rocks. At the top of this first leg is the first reservoir. From here hikers can take a casual hike around the small lake or continue higher.
I usually start from the upper parking area so miles referenced will be from this point. Click for a map. A little after a mile up the trail it starts to follow the creek. At around 1.25 miles a wooden bridge crosses the creek. Beyond the bridge the trail starts to get a little steeper.
Around 2 miles from the parking area the trail the trail gets very rocky and steep. In the spring this area can be very wet with water running down it from snow melt. Many people find hiking poles to be helpful on this section. At 2.2 miles hikers can take a left turn and follow the trail to the lower falls. More ambitions hikers can continue another .75 or so miles to the upper falls or can head all the way to the upper reservoir.
Getting to the lower falls can be a bit tricky because much of the trail is steep and can be wet, muddy and slippery. Once again, many people like to have hiking poles for this. The lower falls can be spectacular in the spring during maximum water from snow rapidly melting higher up. The spray coming off the falls is cold and will drench anyone getting very close the falls.
Hikers can explore areas around the falls for a variety of amazing photo opportunities. From large granite slabs people can see a fantastic view of the Sandy area below and mountains on the other side of the Salt Lake valley.
The round trip from the upper parking to the falls and back is just under 5 miles and takes hikers almost 1,500 vertical feet up the canyon.
Look for later posts about hiking to the Bell Canyon upper falls and the Bell Canyon Upper trail. I might also post more Bell Canyon winter hike photos like the ones below.
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