Little Cottonwood Canyon

NileGuide Expert Says:

The home of Salt Lake's best in-bounds skiing, and the site of its best local rock climbing

Address:

Phone:

801-975-4838

NileGuide Expert tip:

During winter, Little Cottonwood Canyon regularly closes due to preventative avalanche work; this can leave you stuck outside of the canyon, or at the ski resort.

Description:

Little Cottonwood is the southernmost of all the major, Salt Lake Valley-area canyons. Carved by glaciation, the white walls of this U-shaped canyon are commonly mistake for granite. Technically "quartz mozonite," this, too, is an intrusive igneous rock. (It contains less quartz than granite.)

Little Cottonwood Canyon connects with the valley approximately where 7000 South Street/ Fort Union Boulevard intersects the Wasatch Mountains. It ascends steeply (with an average grade of 9.2%), rising nearly 3,500 feet over 8.4 miles. Along this climb, it passes numerous climbing routes and boulders, the LDS Vault, Snowbird Resort, and eventually Alta.

Little Cottonwood Canyon is a watershed; no dogs allowed (at all!!).

Map:

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