Millcreek, and the canyon at the end of 3800 South

On the east side of the Salt Lake Valley, between Salt Lake City to the north and Holladay to the south, with its streets running east toward the Wasatch front. Its best known feature is Millcreek Canyon, which leaves the valley at the east end of 3800 South and runs about nine miles up into the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Downtown Salt Lake City sits a short drive northwest, and the mouths of the Cottonwood canyons a short drive south.

Because Millcreek Canyon runs on rules no other canyon on this side of the valley uses. Dogs are allowed here when they are banned a few minutes south, the fee is collected at a booth as you leave rather than as you enter, and every November a gate part way up turns the upper road into a groomed ski track. It is the city's own doorstep, and it is why Millcreek turns up in conversations well past its own boundary.

On odd numbered days of the month, yes, on the trails. On even numbered days dogs must be leashed everywhere in the canyon. On every day of the year, odd or even, dogs must be leashed in the developed areas, which the Forest Service defines as the picnic grounds, parking lots and roads. There is one seasonal reversal above the winter gate that catches people out, and the dog page sets it out in full.

There is a per vehicle fee, and the thing to know is how it is collected. It is charged at a booth as you leave the canyon rather than as you enter, the booth takes a card rather than cash, and there is a discounted senior rate and an annual pass. The current amounts, and the reason the national parks pass does not work here, are on the canyon page, which is kept current.

The lower canyon stays open, with the tollbooth, Church Fork and the Pipeline Trail all in use. The upper canyon has been closed for a major road reconstruction, and that closure covers walking and biking as well as driving. Because the stage of the work changes, the canyon page carries the current access rather than a date that goes stale here.

Yes, on the road itself. The upper gate closes to vehicles each November and the pavement above it is groomed for classic and skate skiing, with snowshoes and fat bikes welcome on the same track. It is one of the few groomed Nordic surfaces in the valley that costs nothing beyond the canyon fee. The reconstruction has changed access above the gate, so check the current season before relying on it.

Millcreek's outdoor town center on Chambers Avenue, built next to the new city hall that opened in 2023. Its centerpiece is a skating loop that carries ice in winter and wheels in summer, and it anchors a public market and a run of Friday evening programming. The full layout and the added features are on the Common page.

8,299 feet, standing between Millcreek Canyon and Parleys Canyon on national forest ground. It is usually described as the most accessible of the major summits above the Salt Lake Valley. Two routes reach it: the Church Fork trail from a picnic area a couple of miles up Millcreek Canyon, and the steeper west face from lower in the canyon. Both are covered on the Grandeur Peak page.

Because of drinking water. Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood are protected watershed for the valley's culinary supply, and the ordinance that protects it keeps dogs and other domestic animals out of both canyons entirely, including animals that stay in the vehicle. Millcreek Canyon does not carry that status, so the Forest Service manages dogs here with the odd and even day system instead. That single difference is why Millcreek Canyon is the valley's dog canyon.