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, climbing from the freeway east toward the Wasatch front range. 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.

On odd numbered calendar days, 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 developed areas, which the Forest Service defines as picnic grounds, parking lots, roads and housing developments. There is one seasonal reversal above the winter gate that catches people out, and the dog page on this companion sets it out in full.

As published by the Forest Service, 5.00 dollars a vehicle for a day, 3.00 dollars for seniors, 50.00 dollars for an annual pass and 30.00 dollars for a senior annual. It is collected by Salt Lake County at a tollbooth as you leave the canyon rather than as you enter, and the county states that passes must be bought at that tollbooth and that no cash is accepted. Confirm the current amounts before you go.

No. The National Park Service interagency pass is not accepted here. Millcreek Canyon is co-managed by the Forest Service and Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation and runs its own fee programme, so the pass that covers national parks and most federal recreation sites does not cover this tollbooth. If you use the canyon regularly, the canyon's own annual pass is the thing to buy.

The lower canyon is open and the upper canyon is not. The Upper Mill Creek Canyon Road Improvements Project closed everything above the Terraces to all public access on 15 March 2026, and that closure covers walking and biking as well as driving. The Forest Service order runs to 14 December 2026 and the county anticipates finishing before winter recreation resumes late in the year. The tollbooth, Church Fork and the Pipeline Trail are all still in use below the closure.

Yes, on the road itself. The upper gate closes to vehicles on 1 November each year and the pavement above it is groomed for classic and skate skiing, generally at least twice a week, 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 2026 reconstruction has moved the gate and changed access, so check the current season before relying on it.

The outdoor civic centre Millcreek is building at 1354 East Chambers Avenue, between Highland Drive and 1300 East. Its centrepiece is a skating loop of about 11,000 square feet, the largest outdoor skating surface in the state, which carries ice in winter and wheels in summer. A second phase broke ground on 19 May 2025 and adds a splash creek, a skate canyon, a 19 hole mini golf course, a play area and 135 trees.

8,299 feet, with 739 feet of prominence, 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.