City Creek Canyon

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Here are some photos during a recent training run on my favorite route from my house to the top of City Creek Canyon and back for a total of 14.5 miles.

This run begins at the base of Capital Hill (where I live) and climbs about half a mile to the Utah State Capital with another quarter mile of gentle climb up to Bonneville Blvd.

Running down Bonneville Blvd. toward the mouth of City Creek Canyon is fairly flat until the base of the canyon where the 5.75 mile climb begins. The 5.75 mile section is a rolling uphill climb through a narrow paved road along City Creek. In the spring this creek can be dangerous as the current is strong with water runoff from the melting snow. Even in July the Wasatch mountains still have snow.

In the meadows up the Canyon wild turkeys, rabbits and deer feed the cougar who like to people watch during the summer. With plenty of food around there really isn't much danger with a cougar hanging around in the trees. One day I hope to get a photo of him.

This is an out and back route for me so once at the top of the designated trail aka Rotary park, I just turn around and run back down. (There is a bush-whacked trail cyclists and hard-core runners have made that eventually ends somewhere near East Canyon, about 13 miles away, but I would never go into the back-country alone and not without plenty of back-country gear with me.)

The run back down City Creek is awesome and as it's all downhill I can shave quite a bit of time off. I almost always take the Memory Grove route home. The park near the pond is a favorite place to watch the people playing with their dogs and stretch before running the final mile home.

Hope you enjoy the photos! It was a beautiful day to run. 😊

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Photos

Road to the stairs
This steep road dead ends at the base of the stairs near the Capital.

The Stairs
I've never counted them, but there are three sets of them.

The Wasatch Mountains
These are the mountains along the east bench of Salt Lake valley.

The Great Salt Lake
The street behind the Capital has amazing views of the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island.

Bonneville Boulevard
You can see Bonneville Blvd. on the left and a runner along the side of the road. Half of this road is restricted for use as a bike/jogging path. You can see how it winds around in the right of the photo.

Memory Grove Trail
This shot is taken from Bonneville Blvd. looking down into Memory Grove. You can just see the trail through the trees.

Salt Lake City
The view one mile in on Bonneville Blvd. looking back over the city. You can see the Capital dome on the right and city buildings in the middle. The woodsy area in the middle all the way into the city is called Memory Grove.

The Power of the Human Spirit
Two miles up City Creek Canyon I discovered this guy. He was moving slowly, but he was moving forward. City Creek Canyon is almost entirely uphill, some of it gentle, some of it steep. What an inspiration to find someone who wanted to be in the Canyon so desperately he was willing to do whatever it took!

City Creek Canyon
This is about 4 miles from the city.

A Bridge
There are trails on the mountainside for those who trail run, but to get to them requires crossing the "creek" which in the spring and summer is a raging river due to the rapid snow melting in the mountains.

Cougar Recently Sighted
There are often reports of a cougar who hangs out in the trees watching the people. I think he's probably harmless and just curious and honestly, what else is there to do when you're a cougar?

Caution Sign at Four Miles
It's awesome they wait for four mile to tell us there might be a cougar watching us! haha!