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Hiking with Dogs in Millcreek Canyon
see video of Sundance hiking the Millcreek trails with his friends
As you can see in the image on the left, there’s a host of trails emanating from the upper parking lot in Millcreek Canyon. The parking lot sits at an altitude of 7600 ft. at the end of Millcreek Rd. Trails starting there can end up as high as 9700 feet in The Canyons overlooking the Park City Area to 9600 ft. at Murdock Peak and 9400 ft. on top of Reynolds Peak. The peaks provide spectacular views but the final trails to their summit can be quite steep and aggressive.
Below are some suggested hikes, combining moderate climbs all the way to steep trails.
The balloons with numbers are mile markers to let you know how far you’ll be trekking.
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I’ll be adding pictures of the more scenic sites soon!
Suggested Hikes
The Canyons to the Meadows Loop
10.2 Miles: This hike is not too strenuous although a fairly good distance. The Old Red Pine Rd meets the Great Western Trail (GWT) at the bridge at the 2 mile mark. Turning left you hike up until you can see the Canyons and the ski lifts as well as the Park City valley. Staying left the trail follows the ridge to the where you look down over a spectacular red cliff to the Red Pine Lake. The return leg of the loop passes first high as you look down into a wonderful and large meadow before descending into it. Bordered by groves of aspens and pine, it’s a scenic stretch. Meeting with a lower pine canopied portion of the GWT the stretch is charming . The final stretch is the lower half of the Little Water TraiI (LWT) and you’re back to where you started.
Dog Lake Loop
5.38 Miles: This very popular hike will bring you to Dog Lake. The total elevation achieved is about 1200 ft (7600 – 8800 ft) as you travel the winding Big Water Trail which piggy-backs on the Great West Trail (GWT) until they separate halfway up. After arriving at the lake and letting your dog have a swim, you can loop around the lake and head home down the Little Water Trail. It’s shorter and steeper and ends at the other end of the same parking lot. While
looping the lake, you can divert to the trail to Reynolds Peak. It’s a tough steep climb and adds about 1.2 miles to your trip but from the top you can see Millcreek Canyon including Mt Raymond and Gobblers Knob, Big Cottonwood Canyon and even the Salt Lake Valley. What a view!
Murdock Peak
7.42 Miles: Start at the Old Red Pine Rd Trail to meet the GWT at the bridge just like the first hike, but instead of turning right go on the left fork about 15 yards, just before meeting the crossing trail. There almost hidden is a small trail (line with 2 small trunks) that leads up to the peak. On the left as your hiking quite a steep trail is a great view of The Canyons. You’ll reach a crest (false peak) with an even better view and on your left is a first easy then very steep trail to the peak (with an outbuilding). The 360 degree view is the Park City valley, Millcreek and Big Cottonwood Canyons AND the Salt Lake Valley. Spectacular!! If the peak climb is too strenuous, you can swap it for an endpoint at The Canyons ski lift for about the same distance. The view almost as great but you’ll miss the Salt Lake Valley.
The mile markers may be a little confusing since the return path is on the same trail. Note the 3 & 4 mile markers seem close together. This is because the distance is actually from 3 to the top and back to 4
Full Millcreek Hiking Trails Map
Download Official Ranger PDF/Map
Tri-Canyon Trails
Millcreek, Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood Canyons
Download Tri-Canyon Trails PDF/Map
This is a great page with lots of good information. My dog and I really appreciate it and will take advantage of all it provides.