We've been in Utah over ten years now. Our hiking has been concentrated in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, in part because the drive to the trailheads is short and in part because our former dog, Becky, didn't care to hike so it didn't matter if we hiked in those canyons (which are watersheds for SLC and thus dogs are not allowed). Now we have our Milton, who loves to hike, and so we have to seek out new places to go where dogs are allowed. That's what brought us to Lookout Peak, up Killyon Canyon, off the Pinecrest Road in Emigration Canyon.
So very green
I found this hike via Girl on a Hike's list of off-leash hikes. (By the way, her site is full of fantastic, detailed information and is one of my regular go-tos - she's only been in state seven years but she hikes a LOT.) She lists Lookout Peak as an off-leash trail; please note that the Killyon Preserve now has a sign up saying that dogs must be on-leash - but we saw upwards of ten dogs out there, only two of which were leashed. We split the distance: H kept Milt leashed on the way up, but let him off for the return trip.
Coming out onto the ridge
We left on the early side and were the first people in the signed parking area just before the Pinecrest/Killyon road split. There's no parking at the actual trailhead so it was about a mile on the Killyon road (first paved, then dirt) to the start of the trail. There's no sign where the trail begins; it's just a path that continues on after the road ends. The sign for the preserve is about five minutes in, with an actual trail sign a bit further on.
Little short paintbrushes
Walking by the creek, in all the greenery, we sweated up quickly even though it wasn't even 50F when we parked the car. The trail doesn't waste much time with switchbacks, following the drainage through the trees at a steady but not too steep climb. The trail here is packed dirt and looks like it would get muddy in wet weather.
Nearing the top
When we got to a four-way intersection, we went left/north. Going straight/east would take you to Affleck Park (watershed/no dogs) and right/south would head towards the Emigration Canyon pass. Our route got steeper and drier as it mounted the ridge, and continued up and up, through sunflower meadows (just past their prime). We counted at least ten other varieties of wildflowers, all of them just on the verge of blossoming.
View northwest-ish
Up and up, always following the clear trail on the ridge. It got windier as we got higher and by the time we reached Lookout Peak (where the trail ends), it was cold. The peak is a meadow, with stunning views of upper City Creek Canyon, SLC, Emigration Canyon, Parleys Canyon, the peaks of the Cottonwoods, the rolling hills surrounding Little Dell and Big Mountain and East Canyon
Almost got a good photo of Milton
We had only seen a handful of people on the way up but as we retraced our steps, we encountered lots more: mostly hikers, many with dogs, a couple of trail runners and even two MTBers. For a trail that I'd never heard of before, it was pretty popular and we were glad we'd gotten an early start. Milton did very well with everyone, politely greeting the other dogs and mostly ignoring the people unless they had dog treats.
Brrrrr!
The tight parking area right on the road wasn't the best place for snacks and beers, and after ten miles we needed snacks! So we drove up to the Emigration Canyon pass, making sure to park on the non-watershed side and keeping Milton on a short rope. He wasn't about to wander, after having towed H up the mountain. It was a little chilly but we'd picked a good spot as there were dozens and dozens of road cyclists out, plus motorcyclists - lots to watch. We couldn't believe it had take us so long to find out about Lookout Peak but now that we know about it, and know about the trail system that is up there, we'll be back to do some more exploring.
H's favorite art shot genre: a scenic dead tree
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