The Grove Creek Canyon hike has been on my list for minute. I finally got around to at the beginning of February 2022. If you live in Utah you know the snow fall this year has been seriously lacking. This gives way for some really fun hiking on the Wasatch Front. The trail conditions were actually really good for the time of year, and the dogs loved being able to get outside and run around. We still managed to find pretty deep snow in the meadows the last mile of the hike! The Grove Creek Spring and Indian Campground trail is 6.3 miles with 2,650 feet of elevation gain per All Trails. We tracked the hike closer to 7 miles, and it took us about 3 hours, with a few stops included in there.
Grove Creek to the Upper Waterfall
The first two miles of the trail are really moderate. The elevation gain is steady, with only one or two very short steep sections leading up to the upper waterfall. Once you get out of the base of the canyon the trail is extremely exposed. I would not want to do this hike during a sunny summer day.
As we made our way farther into the canyon, the trail is truly on the edge of the cliffs. As my friend said, this is definitely the “hold your kids hand” section of the trail. In our case, the dogs actually did pretty well staying away from the edge. Only 1 of the 3 ended up on a leash. About 1.5 miles into the hike if you listen and look closely, there is a waterfall visible in the distance.
When you get within view of the upper waterfall the trail did get a bit muddy for the time of year, but nothing like what we were expecting. The upper waterfall was covered in ice, which I always think looks super cool. The views back down the canyon were pretty great – even though there was not a lot of foliage this time of year.
Upper Waterfall to Grove Creek Spring
Just past the upper waterfall you cross Grove Creek on a bridge to the north face of the canyon. Typical for this time of year, the trail was covered in snow and ice is some areas. It was manageable without micro-spikes, but I would definitely highly recommend having them. About half way up these switchbacks I put my microspikes on, and shortly after my friend did as well. I was super happy we had them when we came across a small waterfall completely frozen in an ice sheet over the trail. We managed fine with spikes. One of the dogs was not a fan at all, and they all did a bit of slip-n-sliding.
After the waterfall it was just a bit more elevation gain. Then the trail really leveled out and opened up to meadows with gorgeous views of Mt. Timp. There was also lots of running water from the springs in the area. This section of the hike for whatever reason, was the most mentally difficult for us. The hardest physical part of the hike was behind us but our slowest mile pace was through the meadows. Thanks to all the snow-shoers before us, the trail was well packed in the meadows. There really was no need for us to be in snow shoes. We made it to the spring and happily took some photos before heading back down the trail to the cars.
Before you go
The trailhead has a decent amount of parking as well as a vault toilet. We did not have any issues on a Saturday with parking. The trail does not have any fees associated with it and is very dog friendly, we passed a few other hikers with their own pups. The first portion of the trail was fairly busy. As we got farther back in the canyon there were far fewer people. There are several trails that break off the Grove Creek Spring and Indian Campground trail within the first mile. Be sure you follow the right path if you want to get up to the spring – or past it.
There is a loop option that connects to the neighboring Battle Creek Canyon Trail. This uses the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to get back to the Grove Creek Trailhead. That trail is listed as close to 9 miles in All Trails. We opted to just do the out and back, but plan to return to do the Loop during the spring season when there is a little less snow on the upper portion of the trail. But check out my hike from Fall 2020 up Battle Creek Canyon… it was my first ever hike in Utah!
For more of our Utah adventures, check out my Utah specific blog page! If you are looking for something else, check out the archives or menu at the top.
Great article! as usual. Pups looked great too. Also really like the change up in the font…. ya I noticed. Keep doing the great hiking adventures of Winter blog
Awe Thank you! I love the pups and also love changing up subtle things on the website as well!