After years of planning, the Salt Lake Ranger District (SLRD) of the United States Forest Service (USFS) has released the final Tri-Canyon Trails Plan. Once implemented, this plan will oversee the management of all trails in Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood, and Millcreek Canyons. Whether you have an opinion about a specific trail or overall comments on foot and pedal-powered access in the Central Wasatch, now is your chance to be heard. From the early stages of this process, Save Our Canyons has contributed feedback and insight to help improve the plan. We appreciate the work by the Salt Lake Ranger District and other stakeholders to find common ground around recreation access in the coming decades. While Save Our Canyons agrees with a vast majority of the plan, we do have some recommendations to make this plan stronger for the sake of the Wasatch.
Why this plan matters:
With a quickly growing user base, trails in the Tri-Canyon area see over 3 million visitors per year. The current trail system cannot sustainably handle today’s recreational demands. User-created trails are proliferating, causing resource degradation, while popular destinations are overwhelmed with concentrated use that damages the very landscapes we come to enjoy.
The Tri-Canyon Trails Plan is an honest attempt to address these issues through a phased approach that will shape how we experience these canyons for years to come. The plan categorizes projects into three implementation phases, with Phase 1 projects already slated for next year.
What’s Being Proposed:
Trail Network Changes: The plan identifies specific trail projects that will provide new connections, formalize sustainable user-created trails, and reroute problematic sections. These include concentrated use trails for high-traffic areas, connector trails to create loops and point-to-point options, and strategic formalization of existing user-created trails where appropriate. Some trail changes are to limit user-conflicts, while others are to protect water resources.
Trailhead Improvements: The plan classifies trailheads into three categories—Major, Medium, and Primitive—each with specific infrastructure designed to match visitation levels. Major trailheads will become recreation hubs with hardened surfaces, accessible parking, and potential future transit connections. The purpose of this is to concentrate access to the areas that are best equipped to handle the parking and restroom needs.
Resource Protection: Perhaps most importantly to us, the plan addresses the proliferation of unsustainable user-created trails by formalizing some while closing and restoring others that cause environmental damage, especially near water resources.
Get Involved: Your Opportunity to Influence the Plan
You know the Wasatch! Whether it’s a small realignment to an existing trail, feedback on a proposed project, or a broader take on the overall plan, your voice is important. The SLRD is hosting community open houses where you can dive deep into the details and share your priorities:
Upcoming Open Houses:
- July 9th – The County Library in Sandy (10100 S Petunia Way), 6:00 PM
- July 16th – The County Library in West Jordan (8030 S 1825 W), 6:00 PM
Can’t attend in person? You can still make your voice heard through online channels:
- Tri Canyon Trails Final Plan Webpage – Project information and comment opportunity
- Tri Canyon Trails Final PDF – The full 84-page plan with detailed project descriptions
- Tri Canyon Trails Story Map – Platform for location-specific comments
Our Take:
Save Our Canyons understands that pressures on Tri-Canyons trails have been growing for years. Without a comprehensive plan in place, this increased visitation has taken a toll on both watershed health and habitat quality. A master-plan has the ability to facilitate holistic and forward-thinking approaches to manage visitation pressures, reduce impacts to resources, and improve user experience.
Save Our Canyons supports the majority of this plan, as it represents a meaningful step toward reducing the growing impacts of recreation on the beauty, solitude, and ecological integrity of the Wasatch. As visitation increases, it’s critical we implement thoughtful, place-based strategies that protect the Tri-Canyons’ watersheds, wildlife, and wild character for future generations.
We encourage our members to make a comment to the Forest Service that we are in favor of these elements of the plan:
- Formalizing sustainable trails around riparian areas, lakes and creeks to reduce impacts on the watershed. Examples of this include Lake Catherine, Donut Falls, Lake Mary, Cecret Lake, Dog Lake and Lake Blanche.
- Additional trail marking and restoration in high-use networks of user-created trails. Examples of this include upper Red Pine, American Fork Twins, Neffs Canyon, and Mount Aire.
- Working with the climbing community to formalize access to known climbing areas with durable, defined trails. Examples of this include: Stairs Gulch, Mule Hollow.
After a careful review of the plan and discussions with the Forest Service, we’ve identified several miles of new mountain bike trails proposed for the Central Wasatch. These include areas that have, until now, remained undeveloped. One trail of particular concern is the proposed Wasatch Crest–Willow Heights–Solitude Connector. This trail would carve 1–2 miles through intact stands of quaking aspen, disrupting a drainage that has historically remained wild.
Save Our Canyons recognizes mountain biking as a meaningful and sustainable way to experience the Wasatch, and many of us ride these trails ourselves. We also recognize the value of high-quality, accessible mountain biking opportunities—especially when they are carefully planned to reduce user conflict and protect sensitive landscapes.
We believe resources should be used for improving and maintaining existing trails and infrastructure in already developed recreation zones. Building new trails in untouched areas, especially those with high ecological value, risks further fragmentation of habitat and diminishes the wild character we work to protect.
The stated goal of this new connector is to reduce user conflict on nearby multi-use trails in Mill D and Millcreek, and to alleviate congestion at Guardsman Pass by encouraging loop rides starting and ending at Solitude. While we support strategies that consolidate recreational use in areas equipped with preexisting parking, signage, and restrooms, we are not confident that this new trail will reduce congestion.
Furthermore, this trail would fundamentally alter the character of the Willows drainage by introducing a new mountain bike-specific route through its heart—an area that, once disturbed, cannot be returned to its original state. Before the construction of this trail is considered, we would ask the Forest Service to continue formalizing, managing, and working with shuttle services who access current trails in the Crest area before breaking new ground.
We encourage our members to explore the full plan and maps, and consider the following points when making a comment to the Forest Service about this Plan:
- Before building new trails, the Forest Service should focus on maintaining, signing, and regulating existing trails to limit user conflict and erosion issues.
- There are several proposed connector trails in the plan, and we have established that the Wasatch Crest – Willow Heights – Solitude Connector Trail would be the most damaging to the character of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
- We are concerned that without proper regulation in the plan, additional access points to the Wasatch Crest Trail could actually worsen congestion issues they set out to solve.
- We encourage deterring rogue trail building happening throughout the range by providing managers with more resources for restoration and enforcement.
Want to explore the Tri-Canyon Trails Plan for yourself?
Visit the official project homepage HERE to dive into the details. The Salt Lake Ranger District has created an interactive story map where you can explore selected trails, review their phased implementation plan, and share your own feedback on the future of trail access and stewardship in the Wasatch.
