Temple Quarry and Little Cottonwood Creek Trail

Great winter hike! Trail is pretty packed. No problems hiking it with spikes (but you would probably be okay without).

The trail is mostly covered in snow and ice starting at the trailhead going all the way up. Very slippery.

Easy parking at the base of the trail. Creeks and river running beside the trail pretty much the entire way up, some small waterfalls, making for beautiful views and enjoyable sounds. Nice shade from the trees about 80% of the hike. Friendly people and polite/conscientious mountain bikers.

Everything is dry. seriously is the strangest thing ever as we come here once every 2 weeks and it was awesome but is no more running creek.

Not the best hike in the area. good for a nice leg stretch. Handful of bikes seen but all quite polite unlike what you see in other canyons. if you park across the road where AllTrails directs you it is closer to 7.75 miles. there is parking at the Temple Quarry trailhead that gets you on the same side of the road as the Little Cottonwood Creek Trail. close enough to the road you can hear the cars over the river and smell the brakes as the cars come out of the canyon. River still full in late July.

The trail follows an old gravel/dirt road that was probably used to service the municipal works along the creek. Pipes and other remains of the works are still evident along the trail. The first half mile is mostly unshaded and within earshot of road traffic. Eventually you reach a paved road and houses and search for the trail next to a contemporary municipal project. Then it becomes more pleasant, entering the woods and following the creek. If you are hiking, do not expect mountain bikers to stop or even slow down a little. Although there weren’t many of them, even on a Sunday.

Very nice hike. Next to the river most the way up.

This trail has always been love hate for me. Work work work but then fun blast downhill. Good for short or longer ride.

This trail is great, but it’s 7-8 miles long and I thought it was a lot harder than people are saying. I do wish it was closer to the river so there would be some views but it’s mostly just trees and nothing else

lovely

Good, simple trail.

beautiful trail. good place to take kids. it's really nice and easy.

love it, great for photography !!!!

easy little hike for the family.

Trail is well maintained. lots of water today as we hiked up it. There are a lot of bikes on this trail but it is wide enough that they can pass easily. The river is gorgeous and loud. some parts are exposed but the majority is hiking in shade. we were able to see a snake on the side of the trail which provided some excitement for the group.

The building ruin adds a touch of mystery, as well as the iron body of maybe a vehicle that ran off the road decades ago? Stream is lovely, granite boulders impressive, mountain bikers polite. Found a private spot for a hammock.

Beautiful trail along a river with big trees. the trail is fairly wide and not to steep. Lots of mountain bikers.

awesome hike, very few people and amazing scenery.

Quarry trail parking was covered in packed down snow. Parking across the street was clear. About 3” of snow on the start of the trail, probably 4-6 at the top. You may still be okay without spikes, but I would’ve been faster if I had them with me. Great option for a regular winter hike.

I hiked the upper portion for 1.7 miles until it comes back up to the road. Starts just below the ruins of the old Mill. Loved this trail. Very peaceful and a gradual climb to get your heart going a bit. I only saw three mountain bikers and five bikers on this trail. I think I will start at the bottom for a snow shoeing adventure this winter.

In spite of being along the main road a lot of the time, this was a pretty and enjoyable trail! Lots of shade and some sun. Gets really good toward the highest point/furthest in. The river of beautiful and there are a lot of huge rocks. Also, plenty side trails too. The trail continues at the end of this trail, after the bad ass remains of a building, but I didn’t try it...yet!

Other reviewer is correct..pic of lake for this trail is not correct so don't go just to see a lake.... don't think there is one there. There is a river, some small bridges that cross it, and you get to do a hike that spreads the elevation change(1300+ ft) out across a longer distance so it makes it easier which is pretty cool. I think I actually liked two other things the most...the old broken down stone chapel(I think that's what it is)at the end and the metal contraption thing that everybody has pictures of on here that is powered by water. Despite watching it for 10 straight minutes I have no idea what the heck it's purpose was....but it was fascinating!! Oh..and as a geocacher I need to point out that I found one out there. Have a good one and enjoy the hike if you go!!!! Oh....watch out for the mountain bikers as they come down the trail....they were all really nice and said thanks when I stopped and got to the side, but if some of them hit me going as fast as they were there might not be anything left of me....it looked really fun.....I have gotta try it some day if I can.

This is a really fun quick adventure with kids.

Love this trail, beautiful all the way to the final destination, many places to stop and explore. One thing to be cautious of is bikers!! There are so many.

Super Duper easy trail. I think for our family would rather bike it then hike it next time. And there will be a next time

The trail is long and very easy and accessible, although it is not labeled very well and we ended up getting off track quite a bit. The ending has a cool mill across the creek to look at, but I do want to add that the picture that is displayed with the hike's name is NOT on this trail, it is a completely different hike. This trail does not lead to any overview of a lake.

This was a beautiful trail in May, after the snow melted. I made it out to the second bridge, my first time hiking this trail, which ended up being about 5.5 miles total. It was definitely on the moderate side of easy. Steady incline with some steep parts, the whole way. Also, there’s way too much graffiti on some of the boulders and you have to watch out for bikers. Overall, I love this trail for exercise and views. I went on a Saturday morning and honestly did not see a lot of kids here because this is not an easy one for them. Edited to add: Temple Quarry is an easy paved loop trail, appears to be very short but I haven’t tried it. Little Cottonwood is a moderate trail, and that’s more so the one I’m reviewing here. I parked at the Temple Quarry Trailhead.

Personally I enjoy this trail a lot. It follows the river and there’s lots to see along the way. I get about 15,000 steps in so I’ll use this trail for some exercise when I really don’t want to go to the gym. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as “easy,” I would not want to make grandma do it. There is a gradual but continuous climb with some parts more steep and rocky/gravely than others. It’s also definitely a biking trail but the last few times I’ve hiked it there have been many more bike riders than hikers, so definitely keep an eye and ear out for them both from behind and above.