Millcreek Ridge

Approach

This route can be done in whole or in sections and can be reached from a variety of ways:

Grandeur Pk Trails: West Ridge, Pharaohs Glen, Church Fork

Burch Hollow Trail: This small signed trailhead starts about .25 mi before the winter road closure.

Elbow Fork Trails: Mt Aire or Lambs Canyon

Murdock Pk Trail: This trail starts at the trailhead at the very end of the Millcreek Canyon Road, about 10 miles from the mouth of the Canyon.

Depending on the segment combinations of the ridge chosen, a car shuttle may be needed.

The route will be described heading east from the summit of Grandeur Pk.

Stats

Doing this entire ridge in one day is a big undertaking, requiring an early start and fast hiking.

Total Distance: 16.5 miles (summer), 21.02 miles (winter)
Total Elevation Change: +8833' -7637'

Route Description

The Millcreek Ridge is the ridgeline separating Parleys Canyon from Millcreek Canyon. It is a long ridge with nice views of Parleys Canyon and the summits between Millcreek Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon. Because the route has minimal bushwacking and is almost entirely cross-country, it can be rather nice to do for the solitude that it can offer. In the winter the ridge is mostly free of avalanche danger and can serve as a good fallback option for snowshoeing when the avalanche danger is high.

I prefer to start the route by ascending the West Ridge of Granduer Pk.

Salt Lake Foothills - Grandeur Pk
Distance: 2.15 Miles
Elevation Change: +3275' -0'


Grandeur Pk-Church Fork Pk

This is one of the more rugged sections of the ridge.

From the summit, follow the Church Fork Trail down a short ways until the ridge can be easily gained. This can be done earlier through some routefinding and light bushwacking. Another alternative is to stay on the Church Fork trail until the first big switchback. From there one can find an abandoned trail that switchbacks up the slope to rejoin the ridge just below Church Fork Pk.

In the winter one can just stick religiously to the ridge all the way from the summit since the brush is mostly covered. If this option is done, brush and cliffs will necessitate dropping to the south about 100 ft for a short segment.

Distance: 2.28 Miles
Elevation Change: +1164' -1128'


Church Fork Pk - Mt Aire Saddle - Mt Aire

Follow the rolling ridge down to the Mt Aire saddle. Ascend the final switchbacks of the Mt Aire trail.

Church Fork Pk - Mt Aire Saddle
Distance: 1.93 Miles
Elevation Change: +305' -844'

Mt Aire Saddle - Mt Aire
Distance: 0.59 Miles
Elevation Change: +795' -0'


Mt Aire - Lambs Canyon Saddle - Millvue Pk

Descend the Mt Aire trail to the first switchback below the summit. Leave the trail and continue along the ridgeline all the way to the saddle to Lambs Canyon. This is the most rugged part of the ridge, with some class 2 scrambling and the ascent of a pk I've dubbed Snowdrift Pk before reaching the Lambs Canyon saddle.

At the saddle a trail is reached that can be followed to the summit of Millvue Pk.

Mt Aire - Lambs Canyon Saddle
Distance: 1.79 Miles
Elevation Change: +643' -1062'

Lambs Canyon Saddle - Millvue Pk
Distance: 0.64 Miles
Elevation Change: +748' -0'


Millvue Pk - Murdock Pk

Follow the ridgeline all the way to Murdock Pk. The ridge becomes less rugged and the bushwacking gets a little worse, but the routefinding is straightforward.

Millvue Pk - Murdock Pk
Distance: 3.81 Miles
Elevation Change: +1904' -1179'


Murdock Pk - Millcreek Road

Follow the trail from the summit of Murdock Pk down to the trailhead parking at the end of the Millcreek Canyon road. In the winter the road is closed lower down and one must travel all the way down the groomed road to the Maple Grove Picnic Ground.

Murdock Pk - Millcreek Road (Summer)
Distance: 3.31 Miles
Elevation Change: +0' -1920'

Millcreek Road - Maple Grove Picnic Ground (Winter) Pk
Distance: 4.52 Miles
Elevation Change: +0' -1504'

Essential Gear

10 Essentials, good hiking boots, and lots of water! There is no water and little shade along this route.

Winter: Because the avalanche danger along the ridge is very minor, avalanche gear is probably not needed (but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use common sense!)

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

Images

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