This summer, Tim and I thought it would be a great opportunity to spend our Sunday afternoons exploring some of the church history sites. We have 9 o'clock church, which allows us the entire afternoon to have family dinner and take the kids to some church sites. The first site we visited was the salt lake cemetery where the kids had a scavenger hunt looking for the church prophets graves, and this past Sunday we took the kids to the temple quarry trail located at the base of little cottonwood canyon.
I was amazed by the beautiful smooth granite rocks that reside in the river bed near the trail. The Temple Quarry Trail is a paved walking path near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Early settlers to the Salt Lake valley quarried granite for the LDS Salt Lake Temple from this area. Interpretive signs along the way paint a picture of what life was like in this area in the late 1800s.
From I-215
I was amazed by the beautiful smooth granite rocks that reside in the river bed near the trail. The Temple Quarry Trail is a paved walking path near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Early settlers to the Salt Lake valley quarried granite for the LDS Salt Lake Temple from this area. Interpretive signs along the way paint a picture of what life was like in this area in the late 1800s.
From I-215
- Take Exit 6 for 6200 S/Wasatch Blvd.
- Drive south on Wasatch Blvd. for 3.9 miles.
- Bear left onto UT-210/Little Cottonwood Canyon Road and continue for 1.6 miles.
- Turn right onto UT-209/E Little Cottonwood Road then immediately left into the signed trailhead parking area at the junction of UT-209 and UT-210.
The Temple Quarry Trailhead is located at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Salt Lake Valley.
Begin hiking on the paved path at the west end of the parking area near the restrooms. A large granite monument with a plaque is located at the start of the trail that tells visitors a little about the history of the area and how the granite was quarried.
Continue past the monument as the trail winds along the banks of the usually dry Little Cottonwood Creek. The water that normally would flow here is diverted further up the canyon to provide hydroelectric power for residents of the Salt Lake Valley. Several social trails lead to the riverbed in this area.
Walking down the path you will encounter various interpretive signs offering insight to the history of the area. At the first junction, a short spur trail leads to an amphitheater and an interpretive sign. Explore this branch and then return to the junction and continue up the trail. Another spur trail soon departs on the right to the remnants of an old dam and spill way.
Soon the trail turns to the left and back towards the parking area. Total hiking distance for the paved trails is about one half mile; however, those wishing to spend more time can explore the various trails along the paved path or continue up canyon on the signed Little Cottonwood Trail, which originates east from the same parking area.
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