Lower Corner Canyon to Movie Rocks 4/23/09

A good early spring hike that begins in Draper, Utah near Salt Lake City, and ascends into Corner Canyon on the Wasatch Mountain Range.

This is a good first hike for someone wanting to get out with snow still almost everywhere else along the Wasatch Range. Though the leaves weren't quite on the trees yet, the ground was green with grasses and foliage and some ground cover flowers were in bloom. Even without leaves, the trees arched over many parts of the trail and we could hear the stream nearby. The trail ascended gradually making it a great trail for getting into hiking shape for the season.

We started on the Lower Corner Canyon Trail and soon ran into signs saying the trail was closed for construction--the charted detour did much more winding than we were hoping for and we were going to have to back track to reach it. Luckily, we ran into a Draper employee who told us the signs were wrong and sent us into the "construction zone". We were able to bypass the construction by staying the course until the far end of Silica Pit, then shooting off on the North Ghost Falls trail.

I bet this trail will be amazing once the leaves have covered the trees. Ghost Falls was smaller than I expected, but raging and refreshing.
When the trail reached Corner Canyon road (which doesn't open until some time in May each year) we took the road for about 100 yards eastward to reach Jacob's Ladder Trailhead (#1 on the map below) and followed the trail to Movie Rocks. This section of trail was not quite as covered, but still surrounded by trees and brush. The trail eventually crested and Utah Valley appeared--this was an awesome sight! We kept heading eastward toward Movie Rocks (just southwest of Lone Rock)--a noticeable outcrop of rocks with magnificent views of Timpanogas, the Valley and Utah Lake. These pictures make it look more drab than the view really was. This view overlooks the Salt Lake Valley and Oquirrh Mountains:
The hike roundtrip was approximately 5-6 miles and took us 5 hours with some downtime at Movie Rocks.
Getting to the Lower Corner Canyon Trailhead: Take the Bluffdale exit from I-15 and turn east towards the mountains. Continue on Highland Drive until you reach the ballpark parking lot. Directly across the street from the parking, the Lower Corner Canyon trail heads uphill. To reach the trailhead from the north (Sandy area), take 13th East southward until it ends at the stop sign just past the underpass. Turn left and drive 1/4 mile.