South Fork of Neff's Canyon

The South Fork of Neff's Canyon is the less traveled version of the popular hike along the Wasatch Front. Both the South Fork and North Fork are accessed from the same trailhead, which has a large parking lot and looks up into a beautiful bowl of peaks right near Mount Olympus. After being on the same trail as the normal Neff's Canyon Hike for a half mile you will see a large rocky trail heading off to the right. There may be a creek running nearby if you are there early in the summer, but normally it is a dry bed. You will reach a section with large overhanging trees and a rocky area. Eventually the trail fades away and much of the higher sections are a free roaming or even bushwhacking affair. You will definitely find paths and game trails worn into the dirt, but because there are lots of rocky sections and fewer people along this route, you won't always have a defined maintained track. Keep the city to your right or behind you on the way up, and eventually the terrain naturally funnels you up toward the ridge line.

South Fork is fun if you don't mind freestyling a bit. There are some awesome nearly-vertical rock walls near the top with great views of Salt Lake CIty once you get out of the heavy tree coverage below. This is also an alternative route to ascend Mount Olympus from the north rather than the usual western approach from Wasatch Boulevard. You can bring your dogs, and there is no fee to use the area, unlike nearby Millcreek Canyon. Keep an eye out for moose, grouse or hawks, and the autumn colors here are out of this world.