A somewhat steep hike in some parts, especially if you have little kids with you. The reservoir is very full this year and water in the river is running high and fast.

We did this hike with 6 kids ages 4 to 10 and it was a perfect distance. Right when the restlessness started kicking in is when we reached the reservoir. Kids loved watching the ducks and goose while playing on the big rocks. Then they were ready to hike back down! Parking lot had several open spots on a Saturday afternoon in April. There is also overflow shoulder parking on Wasatch Boulevard.

The Bell Canyon Boulder Trailhead will take you to Lower Bell Canyon Reservoir. The parking lot is very small, est. 10 cars total; there are no bathrooms at the trailhead. It was 2.37 miles according to my watch. You hike up a very steep incline right from the beginning, the first 1/2 mile is all “stairs” of rocks, dirt and logs. There are some switch backs you can hike to avoid the stairs along the way, but it is all incline until you get to the reservoir. It is not a good hike for younger kids, unless they are very energetic and love to be challenged. Beautiful scenery throughout the hike and the reservoir is beautiful. You can follow the trail past the reservoir to get to the waterfall. Overall, pretty and an easy access trailhead.

Always a favorite! This side is a little harder than the other parking lot of bells. But still gets you there in the end.

Love this trail! It leads you to the lower part of the Bell Canyon Reservoir and it does include some climbing uphill but not for long. As you go up, you can also get the overview of Sandy.

Great hike,lots of native flowers. The lake was very peaceful for a rest before trekking back to car. Spotted a little gopher snake under a sagebrush.

Trail was not too crowded ( Saturday afternoon); easy to moderate trail; compared to other routes that reach the same destination, this route has roughly the same elevation change over a slightly shorter distance, but sections of it are like steep bouldered/log-hewn staircases, instead of switchbacks; trail conditions are less than ideal due to erosion caused by hikers who walk off-trail; there is a beautiful, shady glade and bridge in the middle of the trail where it crosses a creek, the rest of the trail is dry, dusty, and without any shade; the Lower Bell Canyon Reservoir is beautiful and quiet--no swimming, boating, or dogs allowed; views of the Salt Lake Valley along the trail are stunning

There are not a lot of parking spots, so I'd recommend you go first thing in the morning or be prepared to start your hike early, having to walk from a farther parking lot. This trail can also get a bit crowded since there are a few different levels of trail you can hike off of this single trailhead, which is another reason to go as early as you can. We usually hike past the reservoir and keep going to the lower falls. AllTrails marks it at 4.6 miles and just under 4 hours and that was about accurate for us. I think it took us a little less time hiking, but we spent a lot of time hanging out at the falls just enjoying the views so that added a lot of time for us. But it's one of my favorite hikes so I do it every year, it has a variety of different scenery and it's not too challenging until the end close to the falls, it does get a little vertical, but I've seen lots of kids doing it just fine.