Millcreek Canyon Hikes – Murdock Peak

Millcreek Canyon Hikes – Murdock Peak

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission (for which I am very grateful for) at no extra cost to you.

Millcreek Canyon is one of my favorite spots in Northern Utah for a few reasons. 1) It allows dogs so we can bring Dex. 2) It has such close proximity to Salt Lake City. Millcreek Canyon is open all year. There is a $5 fee paid upon exit of the canyon. However they have a gate about halfway up the canyon that is closed November 1 – June 30 every year. If you are looking for Millcreek Canyon hikes when the gate is open, I would suggest Murdock Peak.

Millcreek Canyon Hikes
No time to hike today? Save this on Pinterest for later

Murdock Peak

According to AllTrails, Murdock Peak is 6.9 miles RT with 1948 ft of elevation gain and is rated as moderate. However, according to my Garmin it was just under 8 miles with 2208 ft of elevation gain. Regardless, for a peak it was not the most strenuous. There was one small section of scrambling that was pretty tough but it was short.

Murdock Peak sign from Canyons resort
Austin right before heading up the most difficult section of the entire trail.

To access this hike, take MillCreek Canyon to the very end of the road. The trail begins across from the bathrooms. There are also two turns that you take on this trail. You will cross over a wooden bridge and turn left when the trail dead ends. You will also turn left when the trail joins up with another trail – The Crest Trail. There will be a sign there that says “No Bikes on Odd Days”.

Murdock Peak view
The view from the top of Murdock Peak.

If you are looking for Millcreek Canyon hikes, Murdock Peak really has incredible view to effort ratio. It’s also a great option if you are looking to get a peak under your belt without having to do any serious scrambling.

Millcreek Canyon moose
We even saw a few moose on our hike back down. We stayed far away from them during our hike.

Millcreek Canyon Hikes

Despite being in the 90s down in the Salt Lake Valley, the trailhead for Murdock Peak starts at the very end of the canyon road. Therefore, it was already in the 80s once we got started. The peak itself was very windy and quite cool. I brought a packable jacket and leggings to put on at the top and was very glad I did.

If you are looking for other hikes in the Salt Lake City area, check out this list.

Have you done this hike before? What are your favorites in the Millcreek Canyon area? Let me know in the comments!

Let’s Stay in Touch…

name:
email:
Murdock Peak in Millcreek Canyon
Hiking in Millcreek Canyon
Millcreek Canyon Trails

Sharing is caring!

8 thoughts on “Millcreek Canyon Hikes – Murdock Peak

  1. Hi! I will be traveling out west for the first time real soon! I plan to hike a few trails near Salt Lake City. Do you have any other suggestions? Hoping to avoid overly touristy stuff 😁

  2. We’re coming the second week of may. Will there still be snow? I am checking the weather next week so it can be as accurate as possible for our trip.

    1. Yes there probably will still be snow as it just snowed up in the mountains today (lol). The Millcreek Canyon gates remain closed until July 1 each year. However, you can definitely still hike in the area. Make sure to pack microspikes and take a look at these hikes: http://beautahfulworld.com/salt-lake-city-hiking/ or consider visiting Antelope Island State Park (no spikes needed).

  3. I have hiked Murdock peak about four times. My first time when I was 13 and the last time I was 30. Each time I hiked up the east face from the Park City side and it was very strenuous with almost 3000 feet gain because the path is shorter and steeper. This summer I want to try the Millcreek approach. I am excited to try it out! Awesome website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *