Grove Creek/Battle Creek Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · River/Creek · Spring · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This fun loop passes by several cascades and a couple of decent sized waterfalls for the area. The meadow at the top is a really fun section with some great views of Mount Timpanogos, and even the forests and meadows in the area are quite the sight. Battle Creek, especially near the bottom, is really beautiful as it carves through steep, rocky canyon walls.

Starting from the Grove Creek Trailhead, the trail starts out pretty easy on a large, wide dirt road-like trail, but within about a half mile, the trail turns into singletrack as it nears Grove Creek. It then hits a switchback that brings the trail up above the creek for a mile until the trail crosses the creek over a small bridge.

Along this section between the switchback and the bridge, there are two waterfalls that can be seen from the trail, but a detour from the trail would be required to get close to them. The trail also seems to have been built into a cliff band in one part, which is a pretty cool part.

After crossing the foot bridge, the trail switches back a couple more times and pretty soon starts to level out as it ascends into the meadow below Mount Timpanogos. The trail passes by a sign for Indian Campground and Grove Creek Spring, and there is a spring nearby (right next to the trail) that can be used if you need a water refill. Pretty soon thereafter, the trail branches off to the right (I don't remember this part having any signage, so just keep your eyes out for a singletrack trail going off to the right) onto an unmarked trail that connects with the GWT: Timpooneke-Chris Flat Trail.

This section of the trail is fun as it goes up through a pretty forest to the final summit, and then emerges from the forest and begins the fun descent down towards Battle Creek. The trail through here is mostly singletrack, although it does spill out onto the Indian Campground Road briefly, but then it pretty quickly connects with the GWT: Dry Canyon Trail, and then after a little bit less than a mile after leaving the Indian Campground Road, it turns off to the right and down the actual Battle Creek Trail.

This section of descent between the aforementioned summit and the turnoff to the Battle Creek Trail is a really enjoyable section of the trail, as it goes through beautiful meadows with great views all around. Once the trail turns down onto the Battle Creek Trail, it immediately becomes steeper and a bit more rocky, with some loose rock in sections.

After about a mile of steep and loose footing, the trail mellows out slightly and enters the narrow canyon section of Battle Creek, with cool rock formations all around; the creekbed in places is solid bedrock. There are still a couple of steep, loose, and rocky sections, but they are mostly brief on the way down to the mouth of the canyon. There is a cool, short section of the trail in this narrow canyon area where the creek actually levels out as it crosses a slab of bedrock, but the trail continues to descend until it is level with the creek.

Approximately 6.5 miles into the hike, you can see Battle Creek Falls off to the left, which is a pretty beautiful waterfall. From here, the descent is fast and smooth down to the mouth of Battle Creek Canyon, where you have plenty of options for getting back to the Grove Creek Trailhead. There are several dirt roads that connect Grove Creek and Battle Creek canyons, and it doesn't really matter which one you take, as long as you stay off of any marked private property. The one shown on the map is the "lower path" section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST: Battle Creek to Grove Creek).

Lots of wildflowers in season and local wildlife can be seen up here.