Big Cottonwood Creek

Big Cottonwood Creek is one of the largest streams entering Salt Lake Valley from the east from the Wasatch Mountains. The creek flows through the Big Cottonwood Canyon in a westerly direction until it emerges into Salt Lake Valley about eighteen miles (29 km) from its highest source. Thence its course is northwesterly through Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, and Murray, Utah until it empties into the Jordan River about five miles (8 km) south of Salt Lake City. In the summer its waters are all used for irrigation purposes. From its source to its original outlet into the Jordan River is a distance of about twenty six miles. Outdoor activities in the canyon include fishing, seasonal hunting, camping, hiking, picnicking, sightseeing, biking, rock climbing, skiing, and snowboarding. The National Forest land in the canyon is intermixed with private land. The private land contains many homes, some of which are right alongside Big Cottonwood Creek. Two large ski resorts are also located in the canyon. All of these activities further influence this ecosystem. Big Cottonwood Creek is home to Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), brook trout(Salvelinus fontinalis), and brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki utah). The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources stock the creek with Rainbow Trout annually near Silver Lake. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has identified Big Cottonwood Creek as a Class II Fishery. This classifies the area as “a moderate to large productive stream with high aesthetic value where fishing and other recreational uses should be the primary consideration”. It was determined to be an especially important water body due to its capacity to provide a strong resident trout fishery close to a metropolitan area.