USA Salt Lake City valley via Bonneville Shoreline Trail

This spot is located within Salt Lake City’s Tomahawk Natural Area, on a trail which connects the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with the Avenues Twin Peaks. This area provides panoramic views of the Salt Lake City valley area and surrounding western Oquirrh Mountain Range.

A medium zoom lens (24~70mm full frame) works well in this spot. At 45mm one may capture a nice view of the SLC valley area and surrounding mountains. However, one may also zoom in 55~70mm to capture more clear images of the city. A polarizing filter is also extremely useful.

If shooting during the late afternoon or sunset, please keep in mind you’ll be facing west directly into the sun. A graduated filter may be helpful to reduce the brightness of the sky.

After the sun sets behind the mountains, one will have a beautifully illuminated sky from which to capture many images.

The specs of the spot’s main photo are shown below:
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 III
Lens: Sigma 24~70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 44.6mm full frame (approx. 30mm on an APS-C sensor)

This spot is easy to access, however it does require some hiking. The Tomahawk Natural Area is located adjacent to the Avenues suburbs, north of Salt Lake City, Utah. There exists very many trailheads throughout the Avenues area, from which you may access the various trails throughout the Tomahawk Natural area. Street parking is plentiful and free around the tailheads!

One can observe on Google maps there are many trails around this area which can lead to this spot. Although I took a longer route for hiking enjoyment, I’ll describe perhaps the shortest path to get to this location.

Park near the end of Perrys Hollow Rd N. in the Arlington Hills area. The trailhead is called “Valley View and Twin Peaks Trails Loop” in Google maps. Follow this trail until it intersects with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Take BST right (east). You will eventually observe some unmarked trails which head up toward the top of Twin Peaks.

Although cell coverage seems to be decent as of 2024-Fall, make sure to take your phone and to download a map. There are TONS of unmarked trails / paths all over the Tomahawk Natural Area. Likewise there are nearly infinite beautiful views of the city anywhere you hike in this area.

One point of caution: This area is extremely popular for mountain bikers. Make sure you remain alert while hiking to avoid a collision (don’t play music / podcast too loudly in your headphones). The trails are narrow and you may need to step aside quickly!

Otherwise, please hike around the area and enjoy the stunning panoramic views of SLC!