Millcreek Hiking Alternatives
*** New: *** Alternative to Dog Lake: Alpine Lake in the Canyons
Dog Lake was a favorite of my dogs. Swim, play fetch with a stick and most of all, cool off for the sometimes hot trek back down. This Alpine Lake trail is the first of the alternatives for Dog Lake while the upper Millcreek Canyon is closed. Coming soon is a route to Red Pine Lake as well and even a two lake route under 10 miles going to both Alpine and Red Pine Lake. Stay tuned!
Click to see Alpine Lake route
You can’t read the red sign in the picture above, but it states: No Swimming – No Lifeguard on Duty! So watch your dogs closely as they swim.
Rob’s Trail to Murdock Peak Hiking Route
On a PC, to zoom in, click on map and use scroll bars. To return to this page click back-button; On mobile just pinch to zoom while in landscape mode
If you’re hiking with your dog(s), please note there is no water on the trail. To allow your dog to splash in a mountain stream you’ll need to make a detour 0.8 miles on the Great Western Trail from the junction either before the final fairly steep climb to the peak or after coming back down (see lower left on the map). The stream will be alongside the trail. After cooling off through their paws by wading in the water and lapping up as much as they need, remember it’s another 0.8 miles back to the junction for a 1.6 mile total detour.
Murdock Peak Ski-run segment (double black diamond ⯁⯁) ⇨
Pass this sign for a less steep approach to the peak further on at the junction with the Great Western Trail (as shown on the map)
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Alternative Zoomed View
Additional Information
- No Water for Dogs: As mentioned above, there is no water on the trail for dogs so bring water for them
- Closest Water: As described above (just below the first map), an alternative is to go to the junction (JCT) and head into Millcreek Canyon and the less than a mile trek to a stream and let your dog(s) cool off.
- Leash rules: The sign at Rob’s Trail trailhead says dogs must be leashed, so before starting up the trail, make sure you leash your dog and that he’s still leashed upon returning to the parking lot as well (hint, hint). Other than Rob’s trail, the rest of this hike is officially off-leash as part of the Round Valley Area which is an off-leash area unless otherwise posted. If you’re a Millcreek hiker, notice you have no odd-day/even-day restrictions in the Round Valley Area (but no bike restrictions either).
- Bikers: On the trails listed here, bikes are allowed. Rob’s trail is different than the others on this hike. It does not allow downhill bikers so if you’re hiking with dogs at least on almost half of your hike you don’t have to worry about speeding bikes coming down toward or behind you.
- Alternative Destinations: From Rob’s Trail trailhead to the Murdock Peak Ski-run sign is 5.2 miles. If your not feeling like taking the additional 3/4 mile quite strenuous hike to the top of Murdock Peak, directly behind you as you look at the sign is a road and a very short easy climb to the Super Condor Express ski lift. There’s quite a view from there of the Canyons Ski Resort, the valley and if you look a little to your right, the red cliffs about 1 1/2 miles away above the small Red Pine Lake.
Off-Leash Dogs Allowed: Below is created from information provided by the Mountain Trails Foundation
The shaded area in the map is the off-leash sections and the circled area is the area of this page’s hike to Murdock Peak. The final short leg to the peak is outside the Round Valley area but is in Millcreek which is also off-leash (with no bikes) on that final segment on odd-numbered days. The map below is static but… CLICK HERE to Link to MTF’s interactive Round Valley map to plan some of your own hikes with dogs.
If you have questions, suggestions, or comments about your hike, please leave them here. I’ll be adding more Millcreek Alternative Hikes as I discover them and find them suitable for dogs off-leash as well as for somewhat experienced senior hikers, like myself. – tluke