Canyons busy as crowds take advantage of warm fall weather before it is gone

SALT LAKE CITY — With big changes in the forecast expected Monday when temperatures were predicted to drop to 10 to 20 degrees below normal, trails were busy Sunday for what some feared might be the last great fall weather weekend of the season.

Temperatures in the Salt Lake Valley raced past 70 degrees Sunday afternoon and conditions at higher elevations were sunny and mild, leading to packed parking lots and numerous hikers and fall weather picture-takers in areas like the Donut Falls Trail.

“We were talking about how almost all of the leaves are gone on most of the trees and everything and how the snow’s going to build up,” said Kam Westenskow who was in the canyon taking seasonal photos with his family. “We thought this was our final chance to get the pictures.”

That family was far from alone.

Seth Holtman and Shaylee Hansen also acknowledged Sunday might represent some of the last warm weather of the year, and so they planned to hike to Donut Falls.

“It’s just super pretty and nice up here and, like, we’ve been wanting to come up here for a while,” Hansen said. “I’ve never actually been on this trail before and I’ve lived in Utah my whole life, so we just decided it was a good weekend to come out.”

Fall weather is great, it means winter is just around the corner

Holtman said the scenery Sunday was “gorgeous,” but he also enjoyed winter in the canyon as well.”

“I love this canyon,” Holtman said. “I just love how green it is and specifically snowmobiling and snowboarding.”

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Before winter inevitably arrives, however, hikers and others wanted to make thed most of the warm fall weather.

“I’m glad we came because we still get to see some,” said Josh Borrowman of St. George, who came to the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon with his family to go cycling. “We saw the snow just above (on the peaks) so, yeah, super pretty.”

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