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You do not have to leave the Salt Lake Valley to find a drive that makes you roll the windows down and slow way down. These canyon climbs, bench overlooks, and lake roads are all close to home, and a few sit minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.
This 15-mile climb from the canyon mouth up to Brighton is the drive everyone thinks of first. You follow the creek past granite walls and the road bends by Solitude before it tops out near the ski resorts. In fall the whole canyon turns gold, and the upper switchbacks open up big valley views behind you.
Shorter and steeper than its neighbor, this seven-mile road runs straight up a granite-walled glacial canyon to Snowbird and Alta. The sheer rock faces are some of the best climbing in the country, so you will often spot climbers dotting the walls as you drive. It feels more rugged and closed-in than Big Cottonwood, which is the whole appeal.
Start behind the State Capitol and cruise Bonneville Boulevard along the foothills, where the road opens to wide views back over the city. It connects down to Memory Grove and the mouth of City Creek Canyon, a leafy creek-lined draw right at the edge of downtown. It is the easiest way to feel like you left the city without actually leaving it.
A quiet, tree-lined canyon road just past the University of Utah, lined with old homes and shady curves. Road cyclists love it for good reason, and it makes a calm, pretty drive close to the city without any big elevation gain. This is the one to take when you just want an easy hour with the windows down.
Climb the east bench of Draper and the road opens to 360-degree views, with the whole Salt Lake Valley one way and Utah Lake and Mount Timpanogos the other. Sitting up on the ridge between two valleys, it catches some of the best sunsets in the state. Locals make a habit of driving up here just to watch the light change.
You do not even need a canyon for this one. Wasatch Boulevard runs along the foothill bench with Mount Olympus rising on one side and the whole valley falling away on the other. It is an everyday road with a postcard view, and it links the mouths of both Cottonwood canyons if you want to keep going up.
Near the top of Big Cottonwood, a turnoff before Brighton climbs to a high mountain pass around 9,700 feet, with wildflowers in summer and blazing color in fall. You crest a saddle in the Wasatch and the views stretch across the high country toward Park City. It feels like a real mountain road, not a city drive.
Most valley drives head into the Wasatch, but this one climbs the quieter Oquirrh range on the west side. The paved road winds up to a ridgeline above Herriman, and a short rough spur leads to an overlook of the enormous Bingham Canyon copper mine. From the top you can see the whole valley, the Great Salt Lake, and the mountains stacked behind it.
A seven-mile causeway carries you straight out over the Great Salt Lake to the biggest island in the lake, where bison still roam the hillsides. The drive across open water is unlike anything else near the valley, and the island loop gives you sweeping basin views and a real sense of how vast the old lake once was. It is a short hop north and worth the trip.
When you want a bigger day out, this byway climbs east from Kamas into the Uinta Mountains past lakes, meadows, and high granite peaks. The lower section is an easy, gorgeous warm-up, and the road keeps climbing toward the highest pass for those who want more. It is the closest true alpine highway to the Salt Lake Valley.
A great scenic drive in the Salt Lake Valley comes down to three things: the view, the timing, and the road. The Wasatch canyons on the east side give you tight granite walls and creek crossings, the bench roads above the city trade you a postcard valley view for almost no effort, and the Oquirrh side to the west feels wide open and far from the crowds. Pick the one that matches the mood you want, and you are rarely more than thirty minutes from a trailhead, a picnic table, or a pullout.
Timing matters as much as the road. Fall is the local favorite, when the canyon trees go gold from late September into October, and golden hour turns the bench drives into something special. Some of the best routes are seasonal, since high passes and west-side canyons close in the snowy months and one big canyon road is shut for construction through 2026. Check the road status before you go, fill the tank, and let the route do the work.
Keep exploring Salt Lake Valley: The Best Hikes Near the Salt Lake Valley · The Best Waterfall Hikes Near the Salt Lake Valley · The Best Hot Springs Near the Salt Lake Valley. Need a local pro? Browse Valley Approved businesses. Planning the weekend? See the Events Hub.
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