Cottonwood Heights

Cottonwood Heights Community Profile

Cottonwood Heights: City Between the Canyons – it’s just as majestic as it sounds. Located along the east bench of Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights lies south of the cities of Holladay and Murray, east of Midvale, and north of Sandy within the Salt Lake Area.

As the city’s name suggests, its geography is dominated by a high ridge separating the valleys of the Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks, and at the eastern edge of the city these valleys narrow into Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, which lie within the stunningly close and larger-than-life Wasatch Mountains. The city’s official nickname, “City Between the Canyons”, reflects the staggering geography Cottonwood Heights is known for.

Cottonwood Heights is a beautiful city that boasts comfort, ease, and proximity to downtown Salt Lake City. You’ll never miss out on the best parts of city living by buying in Cottonwood Heights, but you can also escape the noise. And for anyone looking to take advantage of Utah’s “Greatest Snow on Earth,” the city is just a few minutes drive from popular ski resorts such as Brighton, Snowbird and Alta.

In addition to having such a beautiful nickname and amazing location, Cottonwood Heights is also known for its wonderful community involvement and events. The city hosts annual events such as the “Monster Mash” around Halloween, “Bark in the Park,” for dog lovers, an annual safety fair and community plays.

Let’s just sum it up by saying this: In 2007, Money magazine rated Cottonwood Heights at #100 on their Best Places to Live list. And with its beauty, character, community and charm, we couldn’t agree more.

Cottonwood Heights School District

Today, residents of the Cottonwood Heights area enjoy a relatively new school system. In November of 2007, residents of Cottonwood Heights, Sandy, Draper, Midvale,and Alta voted to form a new school district. On July 1, 2009, Canyons School District began its mission to “encourage and help every student become college and career-ready and find a meaningful purpose in life.” Currently, the Canyons School District serves approximately 33,000 students in 44 schools and 4 special programs. For more information regarding the Canyons School District, please visit their website by clicking here. You can also visit GreatSchools.org for parent reviews on all the schools within the Cottonwood Heights area.

History

Big Cottonwood Canyon was the pioneers’ main source of logs and lumber for their homes in the early-settled Salt Lake Valley, so the area quickly became an overnight stopping point for lumber wagons. The area also became an overnight stop for the wagons bringing granite out of Little Cottonwood Canyon, which would later be used in the building of the Salt Lake Temple and other Salt Lake icons. Because of all the industrial traffic, there was soon a store, post office, brewery and tavern along Big Cottonwood Creek near the place where the Old Mill still stands today.

Lumber and granite weren’t the only natural resources taken out of “them thar hills.” Millions of dollars worth of gold, lead, and silver has also been mined from the Wasatch Mountains. Underground water, the high cost of production, and diminishing veins all contributed to the eventual closure of the mines, so the communities in the canyons are now flourishing as world-class recreation areas. Utah’s famous “Greatest Snow on Earth” and some of the best winter sports facilities are located near and around Cottonwood Heights.