I absolutely love McKelligon Canyon! Especially since COVID! So the canyon is technically a city…read morepark. It's a two lane paved road, that leads up to an amphitheater! Normally, the amphitheater has shows, but of course that's all cancelled temporarily.
At the top of the road, there are many covered picnic tables that persons like chilling out at. Also, the very top has entrances to Franklin Mountains, which is a state park, and has many hiking trails.
This road, due to covid, is closed to all motorized traffic. That is amazing right now, because you can walk up and down and exercise without worrying about vehicle traffic. And honestly, that's what everyone uses it for. From Soldiers hiking up with their rucksacks, to joggers running, families pushing strollers, and dog owners (like me), taking there dogs out for a walk. You can (and we all do), still use this route for exercise even when it is open to vehicle traffic, but of course with it closed, it's much more enjoyable and safer.
The road is a dead end of sorts. At the very top, it splits off and loops itself back around. So there is only one way up and one way down. If you walk the top loop twice, the entire trip will be 5.2 miles. If you walk the top loop once, the trip is 4.8 miles. From the start to the top, you climb 800ft in elevation. It's almost exactly 2.5 miles to the top at the loop, so that's 2.5 miles, 800ft elevation increase, dang near going straight up lol. Whether you're walking or jogging, it's definitely a workout.
My dogs and I do this trek 1x every single week. It's open from 0630 - 2200 every day. Many Soldiers flood this area and conduct fitness training in the early early mornings during the week. And on the weekends, many fitness seeming persons flood this area as well.
It's dog friendly, and they have doggie bags at the entrance. However, there are only about 3 trash cans along the route. Keep that in mind. And please pick up after your dogs