Little Cottonwood Canyon is on the east side of the Salt Lake City Valley. Get there by following I-215 to the east, taking exit 6 off the interstate and heading east toward the mountains.

Follow 6200 South which becomes Wasatch Blvd for 1.8 miles to the stop light and signs for Big Cottonwood Canyon. Continue south (straight) through the light an additional 2.3 miles to a junction and light. Stay left here, reaching the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon in an additional 1.6 miles.

From the mouth of Little Cottonwood, travel up the canyon 5.3 miles to the signed White Pine Trailhead on the south side of the road. This is about a mile up the canyon from the Tanners Flat Campground.

To White Pine Junction (1 mile / 30 minutes)
From the trailhead, follow the well-used White Pine/Red Pine trail as it descends from the trailhead, crosses a bridge, and begins its ascent from the valley floor. After about 20-30 minutes, the first junction is reached. Left goes to White Pine, right is signed for Red Pine. The Red Pine trail is just behind the wooden sign and is wide and well-travelled. The Red Pine trail climbs for a couple of minutes before crossing the stream on a bridge and heading west.

To Gloria Falls (0.15-ish miles / 5 minutes)
Immediately past the bridge, look for a social trail on the left. There are a couple, it is worthwhile to walk 100 feet or so past the bridge to make sure you find the best trail.

Follow the social trail(s) as they go up hill, then cut back to the White Pine Fork stream. The lower section here has several nice cascades before reaching the base of the falls proper. The falls are quite pretty, but the views across the canyon of the Little/Big Cottonwood ridge are also quite spectacular.

Return the same way.