Map of bike paths / walking paths in the Salt Lake City, Utah area

Recreational trails for walking, running and cycling in the Salt Lake City area of Northern Utah

Salt Lake City is located in Northern Utah. The city is adjacent to the Great Salt Lakes, the foothills and beautiful mountains of the Wasatch Range are just east of the city and the desert lands are to the south. Other communities in the Salt Lake City area include North Salt Lake, South Salt Lake, Millcreek, West Valley City, Taylorsville, Murry, West Jordan, Riverton, Draper and Holladay.

The greater Salt Lake City area has a number of lengthy paved and soft-surfaced recreational trails for bike riding, walking, running and other activities. These trails are for non-motorized use. Many of these trails have street level crossings for busy roadways. Take precaution and obey all local regulations. The trails all offer beautiful views of the nearby mountains, many go past local and regional parks, schools and other points of interest.

Jordan River Parkway Trail

The Jordan River Parkway Trail is a paved trail that follows along the banks of the Jordan River as it winds through the heart of the urban area. The entire trail system is over 35 miles long and extends from just south of the Great Salt Lake to the north shores of Utah Lake. The Jordan River Parkway Trail travels through several communities and three different counties. Along the route are multiple parks and recreation areas and a number of schools. Most of the trail is continuous, but there are still some sections where the trail has not yet been completed.

Traveling along the Jordan River Parkway trail is a lovely way to spend the day without having to travel out of the city. It wanders through the riparian habitat of the river corridor, through shady cottonwood groves and grassy meadows. The trail provides access to the river for watching wildlife and an excellent way to learn about the ecology of this area.

Currently, the Jordan River Parkway Trail has been completed in four separate paved sections. The north section runs from Center Street (0.5 miles north of Interstate 215) down to W. North Temple. There is a gap of about 0.5 miles between W North Temple and Interstate 80 that has not yet been constructed. The middle section extends from W 200 S heads under Interstate 80 and extends down to about 1.5 south of W 7800 S stopping at S 700 W. The south section starts at W 9000 S near the River Oaks Golf Course and extends to Iron Horse Boulevard on the south side of Bluffdale. The far south section extends from a point north of Jordan Narrows Park and travels south to the north shore of Utah Lake. You can connect between the two southerly sections using the soft-surfaced Lake Utah Distribution Canal Trail or the Utah and Salt Lake Canal Trail.

Read More about the Jordan River Parkway Trail

Legacy Parkway Trail

The Legacy Parkway Trail is a 12 mile long paved bike path that runs along the east side of Legacy Parkway (Highway 67) on the north side of the Salt Lake City area. It joins the Jordan River Parkway Trail just east of the Center Street overpass. There is a trailhead with parking on the northeast corner of the intersection. The paved trail runs all the way north to the interchange with Interstate 15 and Highway 89. At this point, it follows alongside Interstate 15 to Red Barn Lane, which is 1/3 mile northwest of the Park Lane -  Interstate 15 interchange.

The Legacy Parkway Trail merges with the Denver and Rio Grande Western Trail for one mile north of the Birnham Woods Trailhead at N 830 W. Be sure to take the sharp right around W 1250 N to stay on the Legacy Parkway Trail.  The Denver and Rio Grande Trail is also an option at this point if you want to travel all the way to West Haven, just west of Ogden.

There are multiple trailheads with parking to access the Legacy Parkway Trail: Center Street Trailhead, Foxboro North Trailhead, Mill Creek Trailhead, W 1600 N Trailhead,  Birnham Woods Trailhead, Bus Park and the Farmington UTA Station. Zoom in on the map to see the locations for these parking areas.

The Legacy Parkway Trail is great for commuting by bike or if you want to ride up to the Legacy Nature Preserve, the Forza FC Soccer Complex or to the Farmington UTA Station.

Read more about the Legacy Parkway Trail

Utah and Salt Lake Canal Trail

The Utah and Salt Lake Canal is a 27 mile long soft-surfaced trail that follows the canal that connects two lakes as it crosses diagonally through the Salt Lake City metro area. Along the way, it passes by several parks and schools and goes near multiple commercial areas. The trail crosses a number of major roads at street level, so take precautions.

The north end of the Utah and Salt Lake Canal Trail is located at S 9200 W and Copper Bend Road in the community of Magna, a point 1 mile northwest of Bacchus Highway. The south end of the trail is located at Jordan River Park just north of Camp Williams State Military Reservation. Two other trails pass through this park, the Jordan River Parkway Trail and the Lake Utah Distribution Trail.

Read more about the Utah and Salt Lake Canal Trail

Utah Lake Distribution Canal Trail

The Utah Lake Distribution Canal Trail is a 13-mile long soft-surfaced trail that follows alongside the canal in the southwest portion of the Salt Lake City metro area. The north end starts at W 7800 S, just south of the South Valley Regional Airport, in West Jordan. The south end of the trail is located in Jordan River Park. Jordan River Park is located south of Bluffdale and east of Highway 68. It can be reached by heading east on Jordan Narrows Road.

The trail travels past the Jordan Valley Medical Center and Salt Lake Community College: Jordan Campus. The Utah Lake Distribution Canal wanders through multiple residential areas and crosses several busy roadways at street level, so be cautious of traffic.

At this writing, there is a break in the trail at Bangerter Highway, Highway 154. You will need to find an alternate route to continue on the trail the entire way, such as taking W Sanborne Drive to W Chamonix Way to S Hamilton View Road and then W 13800 S.

Read more about the Utah Lake Distribution Canal Trail

City Creek Canyon Trail

The City Creek Canyon Trail is located on the north side of Salt Lake City and heads up the maintenance road that goes up City Creek Canyon. The first section is a 1.2 mile long paved trail that starts at State Street and 2nd Avenue at City Creek Park. this trail heads along Canyon Road, which is just east of the Utah State Capitol Building. This section of the trail goes through Memory Grove Park and the City Creek Natural area. 

After Bonneville Boulevard the trail is actually a 5.5 mile long paved maintenance road for the canyon. This road is closed to public automobiles on the days that bikes are permitted, but service vehicles may be encountered at any time. This section of the trail is open for non-motorized uses on certain days and is used by walkers, cyclists, joggers, and hikers. Observe speed limits, even with a bike, you can easily pick up speed on the way down and excessive speed is dangerous on the curvy road and for the other people using the trail.

There are specific days when bicycles are allowed to ride in the canyon, so check with the Salt Lake City website at City Creek Canyon / Memory Grove for specific information before heading up to ride the trail.

Read more about the City Creek Canyon Trail

Mountain View Corridor Trail

The Mountain View Corridor Trail is a 17 mile long paved trail that parallels Mountain View Corridor, Highway 85, as it wraps around the southwest edge of the Salt Lake City metro area. 

The north end of the trail is located at W 5400 S at Mountain View Corridor just west of the community of Kearns. The trail will follow the highway when the final stages are completed going north to W 3500 S, Highway 171.

The south end of the Mountain View Corridor Trail is located at Porter Rockwell Boulevard and S. Redwood Road, just south of the community of Bluffdale. 

The paved path switches from one side of the highway to the other, though there are other paved sections on both sides. This is a great trail for commuting and to avoid riding through town as there are only a few major street crossings. Refer to the map for places to park near the trail, such as the Rod Wood Memorial Park and West Jordan Off-Leash Dog Park.

Read more about the Mountain View Corridor Trail

Porter Rockwell Trail - Sandy Rail Trail & Point of the Mountain Trail

The Porter Rockwell Trail, also called the Sandy Rail Trail, is a 10 mile long paved trail that is located on the east side of the Salt Lake City metro area. Much of the trail's route parallels the UTA tracks in a north/south direction. Most of the street crossings for the trail are at street level.

The north end of the trail is located at E 8530 S a few blocks east of S. State Street. As this trail heads south it passes several UTA stations including Historic Sandy Station, Sandy Expo Station, Sandy Civic Center Station, Crescent View Station, Kimballs Lane Station and the Draper Town Center Station. It also goes by Jordan High School and the Sandy City Dog Park, 

There is a short break in the route of the trail near the Draper Town Center UTA Station. The trail picks back up in Draper City Park on the south side of Pioneer Road. From here the trail wraps around the south side of Draper, paralleling Highland Drive E. The south end of the Porter Rockwell Trail is just east of Interstate 15 at Highland Drive. The Point of the Mountain Trail continues south for 1.25 miles from this point.

Read more about the Porter Rockwell / Sandy Rail Trail

Draper Canal Trail

The Draper Canal Trail is a paved 2.75-mile long trail that runs alongside the Draper Canal on the south side of the community of Draper. It connects to the Porter Rockwell Trail on both ends and crosses through the Wheadon Farm Park.

Parley's Trail and Parley's Crossing

Parley's Historic Nature Park is located on the east edge of the Salt Lake City area near the Interstate 80 and Interstate 215 interchange. The park itself is 68 acres of natural area with soft-surfaced walking trails.

Parley's Trail and Parley's Crossing Trail start on the east end of the parking area for the Bonneville Shores Trail at S Wasatch Boulevard on the east side of the interstate interchange. From this parking area, you can get over the Interstate 80 to Interstate 215 off-ramp with a bridge. Just north of this bridge, the trail splits with one paved path going to the north and another paved path going to the west.

Parley's Crossing Trail is a 1.5 mile long paved trail that heads north along Interstate 215 up to Foothill Drive.

Parley's Trail, a 1.5 mile long paved trail that is located along the northwestern edge of Parley's Historic Nature Park, heads to the west after the bridge over the off-ramp and crosses Interstate 215 with another elaborate long bridge. After the second bridge, the path wraps around the northeast side of the nature park.You can access the soft-surfaced trails from this paved path. The west end of the path is located in Tanner Park, where there are more parking, play areas and other features. Tanner Park is located on Heritage Way at S. 27th Street.

There are plans to have the Parley's Trail extend all the way to the Jordan River Parkway Trail in the future. A few of the segments have been completed.

Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail

On the north end of the Salt Lake City area is the Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail. The paved asphalt trail is over 23 miles long and extends from West Bountiful, through the Farmington area, through Layton and Clearfield, ending on the west side of the city of Ogden.

This path follows the old railroad bed of the Denver and Rio Grade Western Railway. It has very gentle grades, but the trail crosses a number of busy roadways at street level, some with stile gates for safety reasons.

In West Bountiful the Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail has a junction with the Legacy Parkway Trail. The Legacy Parkway Trail runs alongside Legacy Parkway and eventually meets up with the Jordan River Parkway trail at W. Center Street. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Trail continues south in West Bountiful, traveling past Lakeside Golf Course and heads south. The paved section terminates at W 400 N.

Read more about the Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail

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