City Creek Natural Area

From the Monaco Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, I ran along City Creek and saw Mule's Ears flowers and the State Capitol.

Great walking and biking trail system. Paved trails are easy to navigate. 6 ft leash max length for dogs and lots of walkers and bicyclists.

It was my first time riding my mountain bike this weekend around the city creek canyon area and memory grove. There were a few people hiking and riding road bikes but definitely not crowded at all. Spent -4hrs and looking forward to get back again to bike and hike around more.

Absolutely wonderful area to walk, hike, explore, jog, bike ride, and take the dogs out for a walk. Lots of trails for all fitness levels. Guards at gate are friendly and helpful when available. Numerous trails available which are not on any maps. A variety of animals roaming at times if you happen to be lucky enough to spot them. Lots of picnic tables, restroom, and water fountain for use on paved road near the stream. Nice place to relax near the stream at the picnic tables at times. The tables are located about 3 every 1/2 mile on paved road. The road is 5 miles up to the rotary club park. There are 30 picnic tables up to the end at 5 miles which evens out to roughly 6 per mile and 3 per a half mile. There are some markers for the first 2.5 miles that mark each 0.5 miles up road from the guard post. During main season around June to October they alternate days between allowing cars and bicycles on the road. Even days are cars since most holidays are on even days. Odd days bicycles are allowed. Pedestrian are allowed any times. The area is open daily until 10pm. The restrooms close at 6pm during off-season and 10pm otherwise. During off-season both bicycles and pedestrian are allowed to use paved road and it remains closed to vehicles except for the main season. A few miles away for one week only in October there are deer hunting. Water is turned off from around December? until May due to weather and freezing of pipes. A must visit in fall when the leaves change color and at sunrise or sunset and view the color of rising/setting sun across the valley to the South. The only thing to keep in mind is that after spending some time in the natural area or it's trails, a person might enjoy it enough that they fall in love with the area due to the wonderful aspects it provides.

It is $3 to enter and cars (and motorcycles) are only allowed up the canyon on even days during the open season. Bikes are permitted only on odd days and pedestrians are permitted daily. It was beautiful. The majority of the paved road is shaded by a beautiful canopy so this uphill trek wouldnt be unbearable in the summer. There is no camping here. It is day use only. There are about 30 picnic sites- some big enough for 50 or so that can be reserved online for reunions and such. You cannot wade or swim in the creek as it is the source of the city's drinking water and the water treatment facility needs accurate measurements for their water testing.