Wasatch County boasts more than 400 miles of trails with many more networks, connections and trailhead access areas planned for the near future.
Mountainland Association of Governments Regional Trail Planner Don Taylor said the group just updated the Trails Master Plan and tallied 410.3 miles of trails throughout Wasatch County.
“Here in the valley, we're around 200 miles of pretty much biking mountain biking specifically designed trails,” he said. “And with all the new trails going in – and we've got Wasatch Mountain State Park, Jordanelle State Park and even Deer Creek State Park, all have trail systems.”
The Jordanelle Perimeter trail network is a collaborative effort of developers, Wasatch County, and the Utah Division of Natural Resources’ State Parks office. There is a four-mile paved stretch of path that Taylor said will soon connect at the Fosten Spur near Richardson Flat.
“The new Sky Ridge development just this summer put in a pretty extensive, great trail system and used Mountain Trails for their contractor to build it,” Taylor said. “And our big project as you're probably aware is to try and connect that trail to the historic Union Pacific Rail Trail. It's just a short, about a mile and a half piece called the Fosten Spur that goes across Richardson Flat. And if we can get that piece connected, it can virtually connect Park City to all of the Jordanelle reservoir and Jordanelle basin area, and all those new trails.”
The Jordanelle perimeter network won’t circumnavigate the entire reservoir because of the dam, but they are adding more to the network this summer. State Parks is planning a new trailhead for Crandall Point.
“The developer of that new property there, Lee Burbidge worked with Doug Smith at the county planning and has put in a nice, paved trail on his property, up the hill a little way, that goes around that canyon,” Taylor said. “So now we can apply for a grant and we can continue the trail from there on around to the marina and finally complete what can be built around that perimeter trail.”
Taylor said it will be a soft-surface trail that parallels the paved Jordanelle Parkway trail.
Ross Creek trailhead in the Jordanelle State Park is off S.R. 248. It provides soft surface hiking and mountain biking trail access to the east side of the Jordanelle and goes as far as Rock Creek.
“And they’re also planning a new day-use shoreline beach area there at Ross Creek. So, I think it's really going to develop this whole Jordanelle reservoir area into a, you know, a terrific area to go spend the day.”
