Basin Recreation has asked the district for a trail easement and access agreement so it can build out the trail system near Ecker Hill Middle School.
The Ecker Hill easement would run between Hi Ute Ranch and the Pinebrook open space area. The Pinebrook area is northwest of Ecker Hill where there are already trails.
Basin Recreation District Superintendent Matt Wagoner said a pair of recent developments spurred the request. Those include a county agreement with Hi Ute expiring in 2026 and a Utah Open Lands purchase of part of the ranch.
“That's really opened up the door for our negotiation to be able to execute this long-promised trail on the Hi Ute Ranch property,” he said.
Wagoner said the easement would start near a parking lot behind the middle school and continue to the intersection of the Hi Ute Ranch property and the Ecker Uphill multi-use trail.
His team would also build a new cycling-only trail called Ecker Downhill.
“Especially where there's a lot of elevation gain or loss on a multi-use trail like that, you don't want cyclists who are descending very quickly to be sharing trails,” Wagoner said. “So that portion of the trail would descend or ascend about 500 feet.”
The Basin Recreation team is also proposing moving the Old Ecker Trail, which goes around Ecker Hill sports fields, farther away from the school property.
Wagoner said using part of the Ecker Hill property would greatly improve trail access for the community.
“[It would] allow for connections beyond the Toll Canyon, another property of Basin Recreation’s, and also further south for the entirety of the Basin Recreation and Park City trail system,” he said.
Trail users would park at the High Valley Transit park-n-ride lot east of the school. Wagoner said fencing could be added to create greater separation between trails and the school if needed.
Wagoner said construction could start as early as July 1. The board will revisit the agreement at its meeting May 20.
