The Jordan River Parkway is an accessible 40 mile long trail in Utah. Until recently, I didn't consider it to be completely safe. Cell phones work there but it wasn't possible to pinpoint your location. Now markers are being installed so that you can call for help and report your exact position on the trail.
The first of 164 new markers was installed by SLC to make the trail safer. The markers each have a number and letter. They will be placed every 250 feet and will span nine miles of the river. The exact location of each marker is entered into the 911 system. The hope is that all the cities along the trail will install their own markers.
We followed the directions and ended up in a subdivision with a paved trail that was nowhere near 4700 South. It was just south of 7000 South. There was no place to park except on the residential street. The trail looked intriguing so we decided to try it anyway.
There was a sign warning of sharp curves ahead. We decided to check it out since we were adventuring. Almost immediately, a local resident saw us and tried to say it would be dangerous for us. He didn't speak English but he warned us of a "cliff" ahead. That seemed unlikely but we wanted to take a look. It was indeed a steep descent to the river.
After taking a good look, we decided we could easily get down the trail but we weren't so sure we could get back up. Going uphill uses a lot of battery power. We have good batteries but we didn't want to get stranded. The resident also told us there was a parking lot nearby and pointed to the east. We went out onto 7000 South and headed east. Shortly after crossing 1500 West, there was a large parking lot to the right.
There were only a few people out as it was Sunday morning and most people were at church. This trail head also has a big rest area right across from the parking lot.
This turned out to be a nice little section of the Jordan River Parkway. It started with a bridge over a small stream.
The trail is close to the river on the east side. There are houses on the west side.
We saw some tree stumps that were obviously the result of beaver activity. There are no beavers there now. There is no way anyone is going to let beavers build a dam on this river-- which would probably be called a creek in most areas of the country. A beaver dam would cause flooding and major damage.
We really enjoyed the sights along the river. A couple was walking their baby in a stroller. Several people passed us on bikes. We saw birds but none of them were especially rare or interesting. The trail was blessedly free of dog poop but there was a little goose poop that Bill had to clean off his tires. This is a typical view of the river and the mountains.
When we reached the underpass into the Murray area, we turned around and headed back.
Here's a view of the trail on the way back. It's a nice outing and definitely beats sitting in a recliner. We plan to visit and write reviews of other sections of the trail.
