Fernwood Picnic Area

Fernwood Picnic Area is a great little picnic spot in Layton that also offers some hiking options as well. We’ve learned that the dogs don’t handle long trails in the heat very well so I wanted to do something short, shady, and that had access to water. This was the perfect place that met those needs. We hiked south along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) and found 2 creeks that were perfect for wading and cooling off in.

Quick Details:

Length: We did about 1.2 miles today, but it keeps going.
Difficulty: DR2-3 if you stay on the BST its fairly flat and easy. If you take a side trail up it gets a little more tough.
Elevation Gain: We did 377 ft. But, it did keep going.
Restroom: Yes. There are 3 pit toilets. 1 at the trail loop, and 2 at the picnic area.
Dogs? Yes. Please clean up after your furry friends.

To Get Here:

Take US 89 in Layton to 1500 N and turn right. Immediately turn left onto Valley View Dr. After a half mile turn right onto Fernwood Dr. Drive another half mile and turn right to stay on Fernwood Dr Follow that another 2/10 of a mile to the Picnic area. 3333 Fernwood Cir, Layton, UT 84040.

If you want to picnic take the lower loop. If you want to hike, continue to the upper loop.

The Trail:

The trail we took today is The Bonneville Shoreline Trail. We picked it up on the south end of the parking lot. We didn’t do it today, but you can take this all the way to Adams Canyon or beyond.

The parking lot. You can see the trailhead at the end of it.

Beginning of the trail. Pretty wide and well packed.

Not very far up we reached the first little stream.

Or course the pups wanted to play in it.

Lovely woods to hike through.

And before long (I’d say maybe a quarter mile) we reached South Fork Kays Creek.

The bridge over the creek.

A little further along the trail opens up an offers a great view of the valley below.

Here we can see Holmes Reservoir and Adams Reservoir.

Random hawk.

Thistle.

We decided at this point the trail was too exposed with not enough shade on this hot day, so we decided to turn back.

Looking at the mountains above.

We went back to the creek to let the dogs cool off a bit.

It is kind of nice.

I noticed a side trail that went up this canyon so we decided to check that out.

Ferns.

Thin trail through some thick woods, but at least we have shade.

Couple random fire rings.

Nice and green up here.

A couple side trails allow you to see the creek.

View of the mountain.

And then the creek just… stops. Well that is a shame. I was hoping we’d find a waterfall or something. Oh well. We decided to call it a day and head back.

Another look at the hill above.

Holy spider web city batman.

The thick forest.

Back down to the creek.

After another fun wading session we decided to head back.

Climbing on rocks.

Shot of the main trail.

One last look at the mountains above.

The picnic area was nice as well. Plenty of shade. No fires allowed, but I believe portable gas grills are. Be prepared to pack out your trash as I was unable to find a garbage can.

Well, that was fun. It would probably be better on a less hot day, but at least we had some shade and the creek to cool down in. Not a lot of people on the main trail, and none on the side trail we took. Going with a 7 out of 10.

As for difficulty, the main BST was easy and fairly flat so DR2. The side trail was thin and overgrown so DR3.

Dogs are allowed. Please clean up after your furry friends.