Farmington Creek - Fairgrounds Section

Farmington Creek is a nice creek in Farmington Utah. The city has divided it into 4 segments. The Upper Canyon, Lower Canyon, City, and Fairgrounds. There is also a segment on The GSL Shorelands Preserve that was formerly referred to as Farmington Creek but is now called the Nature Trail. The fairgrounds Section is the only one we hadn’t explored yet, so since I wanted something super easy today we decided to check it out. This segment of the trail is paved and is pretty much next to the creek for most of the way.

Quick Details:

Length: 1.6 miles loop, or out and back. With option to add more.
Difficulty: DR2. Paved, almost flat.
Elevation Gain: 19 feet.
Restroom: Not at this TH.
Dogs? Yes, leashed. There is also a dog park next to the fairgrounds.

To Get Here:

There are 3 trailheads with parking. The Clark Lane TH is what we used for the City Segment, today we parked at the fairgrounds and accessed it via the Rails To Trails Trail (also paved). To get here take the Park Lane exit from I15 and head west. Turn left on 1100 west. You will eventually come to the Legacy Events Center and then the County Fairgrounds. Park at the SW end of the parking lot and take the paved path back. There were no signs saying not to park there, so I imagine as long as there is not an event at the fairgrounds you are okay. We didn’t have an issue. Also, the city’s trail page says to park there as well, so I think it’s okay.

The Trail:

You will walk along the Rails To Trails Trail for about 2/10’s of a mile. Also knows as the Denver and Rio Grande Western Rails Trail. This runs from Bountiful to Roy currently. We did a short segment of it in Bountiful doing a random loop.

The mountains above the fairgrounds.

A hawk chillin in that tree.

At about 2/10’s of a mile you will reach the creek. there is a paved trail heading east on either side of it. I wasn’t sure which one to take, so we took the left side. You can actually take either one, they both connect later, in fact it made it a nice loop option.

So now you will walk along the creek, with the fairgrounds to your left.

The creek is very shallow here.

The paved trail dipped below the raised stream bed, but we found this thin trail along the top of it.

I thought all these trees along the stream would be a good spot to maybe see an owl, but no such luck today.

We reached the road. You can continue along the sidewalk here out to the Clark Ln Trailhead about .35 mile, but its next to the road, crosses over 2 freeways and train tracks. We decided to just cross over to the trail on the other side of the creek and head on back.

Sign on the north trail option.

Heading back on the south trail.

Itty bitty waterfall.

Mountains above.

Fluffy clouds.

Farmington Canyon and Lagoon.

One last look at the creek now that we have hit the Rails To Trails Trail again.

The mountains above the fairgrounds again.

One last look at the Rails To Trails Trail as it continues north.

Paved trails through neighborhoods are not usually my favorite, but as far as those go, this is a pretty nice one. I definitely like it better than the Buffalo Ranch Trail. Not to mention, it’s a good winter option when avalanche danger is high, it was nice and quiet and did follow the creek. Going with 6 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, it is completely paved and fairly flat. DR2.

Dogs are allowed, but should be leashed. There is also a dog park next the the fairgrounds if you want to let them play. As always, clean up after your furry friends.

Holmes Creek Reservoir

Holmes Creek Reservoir is a pretty reservoir in Layton that is primarily used for fishing and for waterskiing. There is a mess of trails all around the reservoir so it is a little confusing to walk around and there is a lot of growth and fallen trees as well. Between that, and all the leaves on the ground we ended up losing the trail about halfway around. But it was pretty and I am glad we came back to explore it.

Quick Details:

Length: About 1.5 miles
Difficulty: DR4. Steep slopes, debris and overgrowth make this one a little tougher than anticipated. But there are short easy options.
Elevation Gain: Depends what trails you use. We ended up doing about 100 feet.
Restroom: No.
Dogs? Not sure. No signs saying either way, so probably fine.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Take HW89 to Gentile St and turn west. Look for one of several dirt pull out on the left side of the road.

The Trail:

Trailhead sign. A walk in permit should be obtained before going in. With modern technology you probably have a phone with access to the internet, but it was kind of a pain so I recommend doing it before you leave. wildlife.utah.gov/walkinaccess

View of the mountains above.

Down the steep path towards the reservoir.

A couple openings in the vegetation offer glimpses of it.

Much better. You can also see Adams Canyon there on the right.

Down to the shore.

Quick panoramic.

Pretty clear water.

Approaching the dam. This dam is actually pretty significant. It is the oldest dam in Utah, and one of the first in the west. Originally built in 1852 it was only 4 feet high. In the 1870’s it was increased to 22 feet, and then by 1929 it was grown to 70 feet high.

The reservoir looks to be about 10-15 lower than full.

The reservoir again.

The dam.

Last remnants of autumn hanging on.

The various water level lines near the dam.

On top of the dam.

The reservoir from the dam.

The other direction.

From the far end of the dam you can see almost the entire thing.

Now we get to walk through some trees.

Couple spots open up to view the reservoir.

Another panoramic.

Some leaves still holding out.

And a couple small pockets of color left as well.

One of the many trail splits. We decided to head right.

The mountains above.

Some color.

After climbing up, now we are going to drop back down into the southern arm.

Here is one of the inlets. In fact this is the North Fork of Holmes Creek which is the creek coming down Adams Canyon. I read he diverted the water so I don’t think this is the natural path.

This stump kind of looks like an octopus.

Big trees.

The reservoir. We are still down in the southern arm.

Back into the trees.

Nearing the northern arm.

Floating dock. I imagine that is for the water skiers.

There is soe wildlife in here. A bunch of geese hanging out in the northern arm.

Either we lost the trail with all the leaves on the ground or it ended. We tried making our way through but started having trouble getting through all the foliage and fallen trees.

Pretty tree.

Well, we probably could have backtracked and found another way around, but we were getting frustrated and decided to head back. We made it just over half way at about a mile. I used google maps to estimate the approximate distance to continue all the way around and rounded it out to about 1.5 miles total. That is, if you can make it around.

It’s a pretty area, and probably better suited to fishing than for a hike. I am glad we explored it, but, losing the trail is frustrating. Kind of similar to what we experienced with nearby Hobbs Reservoir. It was nice and quiet though only ran into a few other people. Still, maybe not worth traveling for. Going with 6 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, like I mentioned, steep slopes, lots of debris, it was tougher than I anticipated so I am going with a DR4.

I am not 100% sure if dogs are allowed, there were no rules against them so I think it’s ok. Use your best judgment.