Legacy Parkway South: Jordan River Parkway to Center Street TH

The Legacy Parkway Trail is a 14 mile trail that runs from Farmington down to almost the SL County border where it connects to the Jordan River Parkway. We’ve done a few segments of it over time, today I decided to check out the southern end of it. From The Jordan River Parkway to the Center St TH. There is currently a pretty nasty snowstorm hitting the valley so we didn’t want to drive very far, so I thought this would be good. The trailhead we used is actually the north end of The Jordan River Parkway for the first quarter to 3/10’s of a mile.

Quick Details:

Length: As short or long as you like. We did 2.76 out and back today.
Difficulty: DR2. Paved, flat, easy.
Elevation Gain: NA
Restroom: Not at either TH.
Dogs? Yes. Leash required.

To Get Here:

Take i215 to exit 27 Redwood Rd in North Salt Lake. Go south on Redwood Rd for about half a mile. Turn right on Recreation way. You will find yourself at the Pony Express RV Resort. The trailhead is at the back (west) end of the parking lot. The parking lot has signs for guests only, so be sure to park on the road. There is no TH sign, but the official Davis County Trails page lists this as a TH.

The Trail:

The Pony Express RV Park. There is an opening in the fence at the back of the parking lot to the left here. If for some reason someone harasses you, there is a dirt road to the left here that should access the trail as well. But, 2nd time we’ve used it without a problem, and there were quite a few tracks in the snow from other users as well.

Short path through the cattails to the Jordan River Parkway.

The Jordan River looking awfully peaceful in the snow. Last time we used this trailhead we went south, today we will go north.

The river again.

The trail will be paved, or boardwalk the rest of the way. Lucky for us the snow is not sticking to cement just yet.

The river again.

The Jordan River OHV State Recreation Area. At a previous job I used to pass this daily, I honestly can’t recall ever seeing anyone use it. I am also curious what lead to the state running an OHV park in the first place.

Couple of ducks.

At about 3/10’s of a mile we hit the end of the Jordan River Parkway, and start the Legacy Parkway. This first section goes under 215. I knew I wouldn’t like it, but wow, I really didn’t like it. Luckily it is short.

We can just barely make out the mountains above.

Random canal. I tracked it back to Rose Park, where it gets covered up so I don’t know where it originates.

Flock of geese. I was hoping to see more birds, preferably some hawks on this trail, but no luck today. Perhaps they had better sense than we did and stayed home today.

Now the trail enters some open area.

Lost the mountains again. You can’t see it in the pictures but it is snowing, lightly at the moment, but still.

This segment has half mile markers. I am not sure if they continue along the entire thing or not, but I imagine it does.

This bridge is over the North Canyon drainage.

Said drainage. I am sure this, like most creeks in Northern Utah, has been canaled and directed where early settlers wanted it to go.

More of the pathway.

Skirting some pasture.

Boardwalk segment over a marshy area. Looks like we are the only people to have been on it recently.

just about to the Center Street TH and we hit the 1 mile mark. One of the benefits of flat, paved trails is doing a half mile seems like nothing.

Fork.

So forward goes to the Center Street Legacy Nature Trail. I tried to look that up, but couldn’t find any information on it. From what I can tell it’s another path to reach the Legacy Parkway Trail. Maybe there is more to it, I don’t know. We headed to the Center Street TH.

Bridge under Center St.

This trailhead is at the south end of the Legacy Preserve. Which, as explained by the sign, is a mitigation to “offset” the effects of the Legacy Highway. Or, what I assume was the compromise from the people who wanted the Legacy Highway vs. the environmentalists who wanted to preserve the wetlands.

I had planned on using this TH as our destination, unless we felt like continuing. Well, with the snow falling we decided to turn around here.

Heading back the way we came.

Oh, I can see the mountain again.

The remains of an old road.

Back over the North Canyon drainage.

The North Canyon drainage again.

I like the design on this bench.

Heading under 215 again. You know, it’s odd, and wonderful to see a tunnel like this that has not been vandalized.

Once on the other side we will not be on the Jordan River Parkway.

Oh neat, the other end of the “Chevron Mile”. We found the other side of it on the Jordan River Parkway. I learned this is significant in that this connected the Legacy Parkway with The Jordan River Parkway, and Chevron donated a large amount towards it.

The Jordan River again. It’s pretty in winter.

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And keep an eye out for the opening in the fence. If the river (and thus the trail) makes a fairly sharp left turn, you went too far.

Well, not a whole lot to it. I enjoyed the Jordan River segment most, cause it’s something pretty, and there is more wildlife, but this is certainly not my favorite trail. I appreciate that we have these kind of trails to enjoy on the icky winter days, but I think it’s better as a bike path. We only ran into 1 other person today. 5 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, well, its flat, paved or boardwalk so DR2.

Dogs are allowed, but must remain leashed.