Interesting Bridges in and Around the Salt Lake Valley

 I don’t really understand where this little hobby/obsession of mine started, but I do enjoy me a good neat bridge. I suppose it likely started with my first covered bridge I found in Oregon. There are much more interesting bridges in other parts of the country, but I thought I would document some of the more interesting ones that we have locally. So, I kind of pieced together this list. Please feel free to message me to let me know if I have missed a neat one.

This post mostly includes pedestrian bridges. We don’t have a whole lot of particularly interesting vehicle bridges like you might find in coastal areas.

I created a couple categories for the bridges I have found. You can use these links to jump to any section.

Simple, Easy, but Kind of Neat Bridges
Covered Pedestrian Bridges
Historic Bridges
Suspension Bridges
Other Amazing Bridges
Railroad Bridges

Simple, Easy, but Kind of Neat Bridges

Little Red Bridge (unofficial name)

This is a small pedestrian bridge across Bear Canyon in Draper. I think it is kind of cute. Fun bonus is you can add the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge to this one. In fact, I don’t think you can see this bridge without seeing the other one haha. This one might also be considered the Old Bear Canyon Bridge seeing as the suspension bridge was built to divert hikers with dogs away from the creek.

Distance to on foot: It is about a up mile or so
Height: ~3-4 feet ish.
Span: About ~6 feet.
Established: 1997
Other Info:

Little Willow Creek Bridge

This bridge crosses Little Willow Creek below Little Willow Canyon. It is in the same style of the little red bridge above.

Distance to on foot: Approximately a half mile from Hidden Valley Park.
Height: Meh, maybe ~3-4 feet.
Span: About ~6 feet.
Established: 2009
Other Info:

Knights Bridge (unofficial name)

Found on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) near Rocky Mouth Falls over Rocky Mouth Creek. This neat, and somewhat new bridge features decorative knights on all of the posts. It makes me want to call it the Knights Bridge. Probably more likely to be Rocky Mouth Creek Bridge.

Distance to on foot: Less than half a mile from the Rocky Mouth Falls TH.
Height: Maybe ~3-4 feet.
Span: About ~8-10 feet.
Established: 2018
Other Info:

The Witches Bridge (unofficial name)

Or at least that is what I call it. I guess technically it might better be called Memorial Cove Bridge, since that is where it is found. I love this bridge due to how rustic and spooky looking it is, however it is more sturdy than it looks from the side.

Distance to on foot: About 7/10ths of a mile from the Coyote Hollow Trailhead.
Height: ~4-6 feet-ish.
Span: Maybe ~10-12 feet-ish
Established: Unknown but I am going to guess somewhere near 2010, since that is about when the memory marker was put in. 
Other Info:

White City Trail Bridge

The White City Covered Bridge is a fairly new bridge that enabled the White City Trail to continue further south. I went back and forth as to if I should put this one here, or under Covered Pedestrian Bridges. It is technically a covered bridge, but not exactly what springs to mind when I think of a covered bridge. I guess it is a more modern one haha. It looks like most of the school crossing bridges in the area, and actually that is kind of what it is as well. The White City Trail is designed to keep school kids off of busy roads. But what is really neat about this bridge is that is spans Dimple Dell Recreational Park. So it’s pretty cool.

Distance to on foot: About 7/10’s of a mile from Big Bear Park. But I think there is closer on street parking right next to it.
Height: ~50 feet or so.
Span: 350 feet.
Established: 2020
Other Info: Even though it is completely enclosed, I struggled a bit with my fear of heights with this one.

Covered Pedestrian Bridges

We don’t have a whole lot of covered bridges. None that are vehicle friendly. I am not sure if the covered bridge thing never really came to Utah, or if it did and none of them exist any more. Utah is not real big on preserving history unless it pertains to the LD$ Church, and even then it is a little spotty. But I have encountered a couple pedestrian covered bridges that I think are neat.

Big Cottonwood Canyon Trail Covered Bridge

Covered Pedestrian Bridge on the Big Cottonwood Canyon Trail. Which, is a bit of a misnomer as it isn’t really in the canyon, rather below it. But it is a neat trail. The bridge spans over Big Cottonwood Creek just above a small reservoir, off of a tiny connector trail.

Distance to on foot: 1.2 miles from the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon, or if you just want to see it, it is about 75 feet from the middle trailhead. on Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd.
Height: Unknown. Maybe 15-20 feet.
Span: About 70 feet (using google maps to measure)
Established: Looks like somewhere between 8/2009 and 6/2010 according to google earth.
Other Info

Draper City Park Covered Bridge

This tiny little bridge crosses Willow Creek in Draper City Park. It is a fun addition to viewing The Tree Of Life. But otherwise, is just a small little bridge.

Distance to on foot: a B-Line from the parking lot would be about 100 feet. But that goes through the basketball court. working around that would be about 300 feet. There is oddly not really an established trail to it.
Height: Meh… maybe ~5 feet.
Span: About ~50 feet according to google maps.
Established: Somewhere between 2010 and 2013 it looks like it was upgraded from a general bridge to a covered bridge, using google earth.
Other Info:

Lagoon Trail Covered Bridge

Covered Bridge on the Lagoon Trail in Farmington. This tiny covered pedestrian bridge is along the Davis Creek Trail section around Lagoon (this part of the trail is also known as the Lagoon Trail).. I think this is the shortest one I am including on this list. But it is a little fancy.

Distance to on foot: Approximately 8/10th of a mile from the trailhead at Ezra T Clark Park, or you can actually drive right up to this one on Lagoon Lane.
Height: Meh… maybe ~10 feet.
Span: ~20 feet using Google Earth.
Established: Between 1997 and 2002 using google earth.
Other Info: A couple other basic, but neat bridges to enjoy along this trail including some neat old narrow gauge railroad truss bridges (converted to pedestrian).

Legacy Bridge in Midway

The Midway Legacy Bridge. This is the only one I have not really explored, but I did get a drive by photo. Next time I am up in the area I think I will try to make a stop to explore it more. This bridge spans over the Provo Rover and from what I can tell is the longest covered (pedestrian) bridge in Utah. Yep, I need to check it out sometime.

Distance to on foot: It looks like there is a parking lot that is less than a tenth of a mile from it.
Height: ?
Span: 120 feet.
Established: 2002 apparently dedicated to the Olympics.
Other Info:

Historic Bridges

Riverton Historic Truss Bridge

Old truss bridge over the Jordan River in Riverton. It went through 4 iterations of carriage and vehicle use, then in 1981 it was deemed unsafe and closed to automobile traffic, Then in 2001 it was rebuilt as a pedestrian bridge as part of the Jordan river Trail project. There has been some iteration of a bridge here for over 150 years!

Distance to on foot: About 3/10ths of a mile from East Riverfront Park in South Jordan.
Height: not sure. Maybe ~10-15 feet.
Span: About 72 feet using google maps.
Established: 2001
Other Info: Obviously not the original structure. Although, from the sign, it looks pretty darn similar.

WPA Bridge in Miller Park

This neat stone mason bridge in Miller Park was built by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) which was designed to put Americans back to work during the great depression. Something that makes this neat old bridge even more impressive is that it was likely not built by professionals as the WPA learned on the job.

Distance to on foot: About 2/10th of a mile from Bonneview Drive.
Height: Eh… 15-20 feet ish.
Span: About 45 feet using google maps.
Established: Somewhere between 1925 and 1943
Other Info: .

Footloose Bridge (unofficial name)

This bridge was one of the many local Utah spots that were filming locations for the 1984 hit Footloose (the original). I didn’t know it at the time that we happened to pass by, but, I have been by and documented it so I decided to include it on my list. Another interesting thing about this bridge is it has survived several attempts to destroy it! It used to be a vehicle bridge but has since been demoted to a pedestrian bridge, and then been deemed No Trespassing Related article (outside link). Additional pictures here.

Distance to on foot: You can park right next to it on 1500 N and 2500 W in Lehi.
Height: not sure. Maybe ~10 feet.
Span: About 130 feet using google maps.
Established: 1915
Other Info:It has been given a facelift at some point, but I believe the original structure still remains.

Last Bridge Across the Jordan River:

This bridge on the Jordan River Parkway Trail between 90th South and 78th south. It looks like almost every other cookie cutter bridge across the Jordan River, and well, many of our rivers and creeks. But, what is special about this bridge is that it was the last bridge over the Jordan River that enabled the near completion of the trail in 2014. Note, I specified over the river. The last bridge that finally completed the entire trail is the Archie and Lois Archuleta Bridge (covered below under Other Bridges) it crosses train tracks rather than the river. 

Distance to on foot: About 6/10ths of a mile from 78th South, or 1.1 miles from 90th south.
Height: Unsure, maybe ~10 feet ish.
Span: About 120 feet using google maps.
Established: 2014
Other Info:

Bonus bridge that is just to the north:

This neat old truss bridge has since been replaced with the generic cookie cutter bridges you find along the rest of the river. It was a neat bridge before, but was also a little scary so I am glad glad it was replaced, but also a little sad too. It was replaced somewhere between 2020 and 2021. More pictures here and here.

Suspension Bridges

Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge.

This is my second favorite suspension bridge in the valley. It is a fantastic bridge that allows the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to continue across Bear Canyon while still allowing dogs. If you go above it though, dogs are not allowed.

Distance to on foot: About a mile. Can do a 2 mile loop.
Height: 130 feet!
Span: 185 feet.
Established: 2015 (July 1st) (I love when they have information plaques).
Other Info: This one seriously triggered my fear of heights, but I was able to cross it. If you are squeamish about heights like I am, it is best to approach it from the south. Then you can try to cross it, but if you can’t you can turn around. Plus, this way you can add the Little Red Bridge listed above (if you don’t have dogs with you).

Jordan River Bridge

This is my favorite suspension bridge I have found here. It is a beautiful bridge over the Jordan River. The bear canyon one is slightly more scenic but it's super high! This one is also pretty scenic but not as high up. It is on a short side trail off of the Jordan River Parkway. This bridge was constructed over an Historic Crossing, even if the bridge is not that old, it just lays where there was a historic river crossing that has been used since 1848! Wow. I need to go explore Pioneer Crossing Park to see if there is more historical stuff there.

Distance to on foot: About a 10th of a mile from Pioneer Crossing Park, or about 6/10ths of a mile from James D Madison Park, where I started.
Height: ~10 feet ish.
Span: 150 feet using google.
Established: 2013
Other Info

Creekside Park Bridge (Bountiful)

This neat bridge spans over Millcreek in the new Creekside Park in Bountiful. This is the only suspension bridge I have found that I think is a little bit of an overkill. I mean, it’s a small creek, over a not so deep gully. Do we really need a suspension bridge here? However, it is neat and I am glad I explored it but yeah, it feels a little ridiculous.

Distance to on foot: Less than a 10th of a mile.
Height: Eh, maybe ~10 feet.
Span: About 90 feet using google maps.
Established: 2018, but I am basing that on the fact that it was new when we visited, confirmed with google earth.
Other Info

George S Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge.

The George S Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge is a different type of suspension bridge in that it only has one support tower. I feel really … detached in that this bridge had been here for more than 20 years and I only recently discovered it. But it is a pretty darn neat bridge worth checking out!

Distance to on foot: About a 10th of a mile from the Student Life Center, or the nearby Fort Douglas Trax Station.
Height: .Eh.. ~20-30 feet.
Span: About 300 feet according to google maps.
Established: 2002
Other Info: Built for the 2002 Olympics.

Other Amazing Bridges

Cross Water Bridge.

Cross Water Bridge is a neat auto/pedestrian bridge that crosses over the north arm of Oquirrh Lake. I am not sure if there is a specific name for this style of bridge but it is an interesting double arched bridge that brings London to mind for some reason.

Distance to on foot: Meh, you should be able to find street parking near the top. Or to go below it Or about 3/10ths of a mile from the trailhead to the north (10460 South) to go underneath it.
Height: Unsure, but not super high. Maybe ~20-30 feet.
Span: About 250 feet using google maps.
Established: sometime between 2007 and 2009 judging from google earth. I did not notice any information plaque on the trail below it, and am not having much luck online either.
Other Info

Archie and Lois Archuleta Bridge

This is a neat, what I believe is a Tied Arch Bridge over the railyard along the Jordan River Parkway between 2nd South and North Temple in SLC. It really is a very unique, and quite important bridge.  It was unnamed when we first visited, but was named and dedicated June 17th 2022.

This neat pedestrian bridge was the final puzzle piece that completed the Jordan River Parkway. There was a long detour before this bridge was finally put in place. It is quite a long bridge that spans a railyard. I could be wrong about what type of bridge it is, but as far as I know it is the only one of it’s kind in the valley.

Distance to on foot: About 1/10th of a mile from either end. There is an official trailhead to the north, or there is another one on 9th south, which would be about 1.5 miles to the bridge.
Height: 120 feet.
Span: 2700 feet including the ramps on each side. 1200 feet excluding the ramps.
Established: 2017, dedicated and named in 2022.
Other Info: This is another high up bridge, but it is totally solid, does not sway or bounce at all, and the guards rails are pretty high up so it did not trigger my fear of heights at all. Here (outside link) is some more info about the dedication.

The Serpentine Bridge 

The Serpentine Bridge is a long pedestrian bridge over the Legacy Parkway in Woods Cross. I did not find much interest on these bridge other than it being a high point along The Legacy Parkway. But hey, it was something different. But I also enjoy the shape of this bridge.

Distance to on foot: About 300 feet from Foxboro Park.
Height: Not sure.~30-40 feet or so.
Span: About 1000 feet.
Established: Between 2007 and 2009 using google earth.
Other Info:

Parleys Trail Trainyard Bridge

This bridge along Parleys Trail is not particularly scenic, or artistic, or really special in anyway other than I believe it is one of the longest train/pedestrian bridges in the valley. It spans over the major trainyard near downtown SLC.

Distance to on foot: About 3/10ths of a mile from 3rd west. Or about 8/10ths of a mile from Redwood Trailhead Park.
Height: It is a bit higher than I would expect. Maybe ~40-60 feet?
Span: About 2640 feet, using google maps
Established: Sometime between 2009 and 2013 using google earth. Not sure when the pedestrian part opened though.
Other Info: There are a couple other basic bridges to see along this trail. Including the last 2 (modern covered pedestrian bridges) that completed the trail and connected it to the Jordan River Trail in 2023.

Railroad Bridges

Truss Bridges on the Weber River 2-fer! (Ogden)

I'll start with the northern one.

This neat old train truss bridge can be found on the Weber River Parkway in Ogden. I know, I know this is quite a bit of a ways outside the Salt Lake Valley, but it is neat so I thought I would include it

Distance to on foot: it is about 7/10ths of a mile from the trailhead on 17th Street. There may be possible closer locations on Skate Street or 2100 S, but I don’t know what the street parking rules are there.
Height: Meh… ~20 feet ish.
Span: About 160 feet, using google maps.
Established: Unknown, but I am pretty sure it is really old. Considering the next one is from the late 1800’s I am going with probably pretty close to that.
Other Info: A few other neat bridges along the way, including:

The southern one

This is another neat old train bridge on the same Weber River Parkway. I am not sure what kind it is, but it looks like a different version of a truss bridge? But, I am certainly no expert. This is just an additional mile to the south. Or super close to Ogden City’s Kayak Park.

Distance to on foot: it is about 1.7 miles from the trailhead on 17th Street. Or about 150 feet from Ogden City’s Kayak Park.
Height: Meh… ~20 feet ish.
Span: About 150 feet, using google earth.
Established: 1897
Other Info

Railroad Bridge Weber River

There is another really neat old train truss bridge in Weber Canyon that I have been meaning to stop and check out but haven’t yet, but I do have a quick Passenger Seat Photo of it. It seems quite a bit longer than the previous 2.

Distance to on foot: I don’t know.
Height: Meh… ~20 feet ish.
Span: About 280 feet, using google maps.
Established: Not sure, but looks like it is likely similar age as the 2 above.
Other Info

So, those are my favorites that I have found so far. Do let me know if there are any other interesting ones I might be missing.

Black Rock

 Black Rock is a large rock on the shores of the Great Salt Lake near the Great Salt Lake State Park in Magna. Black Rock itself is technically in Tooele County, but access to is is from SL County. It is a historic stop along the California National Historic Trail and there was actually once a resort here! Aside from some foundation there is little evidence of the resort, but Black Rock itself is actually pretty neat and worth the stop if passing through. You can reach this from the GSL State Park via the Sunset Beach trail (fee area), which we have done, but we decided to drive out to it for the 1st time today. We added this on after our adventure checking out the Mirabilite Springs on Silver Sands Beach.

Quick Details:

Length: It is about 3/10ths of a mile out to it so 6/10ths out and back. But with our bit of exploring and going around it we did about a mile balloon today.
Trail Type: Out and back, Balloon. Longer loop option.
Difficulty: DR3. Most of it is paved, the rest of it is like paved and is generally pretty flat.
Elevation Gain: NA
Restroom: No. But there are some in the Great Salt Lake State Park (fee area) otherwise, you will need to find a gas station.
Dogs? Unsure, but I believe they are allowed, leashed.
Other Info: While technically not part of the Great Salt Lake State Park, it is behind the gate that closes at 5:00 PM in winter. You can still exit after that but you cannot get in after that,

To Get Here:

Take i80 to exit 104 (west of Salt Lake City). Head north, then turn left at Saltair. Follow the frontage road for about 1.5 miles and there will be a split, head left. Go an additional 1.1 miles down the not so well maintained road to the gate. Park and continue on foot.

The last driven mile is pretty rough, but most cars should be fine on it.

Heading towards Black Rock (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).

Starting to get a bit of a sunset (PSP).

Official sign (PSP)

Underpass (PSP).

Pretty sunset.

There is a memorial here. 

The Trail:

Gate across the road. alrighty, it is on foot through here.

Information sign.

Tens of thousand of years ago a piece of the Oquirrh Mountains rolled off into Lake Bonneville. After the lake drained Black Rock became a a landmark for humans for the next 13,000 years. Early Indian tribes used it and it became a resort between the 1860’s and the 1960’s. Which made it one of the longest run resorts on the Great Salt Lake. Neat!

It was also a great inspiration and was joked that is you were a Utah Landscape Painter you had to have painted Black Rock at least once. While I am happy to have visited it twice now, and I think it is pretty neat, I don’t find it to be that scenic. Of course the lake levels are a whole lot more shallow now so meh. Maybe it was more scenic when the water was closer.

Black Rock and sunset.

The road you can no longer drive down is in much, much better shape than the road out to it.

Phragmites.

Continuing along. We are definitely pushing the good lighting at this point.

Black Rock.

The last little bit out to the rock is not paved, but is flat and hard packed.

Getting closer. As I mentioned above, this rock broke off of the mountains above and sunk to the bottom of Lake Bonneville.

Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond and watched it slowly slip back and forth on its way down? Yeah, I kind of wonder if giant behemoths do the same thing.

Looking back towards the Kennecott Smelter Stack. Tallest man made structure west of the Mississippi.

Black Rock.

California Trail Historic Route. Only 808 miles to Sacramento!

The rock again.

East side.

Looking across Sunset Beach to The Great Salt Lake State Park. This is how we got here last time. That was a bit longer at 2.4 miles out and back. You could also theoretically make a loop by going back that way, then back up the road. I think that would be quite a bit longer though. Playing around on the maps it looks like it might be about 3.2 ish miles. 

Nearing the north side.

There is a little window.

Antelope Island.

Stansbury Island.

The north side of Black Rock.

Random slabs of cement. I don’t know for sure, but I assume these are probably what's left of the resort.

Random sign that whatever information it displayed has long since faded.

Marshes.

Looking back towards Black Rock.

Neat rock.

Which offers a nice view of Antelope Island.

Stansbury Island.

Panoramic. It is a little too dark to see the smaller islands in-between.

Old pieces of wood. I assume the remains of an old pier. It looks similar to the one you can see at the remains of Saltair I.

Black Rock again.

Another cement platform of some sort. Again, I assume this was probably part of the resort remains.

View of Antelope Island from it.

Stansbury Island.

Sunset Beach again.

The smelter stack again.

Well, we were having fun exploring, but we were running out of daylight. Time to head back.

But not before we finish going around the rock.

There is a lot more loose rock on the west side.

The west side.

Closer look at the little window.

The rock again.

We kind of joked that that little notch must be where the rock came from. LOL But honestly I have no idea.

The rock again.

Smaller piece of the rock.

Back to the south side of the rock.

The mountains as we start our short trek back to the car.

City Lights across the lake. 

Looking back towards Black Rock.

Heading back along the old road.

More marshes.

Overpass and the smelter stack.

The smelter stack and surrounding facility (PSP). I caught the lights on the stack lit up. They blink so it’s kind of hard.

Well, I am glad we came back out to explore this, and did so from the main trail instead. We passed a few people on the way in, but otherwise had it entirely to ourselves. Its a super easy trail from either way, but this way is shorter, and probably just slightly easier since you aren’t walking on beach sand. I wish I had better lighting but that's entirely my fault. Going with 10 out of 10 squirrels today.

As for difficulty, it is mostly paved out to it, then it is hard packed earth to it. The west side is a little rocky, but otherwise its pretty easy going. DR3.

As for dogs, I am not entirely sure, it was not signed. However, considering it is next the the Great Salt Lake State Park, which does allow dogs, leashed, think the rule is the same here too.