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Red Butte Garden is a large 21 acre garden located near the University of Utah. It features a ton of flowers and plants all year round with 5 miles of hiking trails. Today they are holding their 3rd annual Blooming with Pride event! Which features several floral art pieces created by local artists in our LGBTQ+ community, as well as some fun family friendly arts and crafts. We had so much time last year, we decided to come again this year. Sadly it was not free this year.
Quick Details:
Length: As much as you want to explore. We did 2.39 miles today, with a short side hike.
Trail Type: Loop, meander, out and back.
Difficulty: The main loop is paved, DR2.
Elevation Gain: We did about 100 feet.
Restroom: Several.
Dogs? No.
Other Info: Fee area. It went up to $18.00 per person this year.
To Get Here:
Take i215 to Foothill Drive heading north. Go about 3.3 miles and turn right on Wakara Way. Continue up that for 9/10ths of a mile and it will be on the right.
We had to park in the overflow parking lot and hoof it up. There are signs directing you to it.
The mountains are nice and green (PSP).
The Natural History Museum of Utah under Red Butte Peak (PSP).
Entrance (PSP).
The Natural History Museum again, as we make our way up from the overflow lot. We need to make another trip to that sometime soon.
The Adventure:
This years theme is Rooted Together.
Fun rainbow flowers.
Woven as One. By artist Sam Moreno.
Vendors.
Fountain.
Beyond Blood: A propagated Family Tree by artist Mel Wise.
The Terrace Gardens is a set of 3 connected gardens each with a specific theme. Starting with the Herb Garden.
Fun fountain.
The Herb Garden again.
Fun community art.
I am not super artistic haha. But it was fun. I loved the one to the left of mine with youtube links, and music ideas. I wish I had thought of that. A lot of the music I grew up kept me going. And here I am! a mostly functioning adult LOL. Things got better, then Trump happened and well, things are shitty again. I have hope that when he is gone it will be better again.
The Herb Garden again.
Into the Medicinal Garden. This is pretty.
Prickly Pear. Used to treat skin sores.
Foxglove. We saw them all over the Oregon Coast. They are highly toxic, but are used in heart medication.
Another fountain that matches the previous one.
Sycamore.
Into the Fragrance Garden.
Primrose.
Well… I didn’t take many pictures of that garden haha.
Back on the main loop. with a view of the hillside. We decided to keep going counter clockwise. I see the easiest route is actually to go clockwise. Oops. I will have to try to remember that for next year.
Pretty gardens.
One of the self guided nature walk signs: Carried Forward.
Pretty forest.
Honeysuckle.
We did a quick jaunt along the Creekside Trail and then back down the Six Bridges Trail. I decided to make that a separate post.
After that fun little side quest, I gave the option of going down either side of the pond. The group opted for the north side today. It looks like we missed an art exhibit doing that, but that’s okay.
Crossing Red Butte Creek again and another bridge that is not included in the Six Bridges. This will take us into the Water Pavilion Garden.
Downstream the creek fans out into a series of 3 ponds. Here is the upper one. It is a little guy.
Again.
Moose and calf statue. I loves it.
The upper pond again.
Another type of primrose. We had a good laugh here because there are soooo many different primroses that we just said well, if we aren't sure what it is, it's probably another primrose. LOL. I looked it up, there are over 500 species in the Primula genus.
Angel Kiss Pigsqueak. Okay then.
The creek heading down.
Continuing along.
The big middle pond.
With the little covered dock.
Wildlife Habitat.
The Amphitheater.
The stage. My friends inform me that this is a spectacular venue. So far I haven’t really noticed anything I really want to see come here though.
Upper seating.
Lower pond and it’s outlet.
And a nice little waterfall for the inlet.
Closer.
Downstream.
Into the Rose Garden.
Pretty roses.
The Rose Family.
We wanna try to make that salad sometime.
Pretty roses.
When We Take Root by artist Ryan Ferre.
After this we found there was an ice cream stand call Ice Cream Social selling ice cream. We were all hot, so we suffered the 10 minutes in the sun for an ice cream. I wanted to try the Lavender. It ended up being dairy free.
Continuing back up along the Floral Walk.
Bee balm.
Columbines.
Ivy covered tree.
Neat old bench. We decided to stop in the shade and enjoy our ice creams.
As Soft as Earth by artist Brandee Watters.
The Rose Garden below.
Overlook Garden.
As Soft as Earth again.
I love the cute sign posts.
View down.
More columbine.
Closer.
Continuing along.
Japanese maple.
Fun giant arbor.
Canopy above.
They have various pear trees growing along it. Elise mentioned there is a term for this particular style, but she couldn't remember it at the moment.
A quick google search and I found the term espalier: a plant (such as a fruit tree) trained to grow flat against a support (such as a wall).
That has got to take some patience!
Side trail that we did a community art project back there last year.
Side path back to the Visitor Center. We wanted to se the Orangerie, but some of the group were done climbing. The Visitor Center has an elevator that will save us a floor.
More forest.
Little rainbow projected on the stairs. We didn’t turn around to see what caused it.
The Richard K. Hemmingway Orangerie.
Holy crap, look at how long that orchid is!
Closer view of the flowers.
Pretty tree I am not sure if it is an orange or not.
The Orangerie.
The Secret Queer History of Flowers.
Roses and violets.
Green carnations.
Lavender and pansies.
Yay!
Art.
The north side.
Another large tree.
The south end again. There were couple dance troupes set to go on in a minute so we decided to sit and check that out. I didn’t take any pictures, but it was pretty neat.
It was called Enduring, Adorned With Blooms by Rebecca Johnson & Company.
Information sign.
After that we checked out the food truck, all but one of us opted against it. So we decided to split up, find food, and meet back up at one of the houses and continue the party there.
The general path we took today. The little side trail we did in the purple circle.
So, we missed the Water Conservation Garden, The Children's Garden, and the Four Seasons Garden. Not to mention the Natural Area. But meh, we will just have to come back sometime.
Mount Olympus (PSP).
Where Parleys Trail crosses above i215.
Closer.
Well that was fun! The gardens are beautiful! The event was fun too. It was a little busy, but not awful, other than the longer wait for an ice cream cone. But, we all had fun, and that is what really matters. There are still a couple areas of the main Gardens area I want to explore, and quite a bit of the Natural Area I would love to explore as well. 3rd visit, and still just getting to know the gardens. I also appreciate that the University is still supporting the LGBTQ+ community, in a year where that is starting to feel rare. So, 10 Squirrels today!
As for difficulty, I would say the main trail is a DR2.
Dogs are not allowed, so be sure to leave Fido home.
