The Westminster Emigration Creek Natural Area was a surprisingly beautiful little trail that I had no idea existed until today! I heard that there was a pedestrian covered bridge here, so I thought I would come check that out and well, I found another section of Emigration Creek to explore, yay!
My original plan was to go to Allen Park again but… it was closed. Luckily I had this planned as an add on already.
Emigration Creek
Lawrence F. Black Bridge
Quick Details:
Length: We did about 9/10ths of a miles squirreling all over the place. I would wager the main path is about a half mile out and back.
Trail Type: Out and back, or connector.
Difficulty: The main trail is paved, DR2. There are some fun offshoots that would be DR3.
Elevation Gain: About 50 feet, depending on how much you explore.
Restroom: No. Closest one I can think of is at Sugarhouse Park.
Dogs? Unknown..
Other Info: Westminster is private property, but they do appear to have set this little path up to welcome visitors.
To Get Here:
Take i80 to 13th east and head north for ‘about 8/10 of a mile. Past Sugar House Park, and past 21st south. It will be on the left.
I am not sure about the parking situation, we parked an a side street and walked in because we were planning on going to Allen Park.
Holy crap! Something seems to be seriously on fire (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)). I guess they were burning phragmites near
Antelope Island. They do that every spring, but this time seemed way more intense than usual!
South Salt Lake Water Tower (PSP).
Again (PSP).
What what? Allen Park is closed! Damn.
Authorized personnel only. Poop.
Well, I had planned to go see the pedestrian bridge on the Westminster property afterwards anyway, so I guess we will just do that instead. It is literally right across the street.
Squirrel on the power lines.
The Trail:
Dolores Dore Eccles Ceramics Center.
House of Clay.
Fun sculptures.
Fun art wall.
A Century of Ceramics.
Panoramic.
Neat griffin. That is the Westminster mascot.
Another panoramic.
Statues.
I didn’t know where the bridge was, just that it was over Emigration Creek, so I figured I would head towards this particularly lush green section.
Oh, I can kind of see the creek, its wayyy down there!
Flowers.
The covered bridge.
Oh wow! That is a really big one! I was expecting another 8-10 footer, not this super long thing.
North end.
South end, lost to the trees.
Because I love bridges, my first thought was to double back and figure out how to cross it, but ultimately I figured we can do that on the way back. I wanted to see how much there was to explore here.
Emigration Creek.
The bridge again.
Little stone chair.
Under the bridge.
Neat tree.
Honey bees hard at work.
Oh, they have actual hives.
We can see they are definitely active!
The creek again.
One of the buildings. Looks like it is the Giovale Library.
Emigration Creek Natural Area welcome sign.
Neat plants.
Lovely benches dedicated to Charlotte Carter Westminster College Women’s Board 1970 - 1982
Outdoor classroom, or stage.
The trail.
The outdoor classroom again.
“Wildlife NaturescapeThis garden features native Utah plants which benefit local birds, mammals, and reptiles. Berries from the chokecherry plant, found throughout this naturescape, provide an important food source for many bird species. The bright color of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant and other wildflowers attracts insects, another important source of food.”
I just love this time of year when everything is so vibrant and green.
“We All Need Clean WaterThe Emigration Creek ecosystem is aquatic--everything depends on the creek’s flowing water for life. The upstream watershed is highly developed, and pollutants like motor oil and fertilizers drain into the creek from lawns, sewage systems, and streets. This pollution impacts the ecological balance of the creek ecosystem. Restoration projects, storm water filtration, and regular creek cleanups help reduce pollution in this precious water source.”
Stairs down. We will come back to that.
Cottonwoods.
The creek.
With an old bench to enjoy it.
Forest.
Cistern. With the parking garage, and what I will soon see, a playing field above.
“Storm Water HarvestingThe native plants in this garden are well adapted to Utah’s dry climate--they need little additional water to survive. The elevated playing field gathers spring rain and snowmelt to provide the small amount of irrigation needed. This cistern holds the water for use during the dry summer.”
Wow, that is neat.
The cistern again.
Private deck over the other side of the creek.
Random desire path. We explored that on the way back.
Burdock. There is a lot of this back here.
Swinging to the north. Parking garage below, field above. That is a little weird.
Also, it looks like Emigration Creek continues flowing northwest for another ~600 feet or so before going underground.
Field seats.
I climbed the stairs to see. Yep, it is a sportsball playing field.
The end of the little nature trail.
Another building.
Whelp, this appears to be the end of the line. Time to head on back. There is more to the Westminster campus, but I just wanted to explore the nature trail today.
The north end of the field, which is called Dumke Field.
Oh yep. The welcome sign on this end.
Heading back.
Pretty flowering shrub.
Lots of burdock.
Westminster griffins.
We decided to check out the random desire path.
Cottonwood.
It’s kind of pretty in here.
As I suspected, it connects to the neighborhood behind it.
Alright, back the way we came.
More burdock. As I said, there is a lot of it here.
Back to the main trail.
Holy crap! Look at all that cotton from the cottonwoods.
Side trail down to the creek.
Burnt trees. I wonder what happened? And also glad it didn’t get out of control.
The creek.
Again.
The stairs we came down.
The creek again.
Downstream.
Upstream.
Storm drains that lead directly to the creek.
Another staircase leading back up to the main trail. We opted to stay down by the creek.
The creek.
I wonder what this red stuff is.
The creek again.
Again.
Tiny rapid.
Little low head dam.
The trail popped us out by the outdoor classroom.
Panoramic.
The Library and field above. We noticed something carved into the side of the library so we squirreled over there.
Definitely a quote of some sort.
Panoramic.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams - Elenore Roosevelt”
The field again.
“Layers of HistoryEmigration Creek is a classic example of a meandering stream. As it flows from Emigration Canyon to the Jordan River, it constantly, slowly changes course. The cut bank on the other side of the creek shows a 5,000-year history of this stream migration. In the exposure, you can see the remnants of old stream beds, soil horizons, and pools, complete with pond snail fossils.”
The creek.
Again.
We did not find any snail fossils, not for lack of trying though!
Upstream.
Downstream.. with some more red stuff.
Further downstream.
Itty bitty waterfall.
Artistic birdhouse. It has bird poop on it, so maybe it is being used. Or maybe that is what the birds think of it.
Upstream.
Spiky plant.
Well, end of the line, so a little backtracking.
Well check out this blast from the past! When is the last time you have seen one of these?
Bella donna.
Another itty bitty waterfall.
The library again.
Foliage.
“Native American GardenThe plants in this garden have been used for millennia by indigenous peoples in Utah to make dwellings, tools, beverages, and even chewing gum. Serviceberry branches bend nicely for bow making, and mountain mahogany twigs become straight arrow shafts.”
Back to the bridge and bees.
There are some stairs up to the bridge level. Or you can go under the bridge and around the other side to bypass them.
The bridge! Wow this is neat.
“The Lawrence F. Black BridgeDedicated to the late trustee, “Biggie” Black for his untiring effort in obtaining materials, and to the Utah National Guard for construction as a training project.
August 10, 1973”
Inside. Wow! This is my new favorite covered pedestrian bridge.
It is about 125 feet long (using google maps) and I would guess about 25 feet high. According to the sign, it was built in 1973.
Neat tree again.
The bridge has several skylights to let in some natural light.
Such a cool bridge! And even with how high it is, it isn’t triggering my fear of heights. It feels pretty solid.
Downstream.
Upstream.
Downstream again.
Straight down.
Continuing across.
I can’t quite make it out, but I think Behnken Hall.
The south side of the bridge.
Side.
Other side.
Then we found another interesting bridge.
Nunemaker Place.
Just a plain cement bridge.
Which leads to an odd building. Hogle Hall.
Part of their Honors College.
Volleyball court.
The bridge again.
The side.
We debated about crossing back over, or exploring a bit on this side, and opted to stay on this side.
Olwell Hall.
Some greenery.
Some bleeding hearts. I love these! I have not had them in my garden for a few years and I kind of miss them.
Where Emigration Creek enters the area, after leaving Allen Park and going underneath 13th east.
The Ceramic Center again.
Our squirrely path today. Hah, we really just followed our Oh! Look at that! brains today. But, I guess that is pretty par for the course with us.
Well that was fun! Not only did we find a really, really cool covered pedestrian bridge, we also discovered another small section of Emigration Creek to explore. Plus a some other neat stuff. I think this was a particularly good day to explore the area being a holiday and all means no classes. So it may not be as fun on a regular day. But, I really enjoyed it today, 10 out of 10 squirrels.
As for difficulty, the main path is paved Going with a DR2. Some side paths we took were not paved.
Dogs… you know, I am not sure. I saw a few dogs being walked around, but I don’t know the official campus rule.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
