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Quick Details:
Length: 1.05 mile out, loop-de-loop, and back.
Trail Type: Double balloon.
Difficulty: Mostly paved so DR2, the loops around the ponds are hard packed, wide, and like paved so DR3 for that.
Elevation Gain: About 32 feet. Not really much to even notice.
Restroom: No. Closest one I can think of is the Maverick on 7th East.
Dogs? Yes, leash required.
Other Info: If you want to feed the ducks, remember bread is bad for them. Consider corn, oats, rice, or birdseed.
To Get Here:
From i15, take the 114th S exit in Draper. Head east. Turn right on 7th east. Left on Meadow Wood Dr. Right on 820 E. That will curve to the left and become 11725 S. Then it will curve to the right and become 880 E. Just before it curves to the left again you will see the signed turn off on the right.
The Trail:
The trailhead kiosk.
The trail starts with some houses to the left, and a small wooded area to your right.
Before long you will start seeing plants that are common in the wetlands.
Neat little structure.
Dry creek bed.
Really nice forested section.
The trail will curve back in and start heading the opposite direction.
Eventually you get your first view of the first pond.
Not long after the curve there will be a trail split. You will want to head left towards the first pond. Going forward just leads to another trailhead.
Lots of ducks in the first pond. It’s kind of weird, most ducks tend to want to get as far away from my dogs as possible, but it would seem these ducks are quite used to being fed and actually seemed to be coming closer. Eep. I decided to keep moving. Mia here obviously wanted to get closer to them. I am pretty sure she just wants to meet them and be friends but not 100% sure if, instead she wants to eat them. Honestly, I am not going to risk finding out.
The full pond. This is the smaller of the 2.
Nice little dock.
View from the dock. Notice the ducks are swimming towards us, not away from us. Sorry guys! I didn’t think to bring anything to feed you.
Lots of duckies! I am terrible at identifying ducks, but I can say for sure that most, if not all of these are the easily identified mallard. I am curious what those dark ones with the green heads are.
Neat old windmill.
To get to the larger of the 2 ponds you will continue following the trail across this bridge.
Note: this is the end of the paved trail. the rest is well packed earth.
Nice marshy area.
Geese! Now this is expected behavior, a run for the safety of water.
Another little dock.
Lots of geese and ducks in this pond.
This pond is quite a bit bigger and is also named: Sunset Pond. Although I have also seen both ponds collectively be called Sunset Ponds so.. yeah.
Quick panoramic.
We decided to walk around the pond.
The pond again.
More duckies.
On the west end you start getting a great view of the mountains above the pond.
Mount Jordan above the pond.
Another panoramic.
There are quite a few benches to rest on and enjoy the views along the way.
Lots of ducks.
More incoming.
Splash down!
Pretty white duck.
More incoming ducks.
Sunset Pond again.
The dogs still really wanted to meet the ducks.
King of the rock.
Another view of the pond.
From the east end.
The mountains again.
Back down to the dock.
Back to the bridge over the wetlands.
We decided to add the loop around the smaller pond, which ended up doing kind of a figure 8.
There was a thin layer of ice on the back side of this pond.
The little dock at the front or north side.
The frozen pond and some mountains.
It seems the south end of this pond is in private property. Either it was added on to the existing pond, or a land bridge was put in to allow us to continue around it. Not sure exactly.
Looking north.
Fun ice rings. I did some digging, and it seems this is most likely caused by people throwing rocks through the ice.
Another little dock/bridge.
View from it.
View from the east side.
There are 3 of these little staircase looking things. We both agreed they seem to be fishing benches of some sort.
More duckies!
The trail split. North will take you to 11725 S. If you want to, you can do that, and then walk back along the road back to the trailhead. It will add 4/10ths of a mile, while removing 2/10th (going back the way we came is about 2/10ths) so net addition of 2/10ths of a mile. Meh, maybe it’s worth it to see the rest of the wetlands. Only downside is the last walk down the road.
We went back the way we came in, back to the south for a minute.
Random cat on a tree.
The ridge between Draper and Alpine. We we up there just a few days ago doing the Alien Tower trail. I am not 100% sure, but I think I can make out the peak the tower is on.
More forest.
If you just want to get to the ponds, there does appear to be a desire path directly to them that will remove some mileage. But honestly, the trail is short enough that it seems unnecessary.
I actually really enjoyed this paved, neighborhood trail. Yes, it is surrounded by houses, but it was just wild enough that it was pleasant. The ponds are lovely, and I do enjoy watching the ducks and geese as well. I was a little surprised we didn’t run into too many people either, although it is Christmas Eve so, that might be the reason for that. Going with 7 out of 10 squirrels.
As for difficulty, It is mostly paved, so DR2. The bit around the ponds are hard packed and wide, almost like paved so DR3 for that.
Dogs are allowed, leashed. Please be sure to clean up after your furry friends.
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