George S Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge

 The George S Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge located on the University of Utah campus. It is a pretty neat bridge with decent views of the campus and mountains. It is only the 3rd suspension bridge I have found in the valley (and oddly enough, the oldest one, but I just discovered it). From what I can tell it was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is in a very busy part of campus so it was obviously a good investment to put in there.

Quick Details:

Length: It is about 300 feet long, plus however far away you park.
Trail Type: Out and back, connector.
Difficulty: DR2. It is paved and easy, and there is an elevator to bypass the stairs.
Elevation Gain: NA
Restroom: No
Dogs? I imagine public sidewalk leash laws would apply, but I don't know if the U has additional rules.
Other Info: The closest place to park charges on weekdays but not on weekends. Also, this is accessible via Trax.

To Get Here:

Take exit 1 from i215 for Foothill Dr. Continue onto UT-186/Foothill Dr for about 3.4 miles. Turn right onto Mario Capecchi Dr. About 0.6 miles turn left onto S Wasatch Dr. Go about 0.3 miles, at the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit and stay on S Wasatch Dr (which is effective flipping a U-ey). Go about 0.3 miles a turn right onto Student Life Way/E Student Life Wy. Take the first left into the George S Eccles Student Life Center. Note: They charge for parking on weekdays.

Or if coming from the north, Take 5th South east. Just as it curves to the right and becomes Foothill BLVD, turn left onto Mario Capecchi Dr. Follow the rest of the directions the same.

Or, just take the Trax Red Line to the Fort Douglas Station.

The Trail:

First glimpse of it (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP).

We parked at the George S Eccles Student Life Center. As I mentioned they do charge to park there on weekdays, but not weekends.

The U campus is a hilly area so the west end of the bridge is raised 2 or 3 stories. There are stairs, and an elevator if needed.

The stairs.

The bridge from the first landing.

The entire span from the top. Wow, it is a pretty neat bridge. Also, as you can see there is a bike lane to the left, pedestrians to the right.

The bridge is pretty busy so eventually I just accepted that I might get people in my shots. Hopefully I did not get any too close up shots and of anybody.

I couldn’t find a lot of information on it other than it was completed in 2001.I measured it to be about 300 feet long on google maps. Not sure how tall it is. 

Also, for a suspension bridge it is quite sturdy! I guess having a cement base helps with that. I can't imagine what it would take to bounce or sway. So, it doesn't trigger my fear of heights at all.

This bridge is a little more unique in that it has a central support beam that holds up the cables versus the more standard opposing support beams.

The cables are pretty darn thick!

Mario Capecchi Dr. and the Trax station underneath.

The top with the cables.

The main support structure.

The bridge.

Directly underneath the main support.

Nearing the end.

It ends at this little plaza.

University of Utah Fort Douglas Heritage Foundation - The Walkway - “Connecting the past, present, and future.”

Not sure if “The Walkway” refers to the bridge, or this entire path. Also, I guess this part of campus used to be Fort Douglas. Some of the original buildings remain and have been repurposed. Neat.

A couple of the old buildings and a random U of U trailer.

Pretty magenta tree.

The bridge from the other side.

Of the three suspension bridges I have now found in the valley, this one is more unique, but my least favorite. The other 2 are Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge and a the Jordan River Bridge near 3300 South.

The main support again.

The bridge.

Again.

Again.

Helicopter coming in. We think it might have been life flight which means someone is not having a good day.

Some of the other buildings on campus.

Coming in for a landing.

The bridge again.

Again.

Trax going by.

The bridge again.

Again.

The elevator on the west end.

One last look before we head down.

“Go For The Gold” Sculpted by Jonathan Bronson and donated by Robert L. Rice and Kenneth O. Melby. A fun little sculpture from the 2002 Olympics. I swear there are little pieces from the Olympics all over the valley!

The elevator again.

From the side.

Closer to the name on it.

So who is George S Eccles, and why is his name attached to a lot of stuff in Utah? He and his wife co founded the George S and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation which is a non-profit foundation located in Salt Lake City, Utah that gives grants for projects and programs throughout Utah in the following areas: arts and culture, community, education, health care, and preservation and conservation.

Another helicopter (PSP).

The University of Utah Block U (PSP).

That was fun! I love me a good bridge, and particularly a good suspension bridge! I wish we had more in the valley than the 3 that I have found. However there might be more that I have yet to discover. It was a very busy little bridge, even on a Sunday. Which shows that it is very useful, but a little frustrating to try to get pictures of it, but meh. For a quick little adventure to see a neat feat of architecture it was cool. 9 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, its super short, mostly flat with an elevator option to bypass the stairs. DR2.

I imagine dogs are allowed, leashed as per general SLC public leash laws. I am not sure if the U has any additional rules about that though.

Terrace Hills Loop Via Valley View Trail

 The Terrace Hills Loop is a great, easy trail in the Avenues. The trail features great views of downtown and the valley. As well as the foothills, which are absolutely stunning this time of year. Nice and green, and lots of flowers. It was a little tricky trying to ensure we were on the right path and we ended up doing a little extra because of it, but it is super pretty so I did not mind the random detour we did today.

Quick Details:

Length: The main loop is about 1.4 miles. We added an additional mile due to not taking the right turn.
Trail Type: Loop
Difficulty: DR3. Its a bit of a climb, but not too bad.
Elevation Gain: About 250 feet. We did about 600 feet.
Restroom: No.
Dogs? Yes, leashed.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Take North Temple east, after State St it will turn into 2nd ave. Take 2nd ave 9 blocks to I St and turn left. Take I St. 12 blocks to 13th Ave. and turn right. Immediately take the left fork to Northcrest dr. after a half mile turn left on Terrace Hills Dr. Follow that for .4 miles to the Cul Du Sac located at 1036 Terrace Hills Dr. Find street parking.

Heading up I Street (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP).

The Trail:

The trailhead. There are actually 2 trailhead here an east and a west one. For the loop it doesn’t matter which one you use, we decided to go up the east route today.

This trail is part of The Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST).

Information sign. Aside from being the BST this is also the East Terrace Hills Trail.

Heading up through the scrub oak.

I love these fun signs asking you to clean up after your dog. We have seen a couple different versions on popular trails around the valley. This is the first time I have seen this iteration though.

More scrub oak.

Google lens is telling me ballhead waterleaf, which seems correct.

The rolling hills above. I absolutely LOVE the foothills this time of year. So green and pretty.

People on the trails above.

Green hills and puffy clouds.

The trail we will head back down on… eventually.

Found a big patch of annual honesty, or more commonly known as money plants. Thanks to my garden queen friend I have one of these growing in my garden.

Loads of them.

Arrow leaf balsamroot.

Continuing the climb.

More balsamroot.

Don’t forget to look behind you once in a while and check out the view.

Some phlox.

Oh boy. This was a bit more of a climb than I was expecting.

At about 3/10ths of a mile you will come to the first main junction. To do the short loop, you want to go left here.

Unfortunately, the loop mentioned at the beginning, is never mentioned again. So we thought we had to keep going.

So, forward towards the City Creek Saddle. Another half mile didn’t seem to fit the expected mileage in my head, but… whatever we’ll figure it out. Famous last word haha.

The Avenues Twin Peaks. Also a good hike, but there are a few tough spots.

Looking down at the gully below.

The mountains to the south.

Downtown SLC.

The Salt Lake Valley.

A little further east. I am not 100% sure if that is 13th east, or 7th east stretching across the valley. Leaning towards 13th.

Black mountain and the Avenues Twin Peaks.

Closer view of the twins.

The butterflies were not being nice today and would not sit still for long. I managed this shot, but its not that great.

Downtown again.

Milkvetch.

More arrow leaf balsamroot.

Some trail damaged from the run off.

The valley again. Still leaning towards that being 13th east.

The twins again.

Water tank.

I am not sure if this is Mount Van Cott, or Mount Wire. I am leaning towards Wire. I have been meaning to do that one for a bit now, it just hasn’t happened yet.

More arrow leaf balsamroot.

The twins again.

With more of the ridge.

Adorable, itty bitty little pink flowers.

More balsamroot.

A hill full of them.

The twins again.

More itty bitty flowers.

More balsamroot.

More phlox.

More balsamroot.

An unnamed peak.

The twins again.

We made it to the City Creek Saddle. Phew!

Huh, I didn’t take a picture of the signs, but again, none of them mentioned the loop we were trying to do. They did mention going to the 18th Avenue Trailhead, but at the time, I didn’t really know where that was. So, we decided to head back down to the previous trail split. Now that I am looking at the map I think we could have still made a loop going this way and it would have probably been about the same mileage we put in today, but hey, maybe next time.

Also, if you continue forward, or to the right of this image, that is the way to the Avenues Twin Peaks.

Said Twin Peaks.

Heading back down where we found ourselves almost perfectly lined of with what I am still pretty sure is 13th East.

The mountains towards the south.

The green foothills.

Hill full of balsamroot.

Closer.

Magpie.

The valley again.

Panoramic.

Downtown SLC again.

A pair of turkey vultures.

Little closer to one of them. These are pretty easy to identify with the small heads, and the darker wing color on the head and shoulders.

Another panoramic.

A cloud and it’s shadow.

Another panoramic.

Helicopter.

Back down to the lower junction.

We took the fork to the right even though we were still not 100% sure this was where we needed to go, but decided to go for it. Worst case scenario, we have to turn around. Note, it did get us where we wanted to go.

This is the BST Valleyview Trail.

Through some scrub oak.

Myrtle spurge. Be sure to avoid touching this noxious weed. It’s sap can cause burns and rashes.

More balsamroot.

More phlox.

Downtown SLC again.

Thin side trail up this little gully. Not sure where that leads.

More milkvetch.

The valley again.

This trail is quite a bit more thin than the main trails.

The valley again.

Another panoramic.

Continuing along.

For the most part the trail is alright, but there were a couple spots that made me pause.

But then it is just fine again.

More balsamroot.

The valley again. They are not kidding with the name of Valley View.

This is what hiking on wet, muddy trails does. So you know, if the mud is sticking to your boots, or tires, turn back.

Hills above.

Another little side gully.

Looking down.

A little more up. Oof.

The valley again. The power lines are a bit of an eyesore, but it is what it is.

Trail split. We decided to head left, but you can continue forward a bit, despite what the trail signs say. This shortcut probably only shaved off ~1/10th of a mile or so.

This sign at least let us know it would take us back to the trailhead we used, and wasn’t much further, so we decided it was probably best to head that way. However, like I mentioned, you can go the other way and get back to the trailhead.

The valley again.

The trail we are heading down. I am not normally a fan of trails that are cut into the side of the mountain with not a lot of trees, however, here at least the hills are not very steep, so I didn’t really struggle on it at much as I have on other trails.

More balsamroot.

Looking back towards the twins.

The trail ahead again.

More balsamroot.

On the ridge.

More trail ahead.

The valley again.

Yellow flowers.

The valley again.

Thin trail along the foothills.

More balsamroot.

Our shadows, well our heads anyway.

The foothills.

The trail ahead.

The valley again.

Where we will be heading down.

Another water tower.

Another trail marker that confirms we are heading back to the trailhead we used.

The foothills again.

Black Mountain and The Avenues Twin Peaks.

Big switchback.

The water tower again.

Heading down.

Twin pipes. I imagine this was the original gate.

Rock pile.

Then the trail becomes paved for the last little bit.

Another fun pick up after your dog sign.

Wow! A drinking fountain at this trailhead. It was not operational just yet.

Back to the west trailhead.

A little free library.

Looking back at the west trailhead.

Blooming trees.

Passing by the Salt Lake City Cemetery on the way to our next destination (PSP).

Well, aside from going the wrong way at first, that was a fun hike with incredible views and fantastic wildflowers! It wasn’t too terribly busy today either. While the signage has been improved quite a bit in the area, I still found it to be leaving a bit to be desired with the confusing web of trails. So I am going to remove 1 squirrel for that. 9 out of 10 squirrels today.

As for difficulty, it did have a bit of a climb, but it wasn’t too bad. DR3.

Dogs are allowed, but should remain leashed at all times.