Random Rambler: Parleys Historic Nature Park

Parleys Historic Nature Park AKA Tanner Dog Park, (archaic or not quite accurate) But I guess it works since the nature park is connected to Tanner Park. Anyway it is a large park near the mouth of Parleys Canyon in Salt Lake City. It features some lovely trails, forest, a creek with a couple wading spots, and an off leash dogs area (with creek access). Also, a couple neat historical artifacts to see as well. The park does sit below a major freeway junction, and you will know it in parts, but for the most part you don’t.

I kind of had a heavy walking week, so I just wanted something a little easier. Plus it has been a minute since we have been here so I figured it was a good option. Plus you know, cute doggos!

Quick Details:

Length: We did about a 2 mile loop today.
Trail Type: Loop. Out and back, and balloon options.
Difficulty: DR3. Little bit of a climb. The loop we did was about half paved.
Elevation Gain: About 230 feet.
Restroom: Yes.
Dogs? Yes. Even off-leash for some of it. Just pay attention to signs and leash up when required. General rule of thumb: Unless you go through a gate, unpaved = dogs allowed off leash. Paved = Dogs must be leashed. But again, pay attention to the signs. There is a gated section that is no dogs allowed. Also, please, clean up after your furry friends. Good stewardship ensures continued access.
Other Info: The trail starts at the top, meaning you will start going down, and return up.

Also, this year is weird with the lame winter we had. Normally we would be experiencing a high run-off this time of year. Dogs have been washed downstream, so do pay attention to the current before allowing your dogs in the water.

To Get Here:

If coming from the west, take i80 to exit 127, 2300 east. Take the 3rd exit from the traffic circle towards 2760 South. Take the 2nd exit in the next traffic circle to get on 2760 South. Go approximately 4/10th of a mile and park at the upper parking lot for Tanner Park. You can park at the lower one too, but upper is closer.

There is no westbound 2300 East exit so Take 3300 South or 13th east.

2667 E Heritage Wy, Salt Lake City, UT 84109

The South Salt Lake Water Tower from i15 (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).

Pretty murals on this building (PSP). I found it is South Salt Lake City Hall. Fun. SSL is known for their murals.

I love this rock formation on Grandeur Peak (PSP) I have always thought it looked like a giant seahorse.

The Trail:

I didn’t remember there being this side trail that was a more direct route to the parking lot. Oh well, the way we went isn’t much longer.

The trail starts on this utility access road.

Trailhead kiosk.

It starts out paved.

Island of Habitat.

There are several distinct habitats in this little park.

The park below.

BTW, dogs may be off-leash from here to the end. But pay attention to the signs, there is a gated section that is no dogs allowed, and Parleys Trail is leash required.

Little better.

Lay of the Land

Welcome to Parleys Historic Nature Park

Parleys Canyon above the park.

i80 to the northeast.

There is a cop slowing traffic down. There must be some incident up ahead.

Continuing along.

Probably the least peopley shot of the main trail.

The “seahorse” on Grandeur Peak again.

So pretty and green right now.

Crossroads. The main area is to the right.

The west end.

Heading towards the east end.

One of the little wading areas. It smells of wet dog.

Parleys Creek, upstream.

Trees.

Continuing along.

We decided to take the smaller trail next to the fence.

Back on the main trail.

Finding a Balance.

Interesting rock formation above.

Into the woods.

The creek.

It’s super pretty through here.

Mary’s Spring wetland.

Info about it. They are working on restoring the wetland after years of human and dog traffic have impacted it's surface area.

Flowing down to Parleys Creek.

Then it opens up again.

“The Railroad.

After the opening of the Golden Pass Road through Parley's Canyon, the canyon became more accessible for the cutting and hauling of wood to be used in construction of homes and industrial ventures. Lamb's Canyon, near the top of the canyon was a prime source for these material. However, it was soon discovered that the developing industries needed more than wood fuel and water power. Pioneers were sent in various directions to attempt to locate coal deposits. Those sent to the area of the present location of Coalville, Utah, found a brown coal called lignite, east of the townsite up Chalk Creek. Brigham Young immediately formed a coal operation at the site. The coal was dug and hauled by wagon over Silver Creek and Kimball's Junction, over Parley's Summit and down the canyon into the valley. A ton of coal then cost $8.00 and the hauling charge was $1.50.
Shortly after the coming of the railroad to the west in 1869, a railroad line connecting Salt Lake and points south was installed from Corinne, in 1869. In 1871, a branch railroad line going north connecting Coalville to the main line at Echo was begun by Summit County Railroad.

It was a narrow gage line which served, starting in 1873. The coal was there transferred into the standard gage cars of the UP Railroad which continued thence through Corinne and Ogden, into Salt Lake.
On June 11, 1874, the Eastern Utah Railroad was incorporated to build a narrow gage rail line from Coalville south to the Park City mines. In 1880, the Union Pacific Railroad Co. obtained the lines from Park City north to Echo and replaced them with a standard gage line, which was finally completed in 1888. About this same time, the Salt Lake & Eastern Railroad Co. completed the narrow gage line from Salt Lake City to Park City Mines in 1890. In 1900, the Rio Grande Railroad Co. took over the lines through Parley's Canyon to Park City and changed them to standard gage. They also acquired the lines from Park City north to Echo. The line through Parley's Canyon continued not only as a freight train, but carried passengers as well until the service was discontinued from Sugar House through the canyon in the 1940s. Freight service to Sugar House continued for some years after this date.”

Fun References to the Denver and Rio Grande and the Ogden Union Station.

The trail ends at another wading area.

Clean and Cool Keeping the Dippers Dipping.

The wading area again. Parleys Creek enters the east end of the area from that tube on the left which goes under the freeway, and connects to Suicide Rock upstream and then the canyon of course. Crazy people tube down under the freeway in the summer time. Yeah, that is a big nope from me.

The creek. The water is nice and clear.

At least until some dogs go romping through.

Clear water.

Little cascades.

More below.

Well, that was fun. Now we will head back.

Warning about the high water… for normal years anyway. But again, this time of year, it is normally quite a bit higher and is a danger to dogs and humans alike.

Big tree.

We decided to take this side path up to Parleys Trail.

Purple flowers.

The bees love it.

Connecting to a larger trail.

“The Golden Pass Road and Tollhouse.

"Travel the Golden Pass, open July fourth (1850). Immigrants coming into the valley may now avoid the difficult routes over Big and Little Mountains by taking the new route. Several thousand dollars have been spent by the proprietor." So ran part of an advertisement in the third issue of the Deseret News of June 29, 1850.
Parley P. Pratt, having been through the mouth of Parley's Canyon as well as traversed the Emigration Canyon route, decided that with a certain amount of effort he could make the Parley's Canyon route much easier than the other. He made a road, from what was called Dell Fork, where the Mountain Dell Reservoir is located, down to what eventually became the center of Sugar House, at about what now is Twenty-first South and Eleventh East Streets. Due to the narrowness of Parley's Canyon, the road crossed the stream sixteen times enroute. It was not a super highway, but far surpassed the route down Emigration Canyon. Although some travelers complained about the roughness of the road, those familiar with both routes still preferred it to the original route. To help reimburse Pratt for the costs of construction,

a toll or passage fee was charged. The advertisement continues: $.75 for a two-horse outfit, ten cents for each additional pack or saddle animal, and sheep a mere cent per head."
The toll gate was located on the north side of the stream, directly below where the SUP Headquarters Building is located on the south rim of the canyon at 3300 East Street. Impressions of the old dirt road still can be seen in the hollow, running in front of the relic foundations of Dudler's Inn. The road ran along the north side of Suicide Rock, and when the railroad was introduced, it passed the rock on its south side.
A big celebration was held upon the opening of the new road on July 4, 1850. Thus was presented a new route where incoming travelers, whether in wagons, on horseback, the Pony Express, handcarts, walking or eventually even with a stage coach, might safely make their way into the valley.
Eventually, the road became part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway and later I-80 and all follow the route of the Pioneers from the mouth of the canyon to the turn-off for East Canyon, now Jeremy's Ranch, and later east of Silver Creek Junction in Echo Canyon where the trail turns north to Echo and points east.”

Random berries.

Before long we reached Parleys Trail. Dogs need to be leashed on this trail.

Welcome to Parleys Historic Nature Park.

Lay of the Land.

Continuing along.

The wetland area again.

The stream coming out of Mary’s Spring. I kind of wish I had followed it up. But meh, next time.

Stone wall. I have nothing to back this up, but I suspect it might have something to do with Dudler’s Inn. More on that in a moment.

Thistle.

Why are they yellow? I’ve never seen it yellow? Maybe it starts out that way before it turns purple?

Old trail marker.

“Dudler’s Inn.

Perhaps one of the longest living and prominent residents of the area, known as Parley’s Hollow, now officially Parley’s Historic Nature Park, was Joseph Dudler. About 1864, he settled in this location. Here he built his home. It was two stories, thirty-six by fifty-six feet in size, with rock foundation walls, the narrow front facing south, and the rest of the ground floor dug into the side of the valley. The remains of a rock wall, east of the still existing foundation stones of the original building, is a continuation of the front wall of the lower floor of his Inn. The story above was frame with vertical siding, and it was here that the “Rooms To Let,” dining, and kitchen spaces were provided.
As business improved, in 1870, he built a brewery to the rear and west of the Inn. To provide further for this, he built an addition to the Inn itself, continuing the rock foundations further north sixteen feet with an adobe instead of frame upper story. In addition, he continued the lower floor north, only four feet further in the ground, with what has been called the “Wine Cellar.” Still there, it is a rock-walled

room, underground, about fifteen-and-a-half feet wide and twenty feet long with a ten-foot high, domed, rock ceiling. It is an ideal place for keeping things cool.
His irrigation water supply was brought to the site in a ditch from Parley’s Canyon Creek, but for drinking water he used a spring on the property northeast of the Inn location which is still flowing.
Dudler operated a saloon or two in town as well as at the Inn, and in 1892, added a similar business in Park City where he also continued in the brewing and saloon business. He kept the farm and brewery area going in Parley’s Hollow until his death in October of 1897. His descendants continued using the Inn as a residence, referring to it as the “homestead” until it was destroyed by fire, the work of vandals, the night of the 17th of October, 1952.”

“Dudler’s Wine Cellar.

Early in 1870, Joseph Dudler, owner and operator of the inn which was on the ground level of his house, built a brewery in back of his house here in Parley’s Hollow. To provide for this, in addition to the brewery proper, located on adjacent property west and north of the inn, he extended his entire earlier building sixteen feet further into the north side of the valley. To this extension he added what became know as the wine cellar. He built this rock-walled, underground cellar for a store room as well as storage for the product of his brewery. The walls and roof of the cellar, which still retain their structural integrity, average two-and-one-half feet thick and the walls were ten-feet high. The labor expended to excavate the basement, the cellar, and to erect the two-and-one-half story building of the hoyuse and inn, would have been a tremendous task. There were no backhoes, front-end loaders, no dump trucks or cranes in those days to help in the construction; just back-breaking, muscle-straining, hard work. The structure of the cellar was so well designed that over a half-century later, when crews came to clean up what was left of the burned-out

building, this stone work that comprises the cellar, supported the weight of the “Cat” when the ground was leveled.
Just to the west and a little bit north of the cellar was a tall brick chimney on the north end of a small frame building which was the brewery proper. This chimney remained in place for many years having outlasted the frame brewery building, but it too has long since fallen to the ravages of time as did the brewery building itself much earlier. Joe Dudler was a carpenter by trade and a brewer by profession and the following years would prove his proficiency at both.
When Joe set up his first brewery at this location, he called it the Philadelphia Brewery. He sold his products not only at the inn, but also a little later at his Philadelphia Brewery Saloon in downtown Salt Lake City. His inn was also known for a time as Dudler Summer Resort and simply as Dudler’s Saloon.
In the early 1900’s, his son Frank and doughter Retta ran the saloon at Parley’s Hollow while their father set up a saloon and ran his famous business in Park City. Joseph Dudler died in 1897.”

The wine cellar.

Closer.

Rock wall, with a pipe sticking out of it.

Same on the other side.

Leaving the cellar.

Parleys Trail signage.

Next stop is this neat sandstone aqueduct arch.

Through the foxtails.

Stinkbug.

The aqueduct.

“Sandstone Wall & Aqueduct

Parley's Creek, originally known by the Indian name Obit-Ko-Ke-Che Creek, was the largest stream of water which flowed from the Wasatch Mountains into the valley. This creek had beginnings high in the Wasatch Mountains to the north near what became known as Pratt's Pass, near Lookout Peak. It ran through the pass near Little Mountain Summit and over into Parley's Canyon, where it was joined by other streams on its journey into the valley. From its entrance into the valley, the water coursed its way northwest until it finally joined the Jordan River near Fifth South Street on its way to Great Salt Lake.
With the growth area west and north of the mouth of Parley's Canyon, it became apparent that a way had to be found to carry the water to those needing it. Ditches were dug which were fine for those living in the bottom lands of the hollow, but it was soon determined that if walls were to be built with a conduit running along its top, like those done by the ancient Romans but on a much smaller scale, water could be lifted up to the plateaus on the north and south sides of the hollow. A water commission was formed of property owners

in the bottom, north and south plateau areas to determine how this was to be done as well as to see that the water was fairly distributed.
The walls were built of sandstone blocks from the canyon and were constructed with the channel on the topo to convey the water as needed. The reservoir was built in 1891, and the walls shortly after. Only a relatively small segment remains. It is still a handsome piece of masonry, forty feet high where it cut across a ravine and an arch was laid up to allw for the water draining through the ravine to be unhampered in its course to Parley's Creek. Early photographs show lombardy poplars had been planted along the route, at least along the segment still extant.
This section of the north wall is all that remains of either wall. The rocks were either abandoned in place or lifted out and used for construction of other buildings or left on the valley floor. The water needs were provided for in the construction of the Mountain Dell Reservoir five miles up the canyon in 1915.”

As the sign states it was built in the 1890’s.

The archway.

I wish people didn’t feel the need to tag it. Come on guys, this thing is over 100 years old! Have some respect.

The back.

Again.

Panoramic.

The wall and archway.

Top of the wall.

Which offers a lovely view of Mount Olympus over the park.

The other direction.

The wall again.

Archway.

Culvert under the freeway. As the sign said, the archway was built to allow water runoff in this ravine to flow through here. I guess these culverts allow the same thing for the freeway.

Inside.

Another pipe.

The archway.

Panoramic.

Flowers.

Grandeur Peak again.

Mount Olympus.

Panoramic.

Continuing along.

The park below.

Yellow flowers.

Oh, well I guess that answers it, thistle does start out yellow. Guess I just never noticed it before.

I always called these giant dandelions, but I guess it is called salsify. They bloom in the morning.

The valley below.

Continuing along.

Someone put a little rock in each little alcove. It’s cute.

Where we started across the way.

Above the trees.

Aerial Target (outside link explaining what it is).

Last little bit.

Where the creek disappears under the freeway at the west end. It pops out again downstream in the golf course on the other side, then works it way down to Sugar House Park.

The west end.

The creek.

Grandeur Peak, Millcreek Canyon, and Mount Olympus.

Starting to climb again. The benefit of retuning this way, rather than the way we came down it, is we got most of the climb out of the way heading up to the Parleys Trail.

Parleys Canyon, Grandeur Peak, and Millcreek Canyon.

You are like… right next to the freeway for this part.

Another old trail marker.

Parleys Trail art.

The split on the left will get you back to the parking lot.

The little connector trail.

Back to the access gate.

We took the short dirt connector up to the parking lot.

Our general path today.

Then we drove under Parleys Trail getting back on the freeway (PSP).

Sugar House Park (PSP).

Back on the freeway Looking towards downtown (PSP). You can see the Hyatt, and the Walker Center Tower lit up. The Walker Center Tower is blue, so clear skies tomorrow. You can also see the Astra Tower our new tallest building.

Another South Salt Lake Water Tank (PSP).

Well that was fun! This is a great trail that combines some beautiful nature and some great history as well. Plus, I mean, all of the cute little doggos! I am going to take 2 for gross wet dog smell and for how busy it is. 8 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, parleys trail is paved, but a bit steep. The main trail is like paved. We even saw a guy on a specialized ADA trike who did not appear to have any difficulty. DR3.