Trails Utah

“Expenses promotion 3,092 office expenses 279 insurance 843 bank & merchant fees 101 registrations & dues 740 total 5,055”

“An additional 2018 donor account balance 0 was identified in 2019. 424”

“Trails utah is an organization dedicated to trails advocacy, planning, funding and building in needed areas throughout utah.”

“Bowman fork connector trail-trails utah is working this season to help resurrect the bowman fork connector trail, a classic back-country hiking trail within the mt. Olympus wilderness area that has fallen into disrepair over the years due to its remoteness and deferred maintenance. The bowman fork connector trail takes off to the west high up along the alexander basin trail and then threads its way west and south connecting over to the baker pass area. It is truly a stunning stretch of trail that contours around through the upper basins and peaks of the wasatch between millcreek and big cottonwood canyons. Resurrecting this trail will involve clearing vegetation, removing downed trees, and re-establishing the trail tread in areas where it has almost completely disappeared. Once complete, it will create a needed link between the alexander basin trail and bowman fork trail and provide great loop options mid-canyon in millcreek for the long- distance hiker and trail runner. With grant funds secured through salt lake county, trails utah will be contracting with the utah conservation corps who will be camping out late summer 2019 and conducting the work needed using hand tools to bring this trail back to life.”

“Red pine lake trail-the incredibly scenic red pine lake trail in little cottonwood canyon takes hikers up a steep, often rocky trail for just over 2,000 feet to a high alpine basin surrounded by craggy peaks. The shimmering green-blue red pine lake at the end of the hike and the stunning alpine scenery along the way draw thousands of hikers to this trail inside the lone peak wilderness area every year. Increasing pressure from hikers, steep and rocky terrain, and years of deferred maintenance have combined to cause several sections of the trail to become highly degraded and an erosional threat to the salt lake city watershed. Trails utah, working with the salt lake ranger district who identified the red pine lake trail as high priority for rehabilitation, secured grant funding in 2017 to do heavy maintenance and some reroutes of the red pine lake trail which will take place this summer. Trained hand crews from the utah conservation corps will spend several weeks this summer working alongside forest service crews to get this needed project done by the end of the 2019 season.”

“Rattlesnake gulch trail-the rattlesnake gulch trail, near the mouth of millcreek canyon on the east side of the salt lake valley, is heavily used by a mix of trail users that include mountain bikers, hikers and dog walkers. Most notably, it serves as an exit point for the popular pipeline trail for mountain bikers, many of whom are descending off the iconic wasatch crest trail. After a long, down-canyon contour along the pipeline trail, mountain bikers drop down the very steep, loose, rocky rattlesnake gulch trail at high rates of speed. Because the trail is the first trail that can be accessed heading up the canyon from nearby wasatch boulevard it is a go-to for local hikers and dog walkers looking to get out for a quick excursion. The combination of descending mountain bikers and uphill hikers and dog walkers is a dangerous mix that needs a solution. With funds secured through grants in 2018, trails utah is now working with pro trail builders and designers and the salt lake ranger district to identify a new trail alignment in rattlesnake gulch that can stop the degradation and erosion of the gully and create a safer, more enjoyable trail experience for a variety of users. Design work and nepa studies will take place this season and construction of a new trail in this area is slated for 2020.”

“Upper millcreek/great western trail connector-trails utah is now working with their partners, the salt lake ranger district of the uinta-wasatch- cache national forest, to build a long sought-after trail connection in heavily used millcreek canyon between upper and mid canyon areas. With grant funding secured from salt lake county in 2017, trails utah hired professional trail designers to study the upper canyon and help determine options for a trail connector to take mountain bikers, runners, and hikers off the narrow, dangerous road that has previously served as the only way to travel between big water trailhead at the very end of the canyon, and the elbow fork trailhead, where trail users can pick up the pipeline trail that traverses the bottom half of the canyon. In 2018 an alignment on the south, or north facing, side of the canyon was identified as the most feasible and cost efficient option and allowed the forest service to conduct necessary nepa studies. Trails utah is now consulting with professional trail builders and will begin construction on the first two phases of this trail, also a critical connection for the great western trail through the wasatch, in early to mid-summer 2019. The final phase of the trail will be completed as soon as the resources become available, either later this fall or early next summer. Hardlick downhill trails-in 2018 trails utah teamed up with herriman city and the herriman hills trails alliance to help plan and fund a network of downhill trails and an uphill climbing trail that will be part of the larger herriman trail system. The trail system is planned for the foothills at the south end of the salt lake valley adjacent to the rapidly growing hamlet of herriman city. The herriman trail system is envisioned as both a local community resource, designed to benefit the residents of herriman, and a recreational resource for trail users from around the valley. The hardlick downhill trail network will consist of approximately 3-miles of trails in the hardlick basin, a place where sheep once gathered to drink from a spring but when the spring went dry apparently licked the rocks. The trails in the area are designed for gravity-loving mountain bikers who get their thrills both in the air and on the ground. Banked turns, table top jumps, drops and other features will test and help build riding skills for bikers of all fitness and ability levels. Construction will begin late spring 2019 and be completed by the fall.”