Rock Canyon Park is the big one: at about 40 acres it is the largest park on this list, and locals know its sunken, grassy middle as the Bowl. It is Provo's snow-day sledding hill, a summer picnic lawn with a view over the valley, and, despite the name, not where the Rock Canyon trail starts; that is the separate trailhead park up the road.
Pictured above: The Bowl in June 2018. Photo by Ben P L, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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At a glance
- Address: 2620 N 1200 E, Provo (map)
- Size: 39.9 acres
- Parking: 49 spaces
- Pavilion: reservable (power, lights)
- Restrooms: seasonal
What's here
Play
- Playground
Sports
- Soccer field
- Volleyball court
- Horseshoe pit
- Disc golf
Picnics
- Picnic tables
- Barbecue grills
- Pavilion
- Power outlets
Trails and nature
- Walking and bike path
- Bonneville Shoreline Trail access
Facilities
- Restrooms
- Drinking fountain
- Dog waste station
- Historical markers
A history walk in the Bowl
Eight plaques from the Rotary Club's series on Provo's past are set around the park, which makes it the best-stocked history walk in the city's parks. They cover the 1870 "Provo Riot" by Army troops, the short life of the city's first bank, the argument over where to build the first tabernacle, the Congregational church's Proctor Academy, the "pest house" where travelers with contagious diseases were isolated, the 1882 introduction of carp to Utah Lake, the student prank that led to the Y on the mountain, and North Park's 1930s community ice rink.
Using the park
Around the Bowl are a playground, soccer field, sand volleyball court (bring a net), horseshoe pits, a disc golf course, grills and a reservable pavilion with power. A path connects to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail along the foothills. The park sits high enough on the bench that the streets around it are a known place to watch July fireworks over the valley, and in winter the slopes of the Bowl hold snow longer than the valley floor.
On Provo.com
- Rock Canyon neighborhood
- Things to do in Provo in the snow: sledding here and elsewhere
- The Rock Canyon hike: starts at the trailhead park, not here
- The Bonneville Shoreline Trail
- Outdoor movie nights
Parks nearby
Sources: Provo City park data, 2026-09-30; HMDB: Army Troops Caused the Provo Riot in 1870; HMDB: Creating the Y on the Mountain; HMDB: Carp Not Native to Utah Lake; HMDB: Provo's North Park Had a Community Ice Skating Rink. Hours and rules: the parks hub.