This is where the Rock Canyon trail actually begins: a trailhead park at the mouth of the canyon with 92 parking spaces, restrooms, a reservable pavilion and a small amphitheater. From here the trail climbs between limestone walls that draw climbers most of the year.
Pictured above: The mouth of Rock Canyon, September 2018. Photo by Ben P L, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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At a glance
- Address: 1502 E 2300 N, Provo (map)
- Size: 4.6 acres
- Parking: 92 spaces
- Pavilion: reservable (power, lights)
- Restrooms: seasonal
What's here
Picnics
- Barbecue grills
- Pavilion
- Power outlets
- Amphitheater or stage
Trails and nature
- Walking and bike path
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
Facilities
- Restrooms
- Drinking fountain
- Dog waste station
- Historical markers
The canyon's story
A sign at the trailhead tells the canyon's longer history. Fremont and later Numic peoples hunted bighorn sheep and mule deer here for thousands of years. In February 1850, during the militia campaign against them, the Timpanogos used the canyon as an escape route, and settlers later named the peak on its north side in memory of the wife of Chief Big Elk, who fell from a cliff during that conflict. In 2021 that peak was renamed Kyhv Peak, from a Ute word for mountain. Settlers afterward took irrigation water and timber from the canyon.
Before you go
On a fine Saturday the lot fills early. The trail itself, its climbing walls and the rules for dogs and fires as you walk up are in our Rock Canyon guide. The Bonneville Shoreline Trail crosses nearby for a flatter walk along the foothills.
On Provo.com
- Rock Canyon neighborhood
- The Rock Canyon hike: distances, climbing and the rules on the trail
- The Bonneville Shoreline Trail
- Rock Canyon Park: the Bowl, a mile down the bench
Parks nearby
Sources: Provo City park data, 2026-09-30; HMDB: Rock Canyon Trailhead History. Hours and rules: the parks hub.