Hikes Near Provo With Kids

Bridal Veil Falls · Provo Canyon

~0.5 mi round trip  ·  Essentially flat  ·  15-30 min  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

A 607-foot two-tier waterfall reachable on flat pavement, which is why it is the most-visited natural feature in the county. Access has been free and staying free was an explicit argument for making it a state monument rather than a state park.

What that number describes: The paved Provo River Parkway walk from the falls-side parking area to the viewing area at the base. The steep dirt scramble above the pool is a different, harder proposition and is not what these numbers describe.

Season: The falls freeze into columns in a cold winter; Provo Canyon holds the highest concentration of ice climbing in the Salt Lake and Utah County area.

Grotto Falls · Payson Canyon

~0.5-0.7 mi round trip  ·  Minimal  ·  30-45 min  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: rules vary by segment

The shortest real payoff in Utah County -- a waterfall dropping through a cobbled alcove, with stream crossings on plank bridges that small children treat as the point of the outing. There are two trails at the pullout and people start up the wrong one.

What that number describes: Summer access, driving to the trailhead roughly seven miles up Payson Canyon. The winter version is a different hike entirely -- see the note.

Where sources disagree: When the Nebo Loop gate closes for the season you park at the gate and walk the road in, commonly reported at around 1.3 miles each way, turning a half-mile stroll into roughly a 3.5-mile outing with real elevation added. The closure is snow-dependent at both ends and the dates move year to year.

Season: Nebo Loop closes for winter. The Pole Creek Fire in 2018 burned a large area on this side of the loop and standing dead timber is still visible.

Cascade Springs · American Fork Canyon

~0.7 mi of boardwalk loops  ·  Minimal  ·  20-45 min  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: rules vary by segment

Spring water surfacing through terraced pools, on boardwalk the whole way. The easiest genuinely scenic outing in the county for anyone who cannot manage uneven ground.

What that number describes: The interconnected boardwalk loops at the springs themselves, not the 6.5-mile drive in from the Alpine Loop turnoff.

Season: Reached via the Alpine Loop, which closes for winter. Sits around 6,300 ft, so it runs cooler than the valley floor.

Silver Lake Flat Reservoir · American Fork Canyon

~1 mi loop around the water  ·  Essentially none  ·  45-60 min  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: on leash

A drive-to reservoir with a flat loop around it, good for a stroller-aged family or a paddleboard. Moose are common in the surrounding meadows.

What that number describes: The flat walking loop around the drive-to reservoir. This is NOT Silver Lake, the alpine lake above it, which is a separate and much harder entry in this directory.

Where sources disagree: Four different lakes share versions of this name: Silver Lake Flat Reservoir (drive-to), Silver Lake (alpine, above it), Silver Glance Lake (higher again), and an unrelated Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon an hour north, which is what most search results are actually about.

Season: Alpine Loop access closes for winter. The Forest Service lists 4x4 as recommended for the washboarded dirt road in.

Jordan River Parkway (Utah County section) · Saratoga Springs to Lehi

~10 mi in Utah County, walk any part  ·  Flat, paved  ·  Any  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The third paved spine, and the one that turns a local network into a regional one: from the Murdock Trail's north end you can join it and keep going into Salt Lake County. Quieter than the other two, past wetlands and new subdivisions with a long view back to Timpanogos.

What that number describes: The Utah County portion only. Our paved-trails guide describes it as roughly the first ten miles, from Inlet Park in Saratoga Springs through Lehi and Thanksgiving Point. The whole trail runs well over forty miles to Davis County, which is a different number describing a different walk.

Season: Low, open and paved, with no canyon gate to close behind you.

Provo River Parkway · Provo Canyon & Orem

Up to ~15 mi, walk any part  ·  Flat  ·  1-4 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The paved spine of the valley's trail network, running from Utah Lake up through Provo Canyon. It is the reason Bridal Veil Falls can be reached by bike without a car.

What that number describes: The full paved parkway end to end. Nobody walks all of it in one go; the number is there so the trail sorts with the long flat routes rather than the short ones.

Season: Plowed and usable in winter on the lower sections.

Murdock Canal Trail · Orem to Lehi

~17 mi, walk any part  ·  Flat, paved  ·  Any  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

A paved trail on top of a buried aqueduct, running the length of the north valley with no climbing at all. The default long, flat, wheels-friendly route in Utah County.

What that number describes: The Mountainland Association of Governments description: 17 miles from 800 North in Orem to Timpanogos Highway in Lehi.

Where sources disagree: Published as 17, 18, 18.3, 20 and 20.8 miles by sources of comparable authority. The disagreement has a cause: the buried Provo River Aqueduct runs roughly 21 miles to the Point of the Mountain, and the trail sits on top of it for about 17 and stops in Lehi.

Season: Paved and flat the whole way.

Tibble Fork Reservoir · American Fork Canyon

Short lakeside walking; no loop distance published  ·  Essentially none  ·  1-3 hrs  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: on leash

An alpine reservoir with a sandy beach, picnic grounds and calm water, reached on paved road up the North Fork. The canyon's lowest-effort, highest-reward stop. Our guide covers the 2016 sediment release and what the state's own health assessment concluded about getting in the water.

What that number describes: The drive-to shoreline: the beach, the picnic ground and the walking around the water. Our guide publishes the reservoir's elevation at roughly 6,400 feet but no loop distance, so this row carries none. The leash flag is read from our dog-hikes guide, which covers Tibble Fork in the same section as Silver Lake Flat.

Season: At about 6,400 feet, spring arrives here weeks after it reaches the valley floor and the aspens turn earlier than they do in town.

Payson Lakes Recreation Area · Payson Canyon

Paved paths through the area; no loop distance published  ·  Essentially none  ·  1-3 hrs  ·  Ticketed  ·  Dogs: on leash

The byway's main stop and the one people spend actual time at. Payson up to the lakes and back is a comfortable couple of hours from Provo and still buys you the climb, the views and somewhere to eat lunch without committing to the full drive to Nephi.

What that number describes: The developed recreation area about twelve miles up from Payson: paved trails, improved picnic sites, camping and fishing. Our byway guide gives the DRIVE distance, never a trail distance, so this row carries none.

Season: Reached from the Nebo Loop byway, which closes for winter and is not UDOT-maintained, so its status has to be checked separately from the Alpine Loop's. Our guide also records that individual sites inside the recreation area can be shut in a given season for maintenance or conditions.

Devil's Kitchen · Payson Canyon / Nebo Loop

A couple of minutes from the car, on pavement  ·  Flat, paved  ·  15-30 min  ·  Ticketed  ·  Dogs: on leash

Red rock eroded into pinnacles and spires forming a small amphitheater in the middle of a green Wasatch canyon, reached by a short paved trail and an observation deck. The one stop on the byway that works with small children or with anyone who does not want a hike at all. Often called Utah Valley's Little Grand Canyon, which oversells the scale considerably.

What that number describes: The paved path and observation deck at the pullout. Our byway guide describes this walk in minutes rather than in distance, so this row carries no mileage.

Season: On the Nebo Loop byway, which closes for winter.

Salem Pond · Salem

Short paved loop; no distance published  ·  Flat, paved  ·  30-45 min  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

A paved loop around the pond in the middle of Salem, with a fishing dock, a swim area and the city's park facilities on its edge. Our paved-trails guide calls it the south county's most pleasant short walk. Salem was originally Pond Town and the pond is still the middle of everything.

What that number describes: The paved walking loop around the pond. Two of our guides describe it, the paved-trails guide and the south-valley guide, and neither publishes a distance, so this row carries none.

Season: Valley floor in the middle of town, so nothing closes behind you.

South Fork Trail · South Fork, Provo Canyon

3.5 mi round trip  ·  ~300 ft  ·  1.5-2.5 hrs on foot  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The valley's beginner singletrack: wide, well maintained and forested, in the same South Fork drainage as Big Springs Hollow. Our guide calls it the ideal first real mountain bike trail -- enough dirt to feel like an adventure without the technical features that put beginners off. It is shared use, so walkers meet bikes on it.

What that number describes: The round-trip singletrack our mountain-biking guide describes, from the trailhead about a mile past Big Springs Park. The guide publishes these figures as a ride and files the trail under its beginner heading; it does not publish a separate walking time, so the time here is this directory's estimate for the same distance on foot.

Season: Dirt in the South Fork of Provo Canyon, so it rides and walks in the snow-free months. This is an editorial estimate of the season, not a live condition -- the canyon conditions page is the live surface.

Battle Creek Falls · Pleasant Grove

~1.4 mi round trip  ·  ~450 ft  ·  45-60 min  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The most-hiked short waterfall in the county, and the trail more people in this valley have stood at the bottom of than any other. Narrow tread past the halfway point, shared with horses and bikes.

What that number describes: Kiwanis Park trailhead to the falls and back. Going further up the canyon past the falls is a longer and steeper trip.

Where sources disagree: This trail carries two legitimate difficulty ratings and the guide explains why both are right. Filed under moderate here because the sustained grade catches out people who arrive expecting a stroll.

Season: Winter is the version most people never see. Microspikes from roughly November through March.

Stewart Falls · Aspen Grove / Sundance

~3.5 mi round trip  ·  ~650 ft  ·  1.5-2 hrs  ·  Forest Service fee area  ·  Dogs: on leash

The valley's best short waterfall hike, and one of its most heavily used trailheads -- the lot fills on summer Saturdays. Dogs are allowed on leash here, which is not true everywhere on this mountain.

What that number describes: The Aspen Grove trailhead out and back. The Sundance chairlift is an entirely different way in with different numbers.

Where sources disagree: Every source gives a different distance for this hike, and the guide opens by explaining why. The signs at the trailhead are the single most useful thing on that page -- the neighboring path is the twelve-mile Aspen Grove route up Timpanogos, and people start up it by mistake.

Season: Reached via UT-92 past the fee station. The Alpine Loop closes for winter.

Big Springs Hollow · South Fork, Provo Canyon

~3.5-4.3 mi loop  ·  ~450-1,000 ft  ·  1.5-2.5 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: on leash

The most family-friendly trail on the quiet half of the network, up a broad side canyon along a stream, crossing it repeatedly on wooden bridges. Thick maple and chokecherry low down giving way to aspen and pine.

What that number describes: The standard family loop from Big Springs Park. The midpoint of the published spread is used for sorting because the canyon carries several roughly parallel paths and the outing is assembled from whichever you choose.

Where sources disagree: Published distances run from about 3.5 to about 4.3 miles and gain is quoted anywhere from roughly 450 to just over 1,000 feet. That spread is not sloppiness: the loop can be extended or cut short at several junctions. Provo City separately lists a 5.8-mile continuation through to the Rock Canyon trail, which is a different trip.

How this one sorts: the figure used for ordering is the midpoint of the published range shown above, not a published number in its own right.

Season: Shaded for most of its length, which matters more here than almost anywhere else in the valley -- the exposed foothill trails become unpleasant after about ten in the morning in July.

Rock Canyon Trail · Provo

~5.7 mi round trip to the upper basin  ·  ~1,400 ft to the upper basin  ·  30 min to a half day  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: rules vary by segment

Provo's best canyon hike and its most flexible one -- a limestone gorge that narrows and earns its name half a mile in, with the crowds stopping well before the mid-canyon. Restroom and drinking fountain at the trailhead. Also the county's best-known climbing.

What that number describes: Trailhead at the end of N Temple Dr to the upper basin and back. The canyon works equally well as a thirty-minute walk to the narrows, which is what most visitors actually do.

Where sources disagree: The distance depends entirely on the segment, and the guide answers that honestly rather than picking one figure. Difficulty changes as you walk, and so do the rules -- leash law in the city park, Forest Service rules above it.

Season: Year-round. Two lots with roughly 71 marked spaces plus street overflow.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail · The bench above Provo & Orem

Varies -- pick a segment  ·  Varies by segment  ·  1-3 hrs  ·  No fee  ·  Dogs: rules vary by segment

The best view-to-effort ratio in Utah Valley, on a bench that is a literal ancient beach. No shade to speak of -- plan around the sun, not around the distance. Land management changes underneath you as you walk.

Where sources disagree: It is not one trail. It is a set of fragments on the ancient lake bench, which is why published stats for it contradict each other. No single distance or gain is given here because none would be true; the guide covers the segments individually.

Season: Effectively year-round on the bench, which is unusual here. Mud in spring thaw, and there is a winter wildlife-area caveat on one section.