The mountains above Bountiful are filled with trails for all types of outdoor enthusiasts. They’re so popular in fact that some of them are getting a little congested. Bountiful City has been working on building new trails and improving existing ones that can accommodate all users.

The Bountiful staff has worked with the Trails Committee to name those new trails and recently came before the City Council for approval. 

“Starting in 2019, Blu Line Designs did a basic trail design for the Master Plan,” said Amber Corbridge, Senior Planner. “In 2021, IMBA (International Mountain Bicyclist Association) designed a more robust trails Master Plan.”

Mueller Park Trail has had a lot of user conflict, she said. “Motorcycles are allowed up there and grandfathered in. Runners, bikers and hikers also use the trail and it has caused some issues with traffic. Someone might be hiking up and a mountain biker is coming down.”

It’s scary, Corbridge said. “We needed to spread out the trail system to provide other opportunities for other users.”

Some of the trails are built and some are under construction, she said. “The names are based on the characteristics of the trail and others after rock songs.”

The rock songs kind of randomly happened, said Corbridge. “People on the trails committee sometimes ride the trail and sing songs in their head or listen to them. It's fun going down hill and the songs describe the nature of the trail.”

Twist is twisty, she said. “It’s fitting for the trail but also the rock song so it has double meaning.”

Stoker was proposed for trails 304-305 (see map of trails on the city’s website), said Corbridge. “It’s feeling stoked, excited, but it’s also after Stoker school. The council asked us to hold off on that and consider naming it after Jesse Bell (council member who passed away recently). It’s still under discussion. We do want to use Stoker somewhere. We may use it on a different trail.”

Other names include:

• Perregrine (trail 406/307) is named after a Bountiful founding father, Perregrine Sessions. The trail crosses over Mill Creek Bridge 4 deeper into the canyon.  

• Trails entering and exiting North Canyon Creek Trailhead (not numbered on the map) Canyon Creek for the bidirectional trail and Sheriff DH for the downhill biking trail. North Canyon was known for pressing problems during trail development and a local user of the trail would “patrol” the area and resolve these issues regularly.

• SoDa (trail 417) is named after South Davis and serves as a connector trail to the trails further north.

• By the Way (trail 700) is named after a rock song by Red Hot Chili Peppers, which follows the rock song themed names in the Ward-Holbrook area and serves as a connector trail from Eggett park to the Boulevard.

• Encore (trail 503) is named after concert endings and serves as a downhill option coming into the Holbrook Trailhead.

Other trail names are Maple Syrup, Shout, Bellevue, King Green, Mahogany Ridge, Fern Hollow, Summerwood, named for its beautiful sunsets, and Hornet. “Hornet was named because when the trail flaggers were up there they saw a bunch of hornets in a hornet's nest,” Corbridge said. 

There are 12 new trails completed, she said. “We’ll have 13 soon. It’s under construction.”

Getting the trail system started was a grassroots effort, said Corbridge. “Trail lovers wanted more trails in the area and wanted to avoid conflict on them. It evolved into a committee and some council members were highly into trails as well.”

Most of the funding came from an election bond in 2020, she said. “There was a little bit of RAP tax and a $500,000 grant from the state for outdoor recreation. We’re always looking for donations to fund more trails.”

Corbridge said they’re up there regularly to check on the trails. “We’ve only heard great things. Word is getting out.”