Jessica rides Provo Canyon Provo River Parkway

The Provo River Parkway is an easy-going paved bike and roller blade trail. It stretches 14 miles from Utah Lake to Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. The trail follows the Provo River, seeing heavy use by BYU students and other young hardbodies. Except for a couple of short spots, the slope of the trail is barely perceptable. This photo shows the trail near the mouth of Provo Canyon.

Picture: Jessica, age 7, cruises up the canyon on her 5-speed. Looking west towards the mouth of Provo Canyon, the cliffs on the skyline are conglomerate from the early days of Lake Bonneville. This giant lake covered the Wasatch front from 1 million to 12,000 years ago.
June 13, 1999

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In the morning, the trail is delightfully cool. Even during the heat of the day, much of the trail is shaded and breezy. The ride is easy for small children, but good bike control is a must -- kids have to stay in the right lane to avoid teenagers cruising the trail at high speeds. This is a great place for young moms pushing strollers with their roller blades.

Picture: The Mad Scientist -- in full battle gear -- blades the trail, accompanied by his faithful Jackie. Photo by Kristen, June 13, 1999

A crazed roller blader
Three young bikers at the river.

At Nunn's Park, you can stop for a shady mountain picnic. Trees along the parkway include box elder, maple, oak, willow, and cottonwood.

Picture: Bruce's children (L to R) Jessica, Alex, and Kristen stand next to the Provo River at Nunn's Park. June 13, 1999.

Near the end of the trail, famous Bridal Veil Falls towers above the Provo River. At the base of the falls, there's a shallow cold swimming hole for hot tired kiddie bodies. (The cliffs are limestone from the Oquirrh Formation, formed in an ocean basin in the Pennsylvanian Period, 320 million years ago, when the only land animals were insects. The land's edge was in Colorado at that time.)

Getting there: The trail can be picked up at many locations from Utah Lake to Vivian Park. (In the canyon, find it at Canyon Glen or Nunn's Park.) Our favorite ride is to catch the trail at the parking area at the mouth of Provo Canyon on Orem's 800 North Street. GPS N 40° 18.840'  W 111° 39.472'. Then we ride up to Bridal Veil Falls, for a round trip of 8 miles.

Photo by Bruce Argyle, June 13, 1999.

Provo Canyon's Bridal Veil Falls

Provo River Parkway (Canyon) Map

For a condensed, one-page riding guide to this trail -- designed to be printed -- click here!

Tough subjects made simple.

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