New southwestern trail offers panoramic views of the Salt Lake Valley

One of the “worst-kept secrets” of the Oquirrh Mountains is now open for outdoor fun.

Many had visited the Butterfield Trailhead Regional Park, near Herriman, before it was officially baptized Thursday with that name in an inaugural event sponsored by Salt Lake County.

In a land deal with Kennecott Rio Tinto and the Bureau of Land Management, the county is adding more than 14 miles of trail space into its Southwest Canyon Trails Network, which now offers connections into Yellow Fork and Rose canyons, many shaded areas to hike, bike or horse-ride — and panoramic views of the Salt Lake Valley.

On its first official day in operation, dozens of bicyclists, a couple of horseback riders and lots of interested community members came out to enjoy what’s planned as a first phase of the trail, which Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation hopes someday to extend 2 more miles farther into the Oquirrh foothills.

“They’re open and ready, and we want people to get out and use them and to be able to experience these trails as we wind down summer and start to see fall,” Martin Jensen, the county’s Parks and Recreation director, said. “It’s a beautiful time to be out on the trails.”

Though ready for visitors, a completed trailhead is still in the works with a fall opening date, so parking is limited to up to 100 cars at the former site of the Wild Horse Corrals. The trailhead is expected to have space for 500 cars when finished.

The trail system offers hikes of varying difficulty levels, starting at Butterfield Creek and incorporating loop trails and gradual climbs along the way up the mountain.

“As you get up there, the views change, the temperature changes, it gets a little cooler. You can see back into the whole valley,” Jensen said. “There’s scrub oak and pinyon-juniper trees, and the higher you go, you start to actually get into some of the pine trees and aspen trees, and it’s really beautiful.”

The trail sits in a conglomeration of land from the BLM, Rio Tinto and Salt Lake County. This opening was made possible after years of planning and a lease agreement with the mining company.

“As excited as I’ve been about many projects this year,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said at the inauguration, “nothing beats this one.”

The Wilson family, she said, grew up appreciating and taking advantage of the benefits of living in Utah. With smoke covering the mountain views in recent days, Wilson said, she had reflected on the prominent role of the Oquirrhs valleywide.

“It’s a special place,” she said. “We need to preserve it. And we need to provide access to people.”

Some of the land was Rio Tinto’s private property, so this is also the first time the area is open to the public.

“This used to be an old mine site,” Rio Tinto Copper Chief Operating Officer Clayton Walker said. “So we’re standing on what’s reclaimed land. And it’s amazing what you can do when you do it right.”

Riverton resident Becky Short was among those who wanted to get a first glimpse of the revamped and expanded trail system. But she wasn’t a first-time visitor. Short went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony equipped with her bike and helmet and rode up the canyon — her fourth time.

“It’s beautiful up here,” Short said. “There are trees, so there’s shade, it’s a little breezier up here. You feel like you’re far away from society. You get the outdoor feel.”

Alixel Cabrera is a Report for America corps member and writes about the status of communities on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.