Hiking and cycling could soon cost adventurous Salt Lake City residents more than a few hundred calories in one popular outdoor area.
Despite being open only with limited access, runners, hikers and bikers are still flocking to City Creek Canyon, ignoring signs warning them to stay out of what is now a construction zone. If they keep it up, they could face a fine.
The canyon is home to an aging water treatment plant that workers began replacing last fall. The project is expected to wrap up in early 2027, but until then, the canyon road is closed to all traffic — except for pedestrians and bikers, who are only allowed on weekends and major holidays, Salt Lake City Public Utilities Department spokesperson Chloe Morroni said. Trails that require users to cross the canyon road also have restricted access.
Users may not access points beyond picnic site 16 at any time.
Morroni said ignoring those use restrictions poses a safety risk near construction, so the Public Utilities Department is putting larger, more permanent signs throughout the area to keep people from trespassing. That new signs will also include warnings about the possibility of being issued a citation.
“[We’re] asking the public to please work with us to keep them safe, keep our people safe and keep the contractors’ people safe,” Morroni said, adding that the Public Utilities Department doesn’t want members of the public to be fined. “We’re hoping that people will start really thinking about the fact that it’s very dangerous to not only be walking, but even biking around construction equipment that’s going up and down that canyon all the time.”
It’s unclear how much a citation could cost violators, but a spokesperson with Salt Lake City police said officers will educate trespassers before resorting to issuing a ticket.
The decision to start fining violators wasn’t made lightly, Morroni said. The Public Utilities Department is on a tight schedule due to the $36.7 million federal grant it received for construction on the water treatment plant. The department has three years to finish the project, Morroni said, or it won’t get the funding.
“That’s why we have to keep going,” she said. “But we are, of course, looking for any opportunity to open the canyon to pedestrians and cyclists. Any opportunity we can get them to have more access, of course we will.”
