Dry Gulch -- Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Salt Lake City Utah

I am SO excited to share my Colorado trip with you all.  I mean, the trip was kind of a bust because of the weather, but we made the best of it and took a lot of pictures from my car. 

While I finish off Colorado posts, I wanted to talk about last weeks Trail Run/Hike/Mountain bike spot that was simply breathtaking.  Did I mention it was also 5 minutes from downtown, right above the University?

Dry Gulch is a section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST).  "The Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a series of trails along the slope of the Wasatch Mountains where the old shoreline of Lake Bonneville met the hills. Sections of trail are found from Ogden to Payson. The northern Salt Lake City section extends from City Creek Canyon to Emigration Canyon."-- UtahMountainBiking.com

Source

Directions:  From the Red Butte Area: On Foothill Blvd, turn towards the mountains on Wakara Way. Just before the entry to Red Butte Gardens, turn right and park anywhere along the road. Find a "feeder trail" that climbs about 100 yards uphill to the BST.

The trail is a single track trail weaving through the Salt Lake City foothills.  This is a really popular trail for mountain bikers, trail runners, walkers, dogs and hikers.  I am always amazed how happy and pleasant everyone is up here, and how every shares this single track trail so well.  I ran, Olive was off-leash, and Thatcher biked. 

With all the rain we have had (about 3 weeks worth), everything in the mountain was so green.  And the wildflowers.  The wildflowers blooming along the trail just put a smile on my face. 

The views along the entire way are stunning and you can catch glimpses of the downtown area down below. 

This is a dog friendly canyon and Olive had a great time running around the trail with me.  She is great about yielding to bikers, and loves to be out on the trail with me.  

If you are in Salt Lake City and you are looking for a great hike close to town, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail is your best bet.  Beautiful views, and a great hike with some challenging but rewarding inclines.  This is also a really popular mountain biking spot and has access to the famous mountain biking trail Bobsled.