Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail

Utah

22 Reviews

Overview

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail runs for 23.5 miles along a railroad right-of-way throughout the Salt Lake City Valley.

About the Route

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail extends north from West Bountiful and passes through the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, where it joins the Legacy Parkway Trail. Continuing north, the trail travels through Farmington, Kaysville, Layton, Clearfield, and Clinton to Hinckley Drive on the border of Roy and West Haven. Both trails are also part of the Golden Spoke network, which offers more than 100 miles of connected, paved trails stretching from Ogden to Provo.

The former right-of-way, most recently used by Union Pacific Railroad, was railbanked by the Utah Transit Authority in 2003. The various cities it links have agreements with the rail agency to maintain the trail.

Connections

At the southern end of the trail, the rail trail joins the Legacy Parkway Trail.

Parking and Trail Access

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail runs between W. 400 N. (West Bountiful) and Hinckley Dr. (Roy).

Parking is available at:

Ellison Park, 700 N 2200 W (Layton)
1103 W 1300 N (Clinton)
1705 N 1000 W (Clinton)

Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.

beautiful gated ride

November 2024 davidploehn

This is a beautiful ride, but so many gates make it unbearable. Will not do it again.

Unexpectedly nice trail but….The Barriers!!

October 2024 barbscondo

We started at Ellison Park. Rode thru the park and a short distance on sidewalk and easily hit the trail. Ride about 6-7 miles south. Nice trail with more shade than expected but nowhere to stop at a picnic bench. Trail in between beautiful houses with interesting back yards. Sadly not a trail I would do again because of the zig zag barriers at every street. Had to walk bikes through them. Really not necessary as the streets were not busy ones. The barriers were more of a hazard themselves.

Great pavement and super safe area

July 2024 tcmrryrb6g

Definitely an old railroad trail. Great Mountain views throughout. Walked in the middle of the afternoon on a very hot day, but there were great breezes throughout.

Great urban/suburban trail

October 2022 rregovich

Nice long, safe trail. Pavement is good to great the whole way. Criticism that the double gated entries are a pain is valid, but they are combined with traffic control, or at least warning lights at every intersection - makes crossing the many roads very safe.
Not a lot of traffic - I could really cruise on my bike.
Take the train from downtown with your bike to Roy and ride back!

Denver and Rio Grande Western Rail Trail Reviews

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Accordion

Tedious and Buggy

October 2021 abele40000

I started in Layton going south in October for a leisure ride, and my first few miles were just tedious with all the dangerous gates you have to virtually walk through...but the worst was the sea of gnats that covered me. It finally opened up a bit with fewer and less-trafficked crossings and fewer bugs, but of course I had to return... next time I'll drive to Farmington and head south.

Entry Barriers are Dangerous to Bikers

October 2020 nelsonk48

This is a great trail but the double barriers are dangerous and difficult maneuver around.

Thank you to Kaysville for opening up one gate at each entrance. If we could get Layton and Farmington to do the same, this would be a fantastic bike ride trail

Safety Barriers Annoying

June 2020 acewickwire

Location: Layton, UT
Parking: Near the trail intersection with Hill Field Road, Layton.
Trail Condition: Very good, smooth and wide, few lateral cracks but not many.
Signage: Very minimal. Not a lot required but would have been good to have signage indicating end of D&RGW and start of Legacy Trail on South end of trail.
Comments: Rode the trail on Wednesday afternoon with a lot of traffic on the trail. Encounter a wide variety of trail users. Yet, not so many users as to make riding not enjoyable. This very much an old rail bed and is pretty much a straight shot. Still a nice ride. Rode the southern portion of trail from the intersection with Hill Field Road down to the Legacy Trail. Lots and lots of street crossings with safety barriers that have to zig-zag through, sort of annoying.

Great trail - thank you!

August 2019 perry1gee

Really enjoyed the trail, several shady spots on a hot day. Great respect from drivers when I had to cross streets, good awareness by the drivers. Can't wait to ride it again.

Good distance, pretty flat

April 2018 processing_tl

Works nicely for inline skating. I've gone end-to-end over two trips. Pretty flat, straight, and smooth. Friendly people in some parts (with dog leashes and kids) so be prepared to slow down at times. Averaged 14 mph though.

The worst part about this trail is the gates which some municipalities keep in semi-closed position at road crossings. "All hail the powerful automobile" - they are not trail priority intersections for the most part and sometimes there are even signs commanding you to use a nearby intersection instead of just crossing the street. Oh well.

Beginner-Intermediate

April 2017 gryffindor2007

This is a great trail! It's mostly flat so it's great for beginner-intermediate riders and passing through Kaysville provides a beautiful scenic view of surrounding farms, fields, and the mountains. The only down side to this trail I see is the zig-zag gates at different intervals where the trail meets road ways. I know they're there to discourage cars from turning onto the trail, but they break up the rhythm of the ride.

To be aware though that it isn't just cyclist and joggers on this trail. There are families who live in the area who use this trail for family walks with children and dogs, and you will have the occasional horse-back rider. If you would rather avoid kids, dogs, and horses, I suggest using this trail in non-peak hours.

Good

April 2017 shootinstar2000

Its okay. Could use a bit of cleaning up.

Provides connectivity along Wasatch Front north of SLC

February 2016 pedalfree

Like a lot of suburban rail trails, you'll spend a lot of time rolling past people's back yards, but the views of the Wasatch Range are nice and the sections of the trail I've ridden are in good shape. Most importantly, this trail is a great transportation corridor for people who live between Roy and Farmington. It connects to the Legacy Parkway Trail and the Jordan River Trail to take you all the way into Salt Lake City and beyond to the north end of Utah Lake. Because these trails parallel the FrontRunner commuter rail line for the most part, it's relatively easy (with a little planning) to roll your bike onto the train and combine a train trip with a long bike ride. I'd like to see the northern trailhead extended along the FrontRunner line to the Centennial Trail along the Weber River in Ogden. It's only 2.6 miles and that missing link would make it possible to connect with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and more.

Railroad Crossings Hazardous for Bikes

August 2015 scrapart

This trail is scenic and enjoyable to ride but the zig-zag of the close set gate crossings is dangerous and cuts the rhythm of a ride. They are so closely set you almost have to get off your bike to go through them and then stop at a cross street.

Fantastic for pedestrians, hard for cyclists

May 2015 feles

I have a love/hate relationship with this trail. As a cycling enthusiest who rides Davis and Weber counties, it's rare that some part of my ride doesn't include at least some part of this route as a more relaxing alternative to congested traffic ways. Also, my spouse and I have walked this trail, and it's quite nice on foot.

However, I don't find that I wish to ride the whole length of the trail in a single journey due to the many crossings and the tendency to pick up goatheads, even through stopflat liners. Most crossings are not labeled, which may be a problem for someone not from this area. The barriers are easier to navigate at the crossings from Kaysville south until you meet up with the legacy trail and most south intersections are low traffic, albeit more frequent and congested with oncoming cyclists. From Layton north into Roy, traffic is heavier, the gates are harder to navigate, and the trail often doesn't line up, thus requiring a fun game of Frogger.

When it comes to riding this trail or riding the road...it depends on what hazard I feel like dealing with on any given day.

Very pleasant trail but...

January 2015 murmur1313

This is a very nice trail for walking, jogging, and biking. There some folks that think their stupid dogs are allowed. Wrong! Learn and follow the rules of the designated facilities, and keep your crap factories to your own property. It is dangerous, and rude to bring dogs to a trail that is designated for human pedestrian, and bike traffic. Nobody wants to step, or ride in your filth.

acclimation ride

December 2014 joe_boy52

I recently moved from Florida and was looking for a flat ride to acclimate to the altitude before I hit hills. I started at the Roy Frontrunner station and headed south. I was a bit disappointed with all the road crossings and lost count of them. As the previous reviewer stated, goatheads are a problem and I flatted just short of Union Station in Farmington. Had great scenery to change a tire and decided to turn around. I went a mile and picked up a second goathead that luckily didn't result in a flat. I picked up a third one about half way back to Roy. Again no flat. I consider myself lucky that out of 3 goatheads that I only got one flat. 32.9 miles total that I did enjoy. May try again on the mountain bike that shouldn't be bothered by the goatheads.

Great Riding Experience

November 2014 aweech

I ride this trail (along with the JR Trail and Legacy) to get between Weber and Salt Lake Counties fairly frequently. This trail is my favorite segment of the trip. The neighborhoods are so peaceful, and the scenery is wonderful. The portion through Clinton is one of my favorite places to bike in Utah. The at-grade crossings can be a bit tedious, but they are nowhere near as bad as the Porter Rockwell Trail in Sandy. Also, I have yet to ride this trail and not have puncturevine find me, so have spare tubes with you. The trail is well used--especially in Farmington, Kaysville, and Clinton.

Good Ride

July 2014 bkel

I rode 20 miles round trip from Farmington to Kaysville. This is a nice flat trail with beautiful countryside and of course a mountain view. I didn't care for the many street crossings--the gates are set up that you pretty much have to get off your bike to zigzag through them. I appreciate that they are a safety precaution, keeping motorized traffic off the trail, and forcing cyclists to be aware of the street crossings. Overall, a good ride, nice for some diversity.

Great ride, but...

December 2012 lazybiker

Rode the entire length from 400 N to Hinckley Drive, 22 Dec 2012. Overall was an outstanding ride and totally emjoyable. Somehow I found myself on the Legacy Trail for a short section around the Farmington Station, but got back on D&RGW at Clark Street. Still don't know how I did that. The notorious "Clearfield Gap" detour was no problem: I just carried my bike around the fences and resumed. There was a notice that the trail there was closing Jan 2012, and an 800 phone number to call (didn't write it down). Don't know what that's about. Great ride, would do it again.

September 2012 ltbike

Rode this trail August, 2012. It is funny because I could not locate hardly any information on this trail. I called the city parks dept. and city manager in several towns, etc. etc. Nobody knew anything about it. We hunted around and ended up parking at the city bus parking lot since there appeared to be no parking at the very end of new part of trail in Roy. This is a fantastic trail. Very flat and smooth surface. We enjoyed it very much. You can ride as far as you want through several towns. I had read on a private website about the gap at Clearfield and we figured that out OK. The directional sign for that detour could be made a bit more clear and noticable. Cannot figure out why no city officials knew anything about it. They should publicize it more and have maps available. Lots of folks on the trail. Nice benches for resting in the shade. Very nice urban trail. We rode hybrids.

Great bike trail

May 2012 heidesign

Besides the railroad crossing gap in Clearfield... This is a great trail! I biked from Roy down to Layton... Then I rode Frontrunner back to Roy! Beautiful & well shaded in parts! I hope it eventually connects all the way to Salt Lake City.

D&RG trail in Roy

October 2011 rookie7

Roy City has almost completed their portion of the trail, with only some crossing painting remaining. The trail ends at Hinckley dr. on the north and is a welcome addition to the rails to trails system.