Everyone
Foothills hiking and biking trail above Salt Lake City
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail follows 13.5 miles of the Salt Lake City foothills from North Salt Lake to Parley’s Canyon along the bench left by ancient Lake Bonneville. Hikers, runners and mountain bikers can reach the corridor from Avenues access points including Bonneville Boulevard, 18th Avenue, Terrace Hills and Dry Creek. Dogs must remain leashed where allowed and are prohibited in designated watershed and state park sections.
About the Bonneville Shoreline Trail
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail traces the bench that ancient Lake Bonneville left along the Wasatch Front, and the Salt Lake City section runs 13.5 miles from North Salt Lake to Parley’s Canyon. That bench sits at roughly 5,100 feet, the highest level the lake reached about 15,500 years ago, and it rides locally as much as 200 feet higher where the ground rebounded after the water drained. It is one link in a larger route planned to extend more than 280 miles from the Idaho border to Nephi. As of August 2026, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail organization reports that just over 100 miles are officially designated.
The north foothills trailheads sit directly above Capitol Hill and the Avenues: City Creek at Bonneville Drive, Terrace Hills, Morris Reservoir, Tomahawk, and the 18th Avenue trailhead. Ensign Peak rises straight above this stretch. Farther east the trail passes the Avenues trailhead off Popperton Park Way, then Dry Creek, Red Butte Creek Road, and the Natural History Museum of Utah before it reaches Emigration Canyon and Parley’s Canyon.
Routes scale to the time you have. The Terrace Hills and BST Valleyview loop covers 1.4 miles with 252 feet of gain, about an hour, and the city calls it good for kids and dogs. The Avenues Ridge and BST Valleyview loop runs 4.6 miles with 748 feet of gain from the 18th Avenue trailhead. Riders link 18th Avenue or Terrace Hills up to 19th Avenue for a 6.8 mile loop with 1,302 feet of climbing.
The trail crosses the Foothills Natural Area, about 6,000 acres of canyon, sagebrush grassland, and scrub oak held in a patchwork by the city, the University of Utah, Utah State Parks, and the Forest Service. Dogs are allowed on leash at all times and waste has to be packed out. Dogs are barred from the City Creek Canyon watershed above the water treatment plant, and from the BST inside This Is The Place State Park. E-bikes are allowed only when pedaled like a mountain bike, with no throttle, and bikes yield to anyone on foot. Spring is mud season, and the city’s rule is direct: if it is sticking to your wheels or heels, turn around. Snow holds on the shaded upper sections into spring, so carry micro spikes and check the city’s foothills trail report first.
