Utah News Dispatch
Trails, boating, wetlands: How 15 years have changed the Jordan River
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson speaks during a Jordan River Commission event in North Salt Lake on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch)
In the 15 years since the Jordan River Commission was established, the river that cuts through Salt Lake County has undergone a major transformation.
What started as a scattered trail system through a weak riparian ecosystem, interrupted by tracts of industrial land, is now a 50 mile paved trail that spans much of the Wasatch Front. More than 25 new access and portage ramps have been constructed for boaters, while the Legacy Nature Preserve offers about 2,000 acres of protected habitat.
Someone can now ride a bike from Provo to Ogden, spanning three counties and 16 towns, while the Jordan River Water Trail allows boaters to access most of the river, which stretches from Utah Lake to Farmington Bay.
“Great cities have great rivers,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “And I’m proud of this river and the cities in my county that have stepped up.”
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Wilson spoke during a media event Friday, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Jordan River Commission, and kicking off September’s Get to the River festival, a monthlong celebration that includes a beer garden at the Fisher Mansion, educational lectures, nature walks, art exhibits and more. Events are hosted from Saratoga Springs to North Salt Lake.
Despite the progress, sections of the Jordan River Trail continue to be a hotbed for homeless encampments, drug activity and environmental degradation, prompting Salt Lake City Police to issue a partial closure this year to address public safety concerns. That closure was lifted in July, though officers are still patrolling sections of the trail in Salt Lake City.
The Jordan River Commission started in 2010 with an agreement among local stakeholders and governments — now, more than 40 partners have signed on, including local, state and federal agencies, businesses, nonprofits and all 16 cities and three counties along the river, a major milestone for the commission.
“More communities signed on, more partners joined in and the progress went faster than anyone could have imagined,” said Cory Rushton, a former West Valley City councilmember and former Jordan River Commission governing board chair.
That progress is on display at the Legacy Nature Preserve, an effort spearheaded in part by the Nature Conservancy along the river in North Salt Lake, Wood Cross and Bountiful. The 2,000-acre preserve was once an industrial area, littered with debris and trash and criss-crossed by access roads.
Crews removed more than 9,000 tires when cleaning up the site, which had been used as erosion control.
Now, the area is returning to its original state — a lush riparian corridor lines the river and the preserve’s ponds and wetlands, providing habitat for birds and other animals. The preserve is closed to the public, but boaters can experience it from the river.
“All of these different habitats allow an amazing assortment of birds and other wildlife to use the legacy preserve as a place to rest, nest and migrate through,” said Andrea Nelson, a community engagement manager for The Nature Conservancy in Utah.
The preserve is just one example of the river corridor’s transformation over the last 15 years which, according to Don Shelton, is a result of the Jordan River Commission’s dedication to its mission.
“It’s just remarkable to me what has been able to be accomplished by a group that does not have any land use authority, does not have any statutory authority, but has persuasion, vision and persistence,” said Shelton, a South Jordan councilmember and current Jordan River Commission governing board chair.
