I honestly wasn't planning to do much at Murray City Park (I just stopped by to stretch my legs for…read morea bit) but it ended up being way nicer than you expect a quick stop to be. When you enter, you're greeted by a huge wooden Chief Wasatch sculpture at the entrance. It's kind of hard to miss and gives the whole place a bit of character before you even step onto the paths. From there, it opens up into this really clean, green space that just feels well cared for. And clean is the big thing here that matters. It feels like the park is well maintained. The grass is lush, the landscaping is especially pretty in the summer months, and there are tons of mature trees that give you shade without making the place feel closed in. It strikes a nice balance between open space and cozy, private areas. The walking paths are another highlight. They're easy, flat, and perfect if you're just trying to clear your head or, like me, take a quick break and stretch your legs. You've also got little views of water here and there that add to the calm vibe without turning it into a full-on destination park. What's kind of impressive is how much is packed into one place. There's an amphitheater, sports fields for pretty much everything, a pool, even an outdoor ice rink when it's in season. The park has playgrounds, picnic areas, and pavilions, too. The park is open year-round and is clearly a local favorite because it's always buy, but the crowds never felt overwhelming when I was there. There's enough space to spread out, which helps. Overall, this park is not trying to be anything flashy, just a really solid, well-kept community park. Easy to walk, nice to look at, and surprisingly relaxing for a quick stop. Definitely one of those spots you end up appreciating more than you expected.

The park has a cool rose garden area with a few seats and some artillery cannons. People were…read moreplaying volleyball or something in the center and it's right by a shopping center and the hospital, so a strategic location for sure. There's a large bust/statue up front as well.

Well, this is a different place than it used to be. As a kid, I would go here with my dad. It was a…read moreschool then, and we'd sled down the hill. Some very fond memories of my dad getting the old inner tubes, blowing them up, and tubing down. He took my little brothers a couple times and I went as a pre-teen and the hill seemed much smaller then. As a teen, my first ever paying job was here. Again, it was still a school, and they had baseball diamonds where I was an umpire for tee-ball. Such memories. When they got rid of the school, I was curious to see what would happen. What sprung up in its place was a park that the next generation of kids will have to fill their memories. Instead of the school, and a winter-only sledding hill, this is a full-blown summer park. Apparently splash pads are a thing. Safer than a pool (at least for drowning) and still built to keep you cool in the heat of the summer, there's a big ol' splash pad here that's built for the little ones to stomp around and get wet. Bring the sunscreen. As others have mentioned, there's a lack of shade here, so you'll want to protect yourself from the sun. And it's probably best as a weekday reprieve. It swarms with kids on the weekends and you might get elbowed around. Beyond the splash pad, you've got some playgrounds that are geared towards different aged kids, some courts, and a whole lot of grass. This park covers the bases for lots of kids of different ages and will surely be one of the places to provide them with fond childhood memories.

Currently, the playgrounds are completely fenced off because no one took into account that the…read moreslides would get too hot in the sun. Where did the architects that work for for Cottonwood Heights get their degrees? Unbelievable. Hopefully the city has the cash to pony-up for some shade structures stat. Epic fail.

We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful early June weather and found the Conservation Garden…read morePark just a few miles from our lunch spot. The first amazing surprise is there was no entry fee! We entered the garden and quickly ran into another surprise- a human-sized chess board! My boys wanted to play a game against each other...didn't know it was going to take 45mins...but it was fun to sit and watch and listen to the birds chirping. We then continued our tour around the grounds and saw many wonderful plants, trees, bushes, flowers and more. The grounds are beautifully manicured! There some educational areas where you can learn more about irrigation, landscaping and design. To walk around the garden takes about 30mins, but we spent 1.5hrs here as we took a lot of pictures and asked some questions from the workers. The workers and volunteers were very gracious to answer our questions and teach us more about the garden. You can tell they love their job and they love visitors. At the end of the tour, I made sure to drop a little cash in their donation box. Thanks Conservation Garden Park for the great time!

This place is absolutely gorgeous. If you're local (not not local) it's a wonderful place to wander…read morearound, learn, or just go for a nice stroll! The gardens go on, and on... and on! They have great visual exhibits, labelling placards, and fun interactive activities. 10/10 worth the stop, and I can't believe this place is free to the public. We stopped in here to take some casual iPhone photos as a family since we don't see eachother everyday. (Photography requires a $10 pass) It was the perfect backdrop for what we were doing, and we had a great time exploring the gardens through the park along the way.

The park itself has become one of the gems of the Salt Lake City disc golf community, featuring an…read more18 hole course. The park has some beautiful big trees and is relatively flat aside from the hill on the west side, and there is the namesake creek that runs along the south edge of the park. It is one of the best disc golf courses around, and plays hosts to leagues and tournaments. The major problem here is that it is directly next to the Wasatch Charter School. When school is in session, parents have decided that the parking lot for Creekside Park is where they will pick up and drop off their kids. So for hours each day in the morning and afternoon, the parking lot is next to impossible to access being clogged by those cars. The other problem with the location next to the school, is that the school has decided that the whole park is a convenient recess location. Without notice, hundreds of children will come running over the hill and flood into all areas of the park, disrupting your quiet picnics or peaceful rounds of disc golf. Now if you're a disc golfer, you probably don't want to hit a little kid in the head (I swear all the "ten bonus point" jokes are only jokes). And if you're a little kid, you probably don't want to get walloped in the head by a hurdling disc of hard plastic. I'm not sure why the school just sends out all the kids unsupervised into the woods to run wild and pay absolutely zero attention to the disc golfers who are in the middle of a round, but at some point there are bound to be injuries. The park also has one large pavilion that can seat about 100 people, a small playground for the kids, and a sand volleyball area, so it is a good option for bbq's and gatherings. My advice is that it is a beautiful park, but if you're going to try to enjoy the park during the school year, to do so on the weekends.

The park is looking nice these days. New signs with bag holders (that also double as a dog leash…read moreholder) are a nice touch. This is a great course to learn how to play disc golf. The holes are not that long and the terrain is pretty mellow. Just watch out you don't go in the river! You may want to avoid peak times, especially in the summer, if you don't feel like waiting around forever.

I attended a Buddhist gathering at the Canyon Rim Park amphitheater today and found the park to be…read moreabsolutely beautiful. The trees are mature and full and provide excellent shade. There are pathways that wind throughout the greass leading to green space, the playground, amphitheater and restrooms. Even though this park is tucked away in a neighborhood and just next to an LDS church, once you're in the park itself, you do feel like your transformed away from the city. It's a magical place and one that I'm so glad I got to visit. I'll be back!

Love all of the grass and large trees. the playground has nice afternoon shade. The playground is…read moregood for 4+, not a lot for the littles. Tall slides were fun for my older. The park is clean and well-kept. Lots of picnic tables under a large pavilion.

you can drive up all the Big Cottonwood Park, and there are parking spots as you drive up the…read morecanyon. i was able to see the river, beautiful rock formations and you will eventually hit the snow, paired with resorts who make it possible to ski & play in the snow

This is definitely the tale of two parks. It's wild meets manicured. It's quite the contrast…read morebetween the center, with its meandering marshes and dirt trails, and the lawn and ball fields. I think I was just a little confused by this, as I came it this from the Lions building where you don't really have a proper entrance. There's a corner of that parking lot with a trail worn into the grass that takes you to the walking trail proper, but it's like walking into a movie halfway through. The dirt trail is lovely, and it winds all the way around. At the north and it abuts a horse property (don't feed the horse!) and the it just turns into a trail made by years of use, but not by design. It then loops back around to the south and that's where you'll run into the main parking area. That's where you'll get the man made amenities, and though I didn't spend much time in that part, they looked to be nice ball fields, ample parking, and perhaps restrooms. I wanted the perimeter twice, through the trees, and then found my way back out by the senior center and across the crosswalk. I guess technically Creekside Park is a part of Big Cottonwood as the new signage says "Big Cottonwood Creekside Park" but they're on separate sides of the road and feel nothing alike.

This place has so much to offer! We didn't realize how much or we would have gotten here earlier!…read more I have been wanting to check this place out since shortly after we moved to Utah. It looks like such a beautiful place to walk around and it's free! From tree carvings, wildflowers and historic tours. We came for the wonderful Sunday Farmer's Market and there were so many amazing vendors with so many yummy samples! My favorite was the Mediterranean Hummus vendor. So many selections to choose from! Because of the hummus purchase we had to book it out and get it home and chilled! They had fresh meat, eggs, breads, jellies, salsas, and of course tons of produce from different Utah produce farms. It's very busy and you may have to park in the neighborhood surrounding the farm on Sundays. It's quite popular!!!! I loved the old historic buildings some dating back to the early 1900's. There's plenty of animals to check out from horses, to cows, pigs, sheep, goats, roosters, peacocks and a sheep. There's a small country store onsite as well. They have tractor and wagon rides. Some of the most beautiful wood flowers growing, a small creek runs through the property and there are several trails which I look forward to exploring on our next trip. I'm also excited to watch a lesson on cow milking! It's truly a beautiful spot to visit, and if you are interested I'd suggest bringing a blanket and some lunch and sitting under the shady trees and enjoying the magnificent things this working farm has to offer.

The farmer's market here is a great alternative to the one downtown although still much smaller…read more The farm itself is always a fun treat to see the animals including cows, bunnies, chickens, peacocks, sheep, and a donkey. I love taking our dogs to see the "exotic" animals. Behind the activity barn is garden entirely worked on by volunteers in the Master Gardener program. If you ever see them working be sure to share your thanks! There's also a long path that loops the property once you cross the bridge, it follows the stream and then hangs left.

The tennis courts are great - not super crowded and the fences in between really help so you aren't…read morechasing balls all over. Also the lights for night tennis are super well lit. Best courts around

It was a busy Memorial day at lunch time, and I was on the prowl for a park. I'd already hit…read morestrikes one and two with too-full pavilions and picnic areas when I headed down the road looking for any green swath the GPS would show me. Up ahead there was a sign. Southwood Park. I'd never heard of it, but we pulled in to one of the few parking places and were amazed to see the pavilion occupied by two lonely dog-walkers stopping for rest. Jackpot! Southwood is in the Murray City Parks department, which I'm coming to realize is actually quite magnificent. It's located right along 725 East in a not so busy part of Murray near mostly residential areas, so it looks like it stays pretty quiet. Amenities are simple. It won't knock your socks off, but there's really more here than you'd expect for a small park. The pavilion is nice and can be reserved through the city. Adjacent are two small grills. Bring your own charcoal. There's a large grassy area with a nice knoll where the little ones can roll down, and at the far end is a baseball backstop, but not much of a diamond. The bathrooms are nice and large, and there's also a playground for the kiddies. I'm no tennis expert, but the courts here looked really nice. Sparkling, to be precise. All three were occupied so I'm guessing that secret is out. Well fenced, well maintained and the nets are in tip-top shape. This is just another example of how lucky we are in SLC to have some sweet parks around. You're never more than a mile from a nice facility, and Southwood was a pleasant and quiet surprise on a busy park-happy weekend.