SAVED FROM DEVELOPMENT

Local family donates 100 acres for official 27th street trailhead

View of 27th Street Trailhead from Bonneville Shoreline Trail on Feb. 10. Deann Armes

A new 27th Street Trailhead opened on Christmas Eve last year – a land gift for the community that developers were hungry for. Rather than sell, the anonymous property owners donated their 100 acres to the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah (TFNU) to protect it from development beyond support for public trail use. 

“27th Street was always a big trailhead without a trailhead,” said Mike Appleby, TFNU board chair and trailhead project manager. “The landowner… donated [it] with the understanding that we would put a trailhead and a parking lot in to get people off 27th St.” On a busy weekend, they once counted 55 cars parked along the residential street, a nuisance to surrounding homes, and without sidewalks, a safety issue for children and pedestrians. 

The foundation worked to alleviate neighbors’ concerns about increased traffic and activity –  Ogden City Police monitors with full camera coverage and blue flashing indicator lights, and the city is handling plowing and garbage.

The landowners covered about half the construction costs, while the remaining funds came from grants (including a RAMP grant). The parking lot, storage shed, and pavilion are complete. Future plans include a water fountain, portable restrooms and potentially, a dog park, pump track for kids and interpretive trails (pending Forest Service approval). 

Special parking stalls are reserved for TFNU members – memberships start at $5 a month ($60 a year).

Visit tnu.org for more information.