Deuel Creek Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail is roughly 4.5 miles round trip with about an 1335 foot elevation change if you stop where we did. The trail does go further though. We started at the North Deuel Creek Trailhead, went up the canyon along its north side, then came back down on the south side to the South Deuel Creek Trailhead. The dirt roads by the actual trail heads are very rough and the north one doesn't have good parking there, so it is better to park along the street below and walk up the road to the trail heads. The maps and elevation graph below reflect this route starting from 100 South and hiking the north side of the canyon first, then going down the south side.

Topographical Map (blue flag = rope swing)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

 

The trail starts out from the north trailhead going the hillside pretty steeply. After awhile though, the steepness tappers off some. The trail along here though is quite rocky and narrow in some spots.

Looking back on the north trail at a
narrow rocky section

About 0.8 mile up the trail hikers can either continue going east up the canyon or turn back west along the south side of the trail.

Campfire area along the north trail
just before the split

We went up the canyon a ways, as shown in the trail maps above. I am not sure exactly how far this trail continues up the canyon though since I have never continued to wherever this trail stops. This section of the trail is my favorite though. The temperatures are cooler here as the trail follows the babbling creek, crossing it on little log bridges at times. The trees make it quite shady too.

Thimble Berry in Flower

A mile and a half from the north trailhead there is a fun rope swing. If you start at the south trailhead, the rope swing is 1.7 miles up from the trailhead. Just above the trail to the north by the rope swing, a rock juts out a bit, and this is a popular place to jump off with the swing.

Rope Swing

Shortly after the swing (about another tenth a mile) there is a nice large campsite. Somewhere soon after that there is supposed to be another waterfall, but we didn't find it. We probably needed to go a bit further, but we were out of time.

When heading back, we took the trail on the south side of the canyon, which stays by the stream and passes by a small waterfall. If you just want to hike to the point of the waterfall, it is about 0.9 mile from where we started up the road, or about 0.4 mile from the south trailhead.

After reaching the south trailhead, we continued back to our car by way of connecting hiking trails. This is shorter than following the main roads. The trail heading down from the parking lot by the south trailhead is on the northwest side of the lot. From here, keep heading back toward 100 S.

Follow the arrow pointing left here

This trail is open to dogs. If you bring children with you, just be aware there are a couple spots where the trail is very narrow and the drop offs are steep and slippery.
 

 
Directions

This trail is located in Davis County in Centerville. From I-15, take Exit 319 for Centerville. Turn east onto 400 North/Parrish Ln. Continue to 400 East and turn right. Then turn left onto 100 South and go to the end of the street. Unless you have an all-terrain vehicle, you will probably want to walk from here up 850 East. There are no trail markings here, nor are there any trail markings until you actually reach the trail heads.

At the top of this narrow paved road, everything turns to dirt roads. You will see fences and private property signs along these roads. To get to North Deuel Creek Trailhead, turn left and walk until you find the trail head, which is at about N40 55.043 W111 51.824. To get to South Deuel Creek Trailhead, turn right where the road splits and continue until the road splits again. Turn left at the second split and continue to the south trailhead, which is at about N40 54.940 W111 51.676.

Kays Creek Parkway Loop Around Hobbs Reservior

The Trail
This easy trail is about three miles long from the Kays Creek Trail parking area off 2125 East so long as you stay on the blue loop shown below. However, there are a number of possible access points to this trail and the length could vary widely based on where you start and stop.

Topographical Map (blue = loop; green = path over dam;
red = path to neighborhood)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The Kays Creek Parkway Trail is a popular paved trail used widely for walks and exercising. If you start from the parking area, the trail will be pretty flat until it ascends up the hill to the dam. The paved trail splits about 0.3 miles up from the parking area. We completed this loop going clockwise, so we went left here.

Trailhead at parking area

Trial Split

If heading clockwise from here, the paved trail continues around the north side of Hobbs Reservoir, crosses a bridge at the northeast side, and loops around. The paved path continues, but dead-ends along this east side with a dirt path heading up to a neighborhood.

However, just before the dead-end, another dirt path partially obscured by the trees heads down with some steps. This is also next to a green metal warning post. The path from here back to the dam is a dirt trail (the path between the two green dots on the topographical map above).

Dirt path heading down from paved portion of the trail

Steps heading down the dirt path

This portion of the trail is much rougher than the paved path, with short sections of up and down. Parts of the path are slick packed dirt, so use some caution if you don't have good tread on your shoes. However, overall there is minimal elevation change and the trail is otherwise easy and straightforward to follow.

Most of the trail follows the reservoir fairly closely and is surrounded by water loving vegetation. However, part of the trail rises further above the reservoir and is surrounded by dry climate vegetation, including prickly pears.

 

While we were there, we found that a group must have painted rocks to leave along the trail for hikers to enjoy. Our kids really enjoyed trying to find as many of these rocks as possible with their uplifting messages and bright pictures. We doubt these rocks will always be there, but they are fun to find so long as they are.

Not too far from the dam there is a boat ramp (labeled with a symbol on the topographical map above). However, be aware that posted signs forbid swimming in the reservoir. The trail reaches the dam again not far from this, and an opening in the fence here at the southwest end of the reservoir leads back onto the paved trail. Head west along this paved trail to complete the loop and return to the parking area.

Sign and path coming from south side of reservoir by the dam

This trail is open to dogs. There are no restrooms along the trail or at the trailhead.

Directions:
This trail is located in Layton, which is in Davis County, Utah. To get there from I-15, take Exit 334 and follow UT-193 east for about 4.4 miles to 2000 East. Turn right here, then turn left onto Deere View Dr. Take the second right onto 2125 East and continue down the hill to the end of the road where there is parking area. The trail starts from here.

Alternatively, depending on the place and direction you are coming from, it may be faster to take US-89. If you go this way, take Exit 404 and head west on UT-193 toward Hill Airforce Base. You will reach 2000 East about a mile after turning off US-89. Turn left here and follow the rest of the directions above.

GPS Coordinates: N41° 05.868' W111° 55.674'

The Grotto in Hornet Canyon

The Trail
This moderate trail is 1.25 miles (one way) with about a 590 foot elevation change. The trail leads to a pleasant grotto area in which a couple small waterfalls drops into a little pool, and water "weeps" off a 30 foot long rock overhang. The water flow is heaviest in the spring; if you go later in the fall as we did, you can expect the waterfalls to be more like small trickles of water. The area is still pleasant to visit though either way.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail starts at a large gate. This is the same starting point as the Triumph Trail, which turns off soon after the gate (as marked by the hiker symbol in the topographical map above). However, for this trail, hikers continue to follow the dirt road/Bonneville Shoreline Trail for about 0.6 mile to the Steed Creek Trail.

Trailhead

Dirt Road/Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Turn off for Steed Creek

At this point the trail elevation starts to climb. Continue along the trail up the canyon until you reach a sign with a trail split about 0.3 mile later (marked by a green pin on the topographical map above). Notice that both directions will take you to the grotto. However, going right along the Steed Creek path will offer more shade and an easier trail. This is the way we went.

Shortly after that the trail goes across a small plank bridge and past a campsite/campfire spot (marked by a blue flag in the topographical map above). Watch out for poison ivy in this area. And brilliantly colored foliage if you go during the autumn.

 

 
It will not be long before the trail splits again. This time it should be obvious that you should stay left to reach the grotto.

As the trail continues, it slants in places and becomes narrow. While we were there, we found someone had placed some ropes along the steeper spots. As always, use caution with ropes placed by others on trails as they can vary greatly in condition and strength.

A rope along the trail

Notice the slant of the trail

Soon the trail reaches the grotto. The water flow during the fall is minimal, but it is still a pretty spot with mossy rocks, a little pool, and lots of fallen leaves during the autumn.

"Weeping" Rocks

The pool and waterfalls...which are no more than a trickle during the fall

Directions
This trail is located in Davis County, Utah in Farmington. To get there from north of Farmington, take exit 325 off of I-15 and turn left onto Park Lane. Next, turn right onto Main Street and continue on this road as it curves around. When you reach State Street, turn left and follow this road as it curves around a bend. Keep going until you reach Woodland Dr., then turn left. At the end of Woodland Dr. you will come to a dirt road called Little Valley Road. Drive up to the reservoir and you will find a dirt parking area. Start at the gate across from the dirt parking area with the sign for the Triumph Trail.

If you are coming from the south, take exit 222 off of I-15 and continue along 200 West to 200 South. Turn right onto 200 South, and next turn right onto 200 East. From there, turn left onto Woodland Dr. and continue as outlined above. GPS Coordinates: N40° 58.025' W111° 52.380'

Patsy's Mine and Flag Rock

The Trail
This moderate trail is about 1.6 miles long one way with a 1408 foot elevation change. Going just to Patsy's Mine is about 1 mile up. You will notice a few different trails on the maps below. There are actually a number of trails that split and go off different directions. Most of them connect and still reach the mine. Just don't take the white one as explain further below.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The trail can be started a couple ways. It used to head through a dirt and weed area near some houses just south of the corner where you can park. This way is not marked any more. It is shown in dark blue/yellow in the maps above. More recently, there was a subdivision sign was put in and a path starts next to that to go up, as shown below and as marked by the light blue in the maps above.

Trailhead

The trail soon turns east to steeply ascend the hill to the Firebreak Road (which is a dirt road) above. After reaching the road in about 0.2 mile from the trailhead, make note of where the trail is so you can find your way back down it when you come back. Then turn south and walk along the road for about 0.17 mile (as shown in dark blue/yellow on the maps above). A wooden sign here may mark trail here to Patsy's Mine and Flag Rock, but it also may be missing. The trail turns off from the road at this point and heads southeast as it switchbacks up the slope.

Sign marking turn-off from the dirt road

Turn off (unmarked) to head up the trail from Firebreak Rd.

Notice that the light blue path in the maps above also comes out right across from the trail continuing up to Patsy's Mine and Flag Rock. Also, there is another path that also seems to connect that goes up further south, which we ended up taking accidentally on our way back once. There are quite a few paths weaving in an out here, but I believe most of them connect. Just pay attention to where you are.

One exception we found that should be avoided comes at the split shown below. This is about 0.5 to 0.6 mile up the trail, depending on which way you take up. Do not go left here (shown in light gray in the maps above)! The trail continues up for a ways, but then starts to get very overgrown, rough, and faint. I don't know if you could continue to follow it up, but it is definitely not the path you want to take. Go straight/right here instead.

In 0.4 mile from Firebreak Road, hikers will arrive at a bench sitting at an intersection in the trail. Turning right to go south here will take you to Steed Creek, whereas turning left to the north will take you up to the mine and to Flag Rock. At this point there a number of interesting rocks are also visible jutting up from the mountainside.

Bench at the trail intersection

Not to far past the bench the trail runs across the bottom of a large rock field. It is worth paying attention to the rocks along this trail as there are an abundance of beautifully figured metamorphic specimens.

In another 0.3 mile, hikers will come to a turn off leading down to Patsy's Mine. This old mine runs back into the rock about 150 feet. It was created by a man named Patsy Morley in the early 1900s. He who was a former boxer who started by digging by hand, but switched to using steam power to dig it out. He dug unsuccessfully for about twenty years hoping to find some precious metals before he mysteriously disappeared one day.

Patsy's Mine

If you wish to explore the mine, be sure to bring a flashlight and be careful. The mine can be pretty wet inside, but you can go down a good ways if desired before hitting pools of water. Toward the end it branches off briefly in a few directions.

Inside Patsy's Mine

After leaving Patsy's Mine, those who still have time and energy can continue up the mountain another 0.6 mile to Flag Rock. Just before the top the trail intersects with the Centennial Trail.

Intersection with Centennial Trail

The views from Flag Rock are beautiful! There is also a bench here to rest on, if desired.

View from Flag Rock

Looking South from Flag Rock

This trail is open to pets, but please clean up after them. There are no restroom facilities at the trailhead or along the trail.

Directions
This trail is located in Davis County, Utah in Farmington. To get there from north of Farmington, take exit 325 off of I-15 and turn left onto Park Lane. Next, turn right onto Main Street and continue on this road as it curves around. When you reach 100 North, turn left and follow this road to where it curves left. There is a sort of cul-de-sac area here you can park. The trail starts north of this spot next to the subdivision sign.

If you are coming from the south, take exit 222 off of I-15 and continue along 200 West to State Street. Turn right onto State Street, and then turn left onto 100 East. From there, turn right onto 100 North and continue as outlined above. GPS Coordinates: N40 58.921 W111 52.769