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Get Outside

Jul 06, 2016 10:51AM ● By Tori La Rue

A view of the Jordan River Parkway – one of the best places to work-out outside in the Salt Lake Valley area. – Tori La Rue

By Tori La Rue | [email protected]


Quit paying for your gym membership this summer and get outside. You’ll get a nice tan, soak up some Vitamin D, maybe lose some weight and save some money. That’s what I call a win-win-win-win situation.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite places to exercise outside:

1. Jordan River Parkway Trail: The parkway includes more than 40 miles of paved trails lining the Jordan River through three counties, and it’s the ideal place to bike, run, walk the dog or even roller skate. It’s highly accessible, perfect for distance training and rests at a cooler temperature than the nearby area because of its proximity to the river. Visit jordanrivercommision.com for a map of all trailheads.

2. West Jordan City’s Veterans Memorial Park: It’s 99 acres of park at 8030 S. 1825 West and includes a HUGE country-western themed, wooden playground that will knock your socks off. If you bring your kids, you’re sure to burn a few calories as you chase them around. You may also want to enjoy tennis, baseball, basketball or volleyball.

3. Draper Hikes: Since part of Draper is built on the side of a mountain, it’s the prime place to hike. It’s close to home, but it has scenic views and will still make your legs burn if you choose a trail with a significant grade. The trails are of varying difficulty and they’re listed on the city website at draper.ut.us. You won’t get bored because they have more than 35 options. Thank you, Draper.

4. SoJo Race Series: I don’t know if you know this, but South Jordan is really into running. They host eight races a year, including races from a 2.5K to a marathon. They decided to offer free Runner Socials this year to help runners network and get tips from dieticians, physical therapists and others. If you’re interested, follow SoJo Marathon/Half Marathon/5k on Facebook for more details on runner’s socials.

5. Gary C. Valley Regional Park: This park at 5100 South 2700 in Taylorsville is a great place to bring a group of people to play sports. It’s not as crowded as some other parks in the valley and it still offers volleyball and basketball. It’s also unique because it’s the only place I know of in the valley that offers the use of a disk golf course for free.

6. Centennial Park: I grew up going to this small Riverton Park at 13000 S. 2700 W. At the park there’s several small hills. The small hills are perfect to run up and down for runners to train on.

7. Bingham Creek Trail: Leave the skateboards and scooters at home on this trail. This 1.3-mile trail, stemming from Colter Bay Cir. west of 4000 West in West Jordan to 4500 Skye Dr. in South Jordan is made of gravel. Although you can run on this trail, I recommend biking. Horses are also welcome on the trail, but I’ve never done that because I don’t have a horse.

8. Riverton City Park: Take your pick – Riverton City Park has Tennis, Pickle ball, volleyball, horseshoes and basketball. It’s all located at 12830 Redwood Rd. They also have three metal work-out stations that give instructions of simple exercises you can do while at the park.

9. Constitution Park: If it rains this summer, you can still work-out outside. Put on some clothes that dry quickly, grab some friends or family members, and head over to Constitution Park at 7000 S. 3200 West in West Jordan. The park dips in on all sides and it fills up with water as it rains. Play soccer through the huge water puddle throughout the park. You’ll be sliding all over the place. Soccer has never been so much fun.

Now that I’ve let you in on all of my secrets, what are you waiting for? Call Vasa or 24-hour fitness and cancel your membership. You don’t need them anymore.

You’re Welcome.