Mack Park, at the mouth of the canyon
325 E Canyon Road Free Year round
Mack Park is the heart of recreation in Smithfield and the place to send anyone who asks what there is to do here. It sits at 325 East Canyon Road, right where Smithfield Canyon opens onto the valley floor and Summit Creek leaves the mountains. That setting is what makes it: roughly fourteen acres of tall, old shade trees with the creek running through, cool on a July afternoon when the rest of the valley is baking.
The amenities are the reason it stays busy. There are two playgrounds, a sand volleyball court, horseshoe pits and a gaga ball pit, along with large covered pavilions that carry grills and fire pits and more than a dozen picnic tables under cover. Paved and dirt paths follow the creek and tie into the walking trails at the canyon mouth, and restrooms sit near the pavilions. The pavilions are the one piece worth reserving ahead through the Smithfield Recreation Center if you are bringing a crowd on a summer weekend.
Mack Park also carries the valley's best small town legend, the Mack Park Monster, a creature older kids have long sworn haunts the trees at the canyon mouth. Treat it as folklore and nothing more; there is no record behind it, and it survives purely as the kind of tale you trade on a dark evening. The wildland above the park, the campground and the climb toward Mount Naomi, is its own subject, covered on the Smithfield Canyon page.
The details
Before you go
- The covered pavilions, with their grills and fire pits, are reservable through the Smithfield Recreation Center; otherwise use is first come.
- Summit Creek runs cold and quick out of the canyon in spring; keep an eye on small children near the water.
- This is the center of Smithfield Health Days each May, when the park fills for the city festival.
- For the canyon above the park, the campground and the trail to Mount Naomi, see the Smithfield Canyon page.
Forrester Acres, the sports complex
100 N 500 West Free Fields in season
If Mack Park is where Smithfield relaxes, Forrester Acres is where it plays organized sport. It is the city's field complex on the west side of town at 100 North 500 West, roughly forty seven acres of green laid out for baseball, softball, football and soccer.
The roster is deep. There are two softball fields, a pony league field and a little league field, football and soccer fields, and the home field of the Smithfield Blue Sox, a town baseball club with more than a century of history behind it. Around the diamonds you will find outdoor batting cages, a playground, an equestrian park, and a trail system that loops the grounds. Part of the city disc golf course threads the ball fields here, with the rest of the holes over at Heritage Park.
The details
Central Park and the splash pad
100 N 25 West Free Splash pad in summer
Central Park is the everyday neighborhood park just west of Main Street at 100 North 25 West, and it is the one to know if you have kids in summer. It carries the city splash pad, which runs in the warm months, next to a skate park, a covered picnic area with about a dozen tables, and restrooms.
It is small, central and free, the kind of park you walk to rather than drive to. The splash pad hours and run dates shift year to year with the weather and the season, so confirm them with the Smithfield Recreation Center before you make a special trip.
The details
Heritage Park and disc golf
Center St and 350 West Free Year round
Heritage Park is the open green on Center Street at 350 West, and its draw is disc golf. Several holes of Smithfield's course play across its lawn, with the remaining holes set around the ball fields at Forrester Acres, so the two parks share a single round between them.
Beyond the course, Heritage is a gazebo and a wide grassy field with room to throw, kick or spread out a blanket. There are no restrooms here, so it pairs well with a stop at Central Park or Forrester Acres nearby.
The details
Sky View Pool, indoors
520 S 250 East Drop in fee Public hours
Smithfield's indoor swimming is at Sky View Pool, 520 South 250 East, one of the older pools in Cache Valley. It is attached to Sky View High School and run by the Cache County School District rather than the city, which is the key thing to understand about it: it is a school and team facility first, open to the public around that schedule.
That means public swim hours are limited and set around classes, swim team practice and events, and they change through the year. Check the current times before you go rather than assuming it is open. For an outdoor summer pool, the valley's aquatic centers are down in Logan, covered on the Logan parks, trails and river page.
The details
The Smithfield Recreation Center
315 E 600 South Membership or fee Year round
The Smithfield Recreation Center at 315 East 600 South is the front desk for all of this. It runs the city's recreation programs, from youth sports and group fitness to dance, tumbling and martial arts, and it is where you reserve a Mack Park pavilion, sign a child up for a league, or buy a membership.
Registration is handled online as well as in person, and the programs run year round and indoors, which matters in a Cache Valley winter. If you are new to town and want to plug a household into the local rhythm, this is the single phone number and address to start with.
