The paths Clinton
A paved rail trail on an old railroad grade, a canal path beside it, and one flat line across town
The rail trail and the canal that run the length of Clinton
The west side of Clinton is crossed by a paved rail trail on the old Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad grade. It is part of Utah's Golden Spoke, the connected network of paved trails that runs more than a hundred miles from Ogden down to Provo, and it gives the city a long, level line to walk, run or ride from one end to the other. Sharing the same low, flat ground is the Canal Trail, named for the irrigation canal that made farming here possible in the 1880s. Both are free, both are open all year, and neither has a hill on it.
By Scott Buehler, Moving Utah
Updated October 2026
The short answer
Clinton has one long, flat corridor down its west side, and two trails share it. The main one is the Denver and Rio Grande Rail Trail, a paved path laid on the old Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad grade. It runs north and south through town and is one link in Utah's Golden Spoke, the connected network that stretches more than a hundred miles from Ogden to Provo. Running with it is the Canal Trail, named for the irrigation canal that made farming here possible in the 1880s. Both are free, open all year, and level end to end, which makes this the easiest place in Clinton to walk, run or ride a real distance without a hill. You can join the rail trail at Veterans Park on 1000 West.
The rail trail
A flat, paved line down the west side of town, on the grade of a railroad that is long gone
Start with the rail trail, because it is the one that carries you somewhere. It follows the grade of the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, a line pulled up years ago and rebuilt as a paved path, and it runs the length of Davis County. Through Clinton it holds to the west side of town, on and around the 1000 West line, and it is dead flat, because a railroad grade has to be. You can get on it at Veterans Park at 1705 North 1000 West, where there is parking, or a little south near 1300 North.
What makes it worth more than a lap around a park is what it joins. The Denver and Rio Grande Rail Trail is the Davis County stretch of Utah's Golden Spoke, a set of paved trails that link end to end for more than a hundred miles between Ogden and Provo, the longest connected trail network of its kind in the western states. From Clinton you can turn south and, trail by trail, reach the Legacy Parkway Trail and the edge of Salt Lake County, or head north toward the Weber River and Ogden. Most people ride a few flat miles and turn back. The point is that the miles are there when you want them.
Three city parks sit on the corridor about a mile apart and make natural stops: Heritage Park at 1300 North 1000 West, Veterans Park at 1705 North 1000 West, and Trail Side Park at 1000 West 2300 North, whose one job, by its name and by the single amenity the city lists for it, is the trail. Bikes, running shoes, strollers and wheelchairs all do fine on the paved surface, and leashed dogs are welcome: city ordinance names the Rail Trail by name as a place you may walk one. There are no posted hours and nothing to pay.
The exact length of the Clinton segment and the precise line it takes are the sort of thing that shifts a little as the network changes, so for the current route end to end, the Davis County trails map is the authority. What does not change is the shape of it: a level, paved, mostly straight run down the west side of Clinton that you can follow as far as your legs feel like going.
The rail trail, in numbers
100+ mi
of connected Golden Spoke trail, Ogden to Provo
20+ mi
the rail trail runs the length of Davis County
3 parks
strung along the Clinton stretch of the corridor
Flat
paved, free, and open every day of the year
The details
The canal
The other trail follows the canal that made the town possible
The second trail is the Canal Trail, and the canal it runs beside is the reason there is a town here at all. When the first families settled this ground in the 1870s they had to haul drinking water in from the Weber River, and little would grow. That changed in 1884, when the irrigation canal reached the area and, in the words of the old accounts, the place blossomed. Farms took hold, and Clinton grew up around water that was carried in, not water that was already here.
That system never went away. The Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company, a private company, still delivers the secondary irrigation water that keeps Clinton's lawns and gardens green, sharing one service area with West Point next door. The Canal Trail follows that working canal along its low, flat course, which is exactly why it makes such an easy walk: irrigation water runs downhill slowly, so the ground beside it barely tilts, and the path stays level the way the rail trail does.
How far the Canal Trail runs, and where it meets up with the rail trail, are worth a quick check with the city before you plan a long outing, since the city looks after the local paths. As a place to stretch your legs beside moving water, though, it asks nothing of you but a pair of shoes. The moving to Clinton page explains what the two water systems mean for a household water bill.
The first families hauled their drinking water from the Weber River. The canal that finally let the town farm arrived in 1884, and its company still waters Clinton today.
Treat the canal itself as off limits. This is a working irrigation canal, not a pond or a creek. The water moves faster than it looks, runs cold, and the sides are steep and slick, which makes it very hard to climb out of. Keep children and dogs well back from the edge, and do not wade, swim or play in it, even where the path runs right alongside the water.
Walking and access
Shorter loops, dogs on a leash, and what it costs, which is nothing
If a through route is more than you want, the corridor gives you parks to lap instead. Heritage, Veterans and Trail Side parks run about a mile apart up the 1000 West line, and several other city parks add their own short, measured loops if you would rather do a circle than a distance. The biggest goes around the Civic Center campus at about 1.2 miles, and Pond Park has a shorter loop of roughly half a mile, out on the northwest edge of town.
Leashed dogs are welcome on the rail trail. The city ordinance sets sensible terms: keep the dog on a leash, no more than two dogs to a person, and clean up after them. The same ordinance names the Powerline Park walkway and the Clinton City Creek walkway as two more places you may walk a dog on a leash.
None of this is gated or ticketed. The city does not post opening or closing hours for its parks and paths, so treat them as daytime, common sense places. The one thing here that costs money and runs on a season is renting a pavilion for a gathering: about thirty dollars for a five hour block, at five of the parks, with the season running from mid April to mid October. One quirk worth knowing in December is that the whole year's pavilion bookings open on the first working day of January.
The details
Scott Buehler
Moving Utah About Scott
Quick answers
The rail trail and the canal, answered
It is a flat, paved rail trail laid on the old Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad grade. It runs north and south through the west side of Clinton, along the 1000 West line, and it is one link in Utah's Golden Spoke, the connected trail network that runs more than a hundred miles from Ogden down to Provo. In Clinton you can pick it up at Veterans Park at 1705 North 1000 West.
Yes. The Denver and Rio Grande Rail Trail is the Davis County section of the Golden Spoke, a network of paved trails that connect end to end for more than a hundred miles between Ogden and Provo. South of Clinton it feeds into the Legacy Parkway Trail toward Salt Lake, and north it links toward the Weber River in Weber County, so the piece through Clinton is part of a much longer ride.
The trail runs the length of Davis County, more than twenty miles north to south, from Farmington up to the Roy line. Only a mile or so of that sits inside Clinton itself. For the full route and the exact mileage through town, the Davis County trails map is the place to look.
There is no single start; it is a through route you join wherever it is handy. In Clinton the usual place to park and get on is Veterans Park at 1705 North 1000 West, and there is a second parking point nearby at 1103 West 1300 North. Both sit on the 1000 West corridor the trail follows.
Yes. It is a flat, paved surface the whole way through town, which makes it easy for walking, running, bikes, strollers and wheelchairs. Because it sits on an old railroad grade there are no real hills, so the effort is up to you rather than the terrain.
Yes. It is an open path for walkers and cyclists both, and as part of the Golden Spoke it is built for people riding real distances between cities. Once a year the Heritage Days bike parade forms up on the same 1000 West line the trail follows.
Yes, on a leash. City ordinance names the Rail Trail as one of the places dogs may be walked, along with the Powerline Park walkway and the Clinton City Creek walkway. No more than two dogs per person, and you are expected to clean up after them.
The irrigation canal that made the town possible. The first settlers hauled drinking water in from the Weber River, and farming only took hold here once canal water arrived in 1884. The company that runs that system, the Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company, still delivers Clinton's secondary irrigation water today, and the Canal Trail runs beside the same working canal.
Yes. Several city parks along the corridor add their own short loops if you want a lap rather than a through route. The largest is the loop around the Civic Center campus at about 1.2 miles, and Pond Park has a shorter path of roughly half a mile. They are free and open year round, and the city does not post opening or closing hours.
A flat, paved line across the west side, and a hundred more miles past the city limits
Clinton is an easy place to be outside without a hill in the way: a paved rail trail down the west side, a canal path beside it, and a short ride onto the rest of the Golden Spoke. If you are weighing a move here, tell me which streets you are looking at and I will connect you with a Davis County partner agent who knows this end of the county, and I can help with the financing side too.
Or call Scott: (435) 357-4345or send Scott a message
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