Nicholls Park in Fruit Heights, the park, the castle, and the trail

Nicholls Park is at 1105 East Nicholls Road, near the mouth of the canyon on the east side of Fruit Heights, about half a mile from City Hall. The city's park page lists a City Hall address, 910 South Mountain Road, as its contact, so use the Nicholls Road address to navigate to the park itself. It is a couple of minutes by car and an easy walk from much of town.

Ten dollars an hour, for up to 150 people, reserved through the city. There are two pavilions, the West Pavilion and the East Pavilion. Reservations run in the warmer months rather than year round, so book well ahead for a summer date and confirm the current fee and season with the city, since a city can reset either in a budget year. The park, playground and trail are free and open all year.

It is the castle-themed play structure at Nicholls Park. Fruit Heights residents built it in 2005 by combining eight Eagle Scout projects, and the city rebuilt it in 2018 after forming a committee to design the replacement. It sits against the mountains right behind the park and is free to use, with no reservation needed.

Fable Forest is a walk along the Gailey Trail at Nicholls Park that the city runs for two evenings each October. Teenagers act out several fairy tales along the path, among them Rapunzel, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin and the Three Little Pigs, with the Headless Horseman. It is a joint service project of the youth city councils of Fruit Heights and Kaysville, and admission is a single nonperishable food item for the Bountiful Food Pantry.

Two evenings in late October, from early evening into the night. The city sets the exact dates each year, so take this year's from the city calendar or the monthly newsletter rather than assuming last year's dates carry over. In its first year it drew more than two thousand people and more than two thousand pounds of donated food.

The Gailey Trail is a flat, shaded walking path at Nicholls Park. Its east end is at the park and its west end is off Main Street at Nicholls Road, so it runs the low ground between the houses and the golf course under mature cottonwoods, willows, mountain ash and boxelder, with benches along the way. Restrooms are at the park rather than on the trail. It is also where Fable Forest is held each October.

The city has weighed putting pickleball courts at Nicholls Park on the ground where the two pavilions now stand. The pavilions still book, so confirm one is still available with the city rather than assuming it will hold.

The city does not list an acreage for Nicholls Park. What the city does list is two reservable pavilions, the Castle Heights Playground, a walking and exercise course, accessible tables, benches, play equipment, lighting, restrooms and landscaping, plus the Gailey Trail running out to Main Street. If the exact size matters to you, the city can answer it directly.

One: Harvey Park, at 910 South Mountain Road on the City Hall site, with a playground, a pavilion and picnic area, and open grass. Those two parks are the whole of the city's public outdoors, on about two and a third square miles, with no recreation center, aquatic center, splash pad or sports complex inside the city. For a pool, a gym or league sport, most residents drive to Kaysville, Farmington or Layton.