Hike Adams Canyon to the waterfall
Eastside Drive, east bench Free Falls best May and June
Adams Canyon is the busiest trail in Davis County and the one outdoor thing a first visit to Layton should not skip. The trailhead sits on Eastside Drive, the frontage road east of US-89 above the east bench of town, and the Forest Service gives Trail 614 as 1.8 miles one way with a little over 1,000 feet of climb to a roughly 40 foot waterfall on the North Fork of Holmes Creek. Layton City rebuilt the trailhead lot in April 2024, and the hike is free, with no fee, permit or gate.
Two things to know before you drive up. The address is genuinely contested, with three published street numbers for one lot, so navigate to the signed trailhead on Eastside Drive rather than a number, and arrive early because the small lot fills by mid morning on a summer Saturday. And the maintained trail ends at the falls: above them the Forest Service describes a primitive route through cliff areas, so the waterfall is the turnaround. Leashed dogs are welcome and there is no motorized use.
The Layton half of the story, the lot, the three addresses and the creek that ends in a reservoir on a grocery street, is on the sibling Adams Canyon page, and the hike itself, alongside the eight other bench canyons, is on the county Davis canyons page. This entry is the short version.
The details
Getting there
From Main Street run east to US-89 and north to Eastside Drive, the frontage road on the east side of the highway; the trailhead is signed and the lot is paved. The Forest Service's own directions still point at a gravel lot by a water tank that the city replaced, so follow the signs, not the federal page.
Before you go
- Arrive early on a summer weekend. The lot is small and fills by mid morning, and the overflow ends up on the shoulder of the approach road.
- The falls are the turnaround. Above them the maintained trail becomes a primitive route through cliff areas, and that is where the trouble happens.
- Leashed dogs are welcome and there is no motorized use, both stated on the trail's Forest Service record.
- The Bonneville Shoreline Trail crosses the route, so the same trailhead opens a longer, flatter bench walk when you want one.
See a summer show at the Kenley Amphitheater
437 N Wasatch Dr Ticketed Summer only
The signature summer thing to do in Layton is an outdoor concert at the Ed Kenley Amphitheater, built in the civic park in 1995 and run each summer by the Davis Arts Council as a series called Summer Nights with the Stars. The season brings fifteen to eighteen touring acts to an open air amphitheater a few minutes off I-15, and the names it has drawn over the years, Chicago, Styx and Pat Benatar among them, are bigger than a city this size usually lands.
It is a ticketed venue, with general admission season tickets and single show tickets sold through the Davis Arts Council at 437 North Wasatch Drive, the same address as city hall, because the amphitheater sits inside Layton Commons Park, ranked next. Bring a low chair or a blanket for the lawn, plan for a warm evening that cools fast after dark, and buy ahead for the marquee names, which sell out.
The season runs across the summer, roughly June through August, and the lineup is announced in the spring. Outside those months the amphitheater is just a quiet corner of the park. Check the Davis Arts Council for the current calendar and on sale dates before planning a trip around a specific act.
The details
Getting there
From I-15 take the Layton exits to Wasatch Drive and the Layton Commons campus; the amphitheater and its parking share the 47 acre park with city hall, the library and the museum. Arrive early on a big night, when the lawn and the lots fill well before the opening act.
Before you go
- Buy ahead for the headline acts. Season tickets go on sale in spring and single shows a few weeks later, both through the Davis Arts Council.
- It is lawn and bench seating in the open air, so bring a low chair or a blanket and a layer for after dark.
- The box office is Suite B101 inside the city hall building at 437 North Wasatch, the same address as the park.
- Outside summer there is no concert calendar here; the amphitheater is simply part of the park then.
Spend an afternoon at Layton Commons Park
437 N Wasatch Dr Free Year round
If Layton has a town square, it is the 47 acres of Layton Commons Park, and the strange, true fact about it is that it shares one street address, 437 North Wasatch Drive, with city hall, because city hall stands inside the park. On the same ground: the Ed Kenley Amphitheater, the Heritage Museum, an indoor wave pool, a Vietnam Memorial Wall, fifteen picnic shelters, two playgrounds, and a duck pond on the south side that the city does not even list among the park's amenities.
It is free, open year round, and it is the easiest place in Layton to spend an unstructured afternoon: the playgrounds and the pond, the shaded shelters for a picnic, and in late November through December the free Lights Before Christmas display that runs nightly from dusk to eleven. One thing worth checking first: dogs are not allowed here, in the city's own capital letters, the same as at Ellison Park.
The full account of the campus, the six front doors at one street number, the museum hours and what the wave pool and the arts season cost, is on the sibling Layton Commons Park page. This entry is the short version.
The details
Getting there
From I-15 take the Layton exits toward Wasatch Drive; the park, city hall, the library and the Heritage Museum share the campus and its 450 space parking. The Heritage Museum, free and closed Sundays, sits at the north edge at 403 North Wasatch.
Before you go
- Dogs are not allowed at Layton Commons Park, in the city's capitals. Twelve of the city's fourteen parks take leashed dogs; this is one of the two that do not.
- The duck pond is the most photographed corner of the park, but the city publishes nothing about fishing it, so treat it as a place to watch the water.
- Free city WiFi, branded Layton Lightspeed, covers the park.
- In late November through December the Lights Before Christmas display runs nightly from dusk until eleven, free.
Ride the waves at Layton Surf 'n Swim
465 N Wasatch Dr A few dollars Closed Sunday
Layton runs an indoor pool with a wave machine, Surf 'n Swim, and it is the reason a cold or rainy day in this city need not be a lost one. It sits at 465 North Wasatch Drive on the Layton Commons campus, a short walk from the amphitheater and the museum, and the waves are the draw: the city put money into the wave machine itself as recently as its 2025 grant cycle.
Admission is a few dollars, young children are free, and the honest local rhythm is the cut price weeknights, a family night early in the week and a dollar night midweek, which is when the place is busiest and cheapest. It is closed on Sundays, the same as the Heritage Museum and the Ellison splash pad, one calendar across the city's recreation.
The schedule flips twice a year, a shorter winter timetable and a longer summer one, so the open swim hours you find in August are not the ones that hold in December. Check the city's Surf 'n Swim page for the current hours, admission and weeknight specials before you load the car with towels.
The details
Getting there
It shares the Layton Commons campus and its parking off Wasatch Drive with city hall, the library and the museum. The building is signed and sits just north of city hall.
Before you go
- Closed Sundays, along with the Heritage Museum and the Ellison splash pad, one recreation calendar across the city.
- The hours and admission change between a winter and a summer schedule, so check the city's Surf 'n Swim page for the current timetable.
- The weeknight family and dollar nights are the cheapest and the busiest times to go.
- It is an indoor wave pool, which makes it a genuine cold day option, not only a summer one.
Cool off at the Ellison Park splash pad
700 N 2200 W Free Splash pad summer, Mon to Sat
Ellison Park is the largest active recreation park in Layton, 44 acres at 700 North 2200 West on the west side of town, and for a visitor the draw is the splash pad, free and open through the summer from mid morning to eight in the evening, Monday through Saturday. Around it the city packed in sixteen playing surfaces, eight soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, pickleball, tennis and basketball courts, plus a skate park, two playgrounds and a mile of walking trail.
The tell that this is a tournament ground rather than a neighborhood green is the parking, 350 spaces and two concession buildings, and on a Saturday in season the fields are the busiest thing in west Layton while the walking loop around them stays quiet. The name carries the Ellison family, who led the thirteen year fight that took Layton out of Kaysville. As at Layton Commons, dogs are not allowed here.
The full inventory, the sixteen surfaces, the pavilion reservation terms and the splash pad hours, is on the sibling Ellison Park page. This entry is the short version.
The details
Getting there
From I-15 head west toward 2200 West; the park has 350 parking spaces and two restroom and concession buildings, so a busy Saturday still parks. The splash pad and playgrounds are the family end; the fields fill the rest.
Before you go
- The splash pad runs Monday through Saturday through the summer, from mid morning until eight in the evening, and is closed Sunday.
- Dogs are not allowed at Ellison Park, in the city's capitals, the same as at Layton Commons.
- On a weekend in season the fields are booked and busy; the walking trail around them is the quiet part.
- The pavilion seats about 150 and is bookable for the warm season months; the fields go through the city recreation program.
Walk the Kays Creek Parkway gully
Four east side trailheads Free Year round
Kays Creek Parkway is the piece of Layton almost no visitor knows exists: over a hundred acres of linear open space on the east side of town, following the North Fork of Kays Creek down through a gully, with 2.5 miles of paved trail and just under a mile of soft trail around Hobbs Reservoir. Because you drop below the level of the streets, it feels far more remote than a map suggests, with the city going quiet around you.
It reads as a neighborhood corridor rather than a destination, and the city's own numbers say so: one counted parking lot of twenty five spaces across four named trailheads. The one worth knowing first is Canyon View, which doubles as the way in to Hobbs Reservoir and the soft loop. Unlike the city's two big parks, leashed dogs are welcome on the parkway.
The four doors, the surfacing and how the corridor connects are on the sibling Kays Creek Parkway page, and the fishing rules on the reservoirs, which are stricter than people expect, belong to the county lakeside parks page. This entry is the short version.
The details
Getting there
The Canyon View trailhead at 2360 East Canyon View Drive is the access to Hobbs Reservoir and the soft loop; the Adam J. Welker trailhead at 2700 North 2125 East is the one lot the city counts, at twenty five spaces. The other two doors are neighborhood street ends.
Before you go
- Leashed dogs are welcome here, unlike at Layton Commons and Ellison.
- Parking is thin, one counted lot of twenty five spaces, so walk or bike in if you can.
- The soft loop around the reservoir is under a mile; the paved parkway is the longer 2.5 mile half.
- Fishing on Hobbs and the other reservoirs runs by strict, water specific rules covered on the county lakeside parks page.
Catch a film at Layton Hills Mall
1201 N Hill Field Rd Free to browse Year round
When the weather turns or the evening is open, Layton Hills Mall is the enclosed regional shopping center for this stretch of Davis County, at 1201 North Hill Field Road just off I-15. It opened in 1980, and today it runs to more than eighty stores and restaurants anchored by Dillard's, JCPenney and Dick's Sporting Goods, with a Cinemark XD cinema on site.
For a visitor it earns a place on this list as the reliable indoor option, a film, a meal and a walk under one roof on a hot afternoon or a cold night, which is exactly what a canyon town wants in the shoulder months. It is free to walk, you pay only for the film and the food, and the parking is the acres of surface lot a regional mall carries.
The road the mall sits on, Hill Field Road, was built in 1940 to reach the air base at its end, a story told on the sibling Layton Hills page. Store rosters at any mall move, so treat the anchor names as the durable part and check the mall directory for a specific shop before you make a trip for it.
The details
Getting there
From I-15 take the Hill Field Road exits; the mall sits near the interchange with surface parking on every side. The Cinemark entrance is signed off the main concourse.
Before you go
- The anchors are Dillard's, JCPenney and Dick's Sporting Goods, with a Cinemark XD cinema for the evenings.
- Store rosters change, so check the mall directory before making a trip for one specific shop.
- It is the indoor, weatherproof option in Layton, which is the point in July heat or January cold.
- Parking is free surface lot on every side of the building.
