The river South Weber
A gravel path along the Weber River at the west edge of South Weber
The Weber River trail in South Weber, gravel and close to the water
Walk west to the bottom corner of South Weber and you meet a compacted gravel path along the river bank, about ten feet wide, kept near the water so anglers can reach it. It is the quiet end of a longer river trail: an out and back on the South Weber side, free, with fishing access as its whole reason for being. Here is where it starts, what the surface is like, and what a walk or a ride actually gets you.
By Scott Buehler, Moving Utah
Updated October 2026
The short answer
The Weber River trail in South Weber is a compacted gravel path along the south bank of the Weber River, at the west end of the city off Cottonwood Drive. It is about ten feet wide, flat and easy, and the gravel is deliberate: the city set this stretch as gravel rather than pavement so the path could stay close to the water and give anglers continuous access. Think of it as a river bank walk you take out and back, free and open all year, rather than a paved commuter trail. The paved miles are on the Riverdale side, over the Weber County line. Bring wider tires if you ride, and after high water check for washed out spots, because the 2023 runoff chewed at the bank in places.
What the trail is
Compacted gravel on the river bank, and gravel on purpose
The South Weber trail is the gravel tail of a longer river trail. It runs along the south bank of the Weber River at the far west corner of the city, where the houses back onto the water off Cottonwood Drive, on a flat compacted surface about ten feet wide. Walk it and the reason for the gravel becomes obvious: the path hugs the bank, close enough to drop a line, and a gravel surface can follow the water and be patched where the river takes it in a way a ribbon of pavement cannot.
The gravel is a choice, not a gap. When the city laid out its trails back in 2008, it set the Riverdale side as paved and this South Weber stretch as gravel, about ten feet wide, kept as close to the bank as reasonable so anglers could reach the water continuously. So the surface change you feel underfoot at the Riverdale line is a boundary between two towns that wanted two different things from the same river, not an unfinished paving job.
What you get is a quiet, level walk or an easy gravel ride with the river on one side. It is shared ground, so walkers, riders and anglers mix, and near the houses it runs between the road and Interstate 84 for a stretch, where the sound is traffic rather than water. It is not a through route: the paved river trail carries on north through Weber County, but the South Weber end is its own out and back rather than a finished path you can ride from here to Ogden. Take it for the river and the fishing access, not for miles.
The details
Before you go
- The surface is compacted gravel about ten feet wide. Wider tires are fine; thin road bike tires are the wrong tool here.
- The river is a working river. The 2023 runoff eroded the bank in places, so after high water look for detours rather than a continuous surface.
- Fishing access is the point of the alignment. The city points anglers to a spot on the east side of the city near Highway 89, though it does not publish an address for it.
- This is the south end of a longer river trail. Do not plan a through ride from here; the northern half is Weber County ground.
Getting there
Where it starts, and how to reach the Cottonwood Drive end
The reference point everyone uses is Cottonwood Drive at the west end of the city, and it is the end the city itself points to. From South Weber City Hall at 1600 East South Weber Drive, drive west on South Weber Drive and work down to the Cottonwood Drive corner in the bottom west of the city, roughly three miles and about eight minutes. There is no official trailhead sign or posted address, so park considerately on the public streets near Cottonwood Drive and walk in. Directions
For fishing, the city sends anglers to a separate access on the east side of the city near Highway 89, without publishing a street address or a parking detail for it, so treat that as a general direction rather than a pin. A Utah fishing license is required, and the rules for this water are the state wildlife division's to set, so check the current regulations before you plan a morning around it.
Blackner's Bend
A side channel dug for two native fish
The most interesting stretch of this reach is a spot called Blackner's Bend, where a local trails charity, the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah, dug a new side channel off the river to make habitat for the young of two native fish, the Bonneville cutthroat trout and the bluehead sucker. The channel was dedicated on 11 November 2020, when a temporary dam was breached and water ran into it for the first time. By the charity's account the new channel filled and worked: water moving over riffles into pools, fish spawning in spring, and a seasonal pond next to the freeway holding water again.
Then came the record snowpack of 2023 and the biggest runoff in years. It eroded the bank at several points along the parkway between Riverdale and South Weber and wiped out a stretch of the main path at another bend upstream, leaving a detour in its place. At Blackner's Bend the rechanneled work largely held. As things stand, the South Weber side is a river bank walk with gaps rather than a finished, continuous route, and the crossings that would tie it into the paved Weber County miles are not in place today. Walk it for the water and the fish habitat, not as a way through to the north.
The Weber River is a working river, and the bank here has an erosion history. After the 2023 runoff, parts of this stretch washed out and detoured, and high water each spring exposes the bank again. Expect washed out spots rather than a clean continuous surface after big water, watch children near the current, and remember the gravel is not plowed in winter. If you are buying a home on the low ground near the river, treat that erosion history as a reason to pull the flood map for the specific parcel before you write an offer.
Living near the trail
A real amenity, with a river's homework attached
For a home at the west or north edge of South Weber, this trail is a genuine amenity: flat public frontage on the river, free, a short walk or ride from the door. It comes with a river's conditions, though. The corridor floods, the bank moves, and a river view and a flood zone are often the same fifty feet of ground. Pull the flood map for the specific parcel rather than the city as a whole, do it before an offer rather than during underwriting, and keep the erosion since 2023 in mind.
The river on this page is also the county line: it was made the boundary between Weber and Davis Counties in 1855, the same act that split one canyon mouth town into two, and the 1855 split is the mover page that unpacks what each half kept. A few minutes west, Canyon Meadows Park is the nearest developed park, and the county's other water edges, with their fishing rules and seasons, sit on the Davis County water page. For the practical half of an address, the market, the drive times and the flood homework, the South Weber city guide carries the figures.
One street over, Old Fort Road strings together the oldest sites in the city and is worth a walk in its own right.
Scott Buehler
Moving Utah About Scott
Quick answers
The Weber River trail, answered
No. The South Weber end is compacted gravel, about ten feet wide, and that is on purpose. The city's 2008 trails plan set this stretch as gravel rather than pavement so the path could stay close to the bank and give anglers continuous access to the water. The paved miles are on the Riverdale side, over the Weber County line. If you want a smooth surface for a road bike or a stroller, this is not it.
At the west end of the city, off Cottonwood Drive, down in the bottom corner where the houses back onto the river. From South Weber City Hall at 1600 East South Weber Drive it is roughly three miles west, about eight minutes to drive, though the city does not post an official trailhead sign or address. Park considerately on the public streets near Cottonwood Drive and walk in.
Short. The South Weber end is a river bank walk you take out and back rather than a measured through route, so most people give it an hour or so on foot, longer if they carry a rod and stop at the water. The larger paved river trail runs north through Weber County, but the South Weber side is the quiet gravel tail of it, not the whole thing.
Yes, on the right bike. The surface is compacted gravel about ten feet wide, which suits a mountain bike, a gravel bike, or any wider tire. Thin road bike tires are the wrong tool here. It is flat and easy going, and it is shared with walkers and anglers, so keep your speed down near the water.
The trail is open public ground with no gate and no fee, and dogs on a leash are a normal sight along the river. If you want an off-leash option, South Weber runs a fenced city Dog Park on Old Fort Road a few minutes away. Bring water and a bag; there is no service tap on the gravel stretch.
Not as one finished, continuous route. The paved trail is on the Riverdale and Weber County side of the line, and the South Weber gravel end is its own out and back rather than a through path you can ride from here to Ogden. Treat the South Weber side as a river bank walk with fishing access, and read the Weber County trail as a separate stretch.
No, and it is worth being clear about, because the names get mixed up. The Legacy Parkway Trail is a flat paved corridor of about thirteen miles through the cities on the valley floor in south Davis County. The Weber River trail is at the far northeast corner of the county, unpaved, on the river bank at the mouth of Weber Canyon, about forty minutes of driving away. They share the word parkway and nothing else.
Yes, and fishing access is the whole reason the trail hugs the bank. The city points anglers to a fisherman's access on the east side of the city near Highway 89, though it does not publish a street address or a parking detail for it. A Utah fishing license is required, and the rules for this water are set by the state wildlife division, so check the current regulations before you plan a morning around it.
The ground is open all year, it is free, and there is no gate to close. That said, the gravel is not plowed, so winter footing is on you, and the river runs highest during spring runoff when the bank is most exposed. The 2023 runoff eroded parts of this stretch, so after high water expect washed out spots and detours rather than a clean continuous surface.
A gravel path, a river, and a county line since 1855
The Weber River trail is a small, honest thing: a gravel walk on the bank, free, with fishing access as its whole point. If you are weighing a street at the north or west edge of South Weber, the trail is a real amenity and the flood map is real homework, and they are two different jobs on the same fifty feet of ground. Tell me which streets are on your list and I will connect you with a Davis County partner agent who can pull the flood mapping and the parcel lines with you, and stay on the file for the financing side.
Or call Scott: (435) 357-4345or send Scott a message
Keep going
Continue your South Weber research
Eight more doors into South Weber, chosen for what this page covers.
Questions about South Weber?
Call Scott, send a message, or find out what your South Weber home is worth. No pressure, no obligation.
Referral Disclosure: For moves outside Southern Utah, I can connect you with trusted local agents. If you choose to work with one, their brokerage pays my brokerage (Real Broker, LLC) a referral fee from their commission. This costs you nothing extra, and you are never obligated to use my referral.