The lakeside parks, pond by pond, with the rules

Steed Pond is about two and a half acres of water inside North Steed Park in Clearfield, next to Holt Elementary, with a large pavilion, grills, three sand volleyball courts, youth soccer fields, restrooms and walking paths, plus a link to the D&RGW Rail Trail. Across the way, South Steed Park adds sixteen pickleball courts, three softball diamonds and an adult soccer field, so the pond is one half of a roughly 23 acre complex. Clearfield's parks are open 5 am to midnight, and the city lists fishing, kayaking and paddleboarding at the pond.

The newest thing here is the dock. Between July and November 2025, the state's watershed restoration program built a universally accessible fishing dock at Steed Pond that connects to the parking and the paths. The pond is a state community fishery, two fish a day, stocked with rainbow trout in the cool months over channel catfish, bluegill, smallmouth bass and carp. Pavilions book from March 1 for a May through September season, in three and a half hour blocks, from $15 for residents.

Farmington Pond sits at the mouth of Farmington Canyon on Farmington Creek, at 750 North 75 West, with trail-side access at 611 Farmington Creek Trail. It is the prettiest setting on this page and the closest to Station Park, about five minutes away. The city lists restrooms, picnic tables, a fishing dock, a hiking trail and paved parking, and bans open fires from June 1 through October 31 each year. It is a state community fishery under the two fish rule.

The state's water quality program tested the pond three times in the 2026 season and found no visible harmful algae and E. coli below recreational thresholds each time, so the water itself was fine for boating, fishing and eating the catch. Farmington has not opened it to swimming, so treat it as a fishing and walking pond. The canyon road, the gate and the trails above the pond are covered on the Davis canyons guide; the pond and its lot are the city's.

The Kaysville Ponds sit on the Utah State University Botanical Center campus at 702 South 50 West and are run by USU Extension. The four ponds, Blood's, Slough, Barton's and South, were dug in 1995 to hold stormwater from the south end of Kaysville and Fruit Heights and to teach wetlands, so they are engineered retention ponds rather than natural lakes. About a mile and a half of trail circles them; they are open dawn to dusk, seven days a week, at no charge, and the wildlife division stocks them with rainbow trout, largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish under the two fish rule.

The rules here are generous and in writing. Fishing, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, walking, jogging and dog walking on leash are all allowed; swimming, fires and overnight stays are not. On the west side of Slough Pond, Wetland Discovery Point was Utah's first LEED Platinum public building, the county 4-H runs youth fishing camps here, and the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival brings a field trip each May. The campus publishes little about restrooms or an accessible dock, so plan on the trail and the water.

Andy Adams Reservoir sits inside a 7.5 acre Layton park at 1713 East 1000 North, with about 65 parking spaces, two Little League fields, two pickleball courts, a tennis court, a playground, a 150 seat pavilion, a restroom, a short walking trail and free city wifi. The reservoir keeps tighter hours than the park: open spring through fall only, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, fishing only, no swimming and no motorized vehicles.

It is a state community fishery, two fish a day, and its docks were rebuilt between July and November 2025 in the same watershed restoration project that built the new dock at Steed Pond. Whether you can float a kayak here is worth a quick call to Layton Parks at 801-336-3900 before you load the boat, since the city lists the reservoir as fishing only. Pavilion reservations run May through September with seven days' notice, from $35 for four hours for residents.

Layton has two more reservoirs, and each carries a rule that rules out a casual visit. Hobbs Reservoir, at 2360 East Canyon View Drive, shares its lot with the Canyon View trailhead of the Kays Creek Parkway. It is open year round for fishing only, no swimming and no motors, and it is not a community fishery: the state limit here is two trout under fifteen inches, everything larger released, artificial flies and lures only, which makes bait fishing illegal and Hobbs the one serious anglers' water on this page. Around it, Kays Creek Parkway runs about two and a half paved miles plus most of a mile of soft trail from four trailheads.

Holmes Creek Reservoir, at 2692 East Gentile Street, is open year round with the same no swimming and no motor rules, plus two more: no floating at all, and a wildlife division walk-in permit is required to enter. Its fishing rule is the opposite of the community ponds, a limit of six largemouth bass with only one over twelve inches, a bass-management water. The permit's cost and season are on the wildlife division's site, so sort that out before you go.

Bountiful Pond is not in Bountiful; it sits off 1600 North in Woods Cross, just west of Legacy Parkway, and the state runs it as a community fishery, two fish a day. Around the water is a level loop of paved and unpaved trail with benches and restrooms, and by the local Audubon chapter's count it is the strongest birding pond in the county outside the wetlands, a stopover for gulls, terns and waterfowl with songbirds and owls in the trees. A spur reaches it under Legacy Parkway from the Legacy Parkway Trail in under a mile round trip.

In 2026 it is also the one pond here under an active health warning. The state's water quality division kept a harmful algal bloom warning in effect through the summer: algae mats are present, so do not touch or swallow them, keep dogs and children away from the water, and do not drink or filter it, while wading, paddling and fishing stay acceptable. The birds are the reason to come; the water is the reason to keep everyone out of it. Read the state's advisory the week you go.

Clinton's Pond Park is a state community fishery of about four acres at 2850 West 2415 North, two fish a day, that the city lists for fishing and for watching waterfowl. What sets it apart is how actively the city manages it: an aeration system keeps oxygen in the water, the pond is treated at least once a year for plants and algae, and the water is sampled regularly. In some years it has been posted for E. coli and visitors asked to stay out, so it is worth a look at the city's page before a trip.

The city is also candid about avian botulism, which strikes Utah waterfowl most summers between July and September; ducks here have tested positive while the pond itself tested negative for harmful algae, and crews check for dead birds daily in season. The city posts no set hours, pavilion or dog rule, so confirm those with the recreation department at 801-614-0780 before you plan around them.