Walk or ride Corner Canyon
Corner Canyon, southeast Draper · Free · Spring through autumn, some trails year round
Most trail systems this size belong to a national forest or a county. This one belongs to the city, which bought roughly 1,100 acres of canyon and foothill and has been building tread on it ever since. That ownership is the whole reason the network is as extensive, as well signed and as actively managed as it is, and it is also why the rules here are municipal rules with municipal penalties rather than federal guidance.
The system carries everything from a graded family walk to a machine built descent with a statewide reputation, and it climbs from the valley floor onto the Traverse ridge. It also carries the strictest dog rule in the valley and a Class 1 only e-bike rule, both of which catch visitors out. The canyon page takes the trailheads, the one way trails and the rules in full.
The parking is the constraint, not the terrain
Every principal trailhead here is a modest lot at the end of a residential street, and on a fine Saturday morning in spring or autumn they are gone by mid morning. The trailheads at Orson Smith, Ghost Falls, Coyote Hollow, Potato Hill and the equestrian centre on Highland Drive all fill in that pattern. Arriving early is the entire strategy, and a second choice of trailhead in your pocket is worth more than any amount of route planning.
Several of the best known trails run one way only
Clark's Trail has been one way uphill since 2014 and the upper Corner Canyon Trail is the same. Rush, the flow descent that put this canyon on the map, is downhill only from the Peak View trailhead. The system carries six directional descents in total. Riding one of them the wrong way is not a technicality here; it is a head on closing speed problem on a blind machine built corner, and it is the single most common visitor error.
The details
Getting there
The usual approaches are Highland Drive east to the equestrian centre or on up to Orson Smith, Traverse Mountain Road for Potato Hill, and Suncrest Drive for the high trailheads. Corner Canyon Road itself is closed to motor vehicles.
Before you go
- Dogs are barred above the bench line. Check the boundary before you load the car.
- Class 1 e-bikes only. Throttle machines and electric motorcycles are prohibited.
- Know which trails are one way, and which direction, before you set off.
- Trailhead lots fill early on fine weekends in both shoulder seasons.
- Check the city's own trail conditions page after rain or a thaw before riding.
Take the aquarium slowly, including the half that opened this year
12033 S Lone Peak Parkway · Ticketed · Indoor, all year
The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium has been the biggest single draw in this city since it moved to Draper in 2014, and in February 2026 it stopped being the building people remember. The Sam and Aline Skaggs Science Learning Center opened on 20 February at 120,000 square feet, which roughly doubles the campus and puts the aquarium fifth largest in the nation. Any itinerary written before that date now covers about half of it.
What sits inside the new wing is a multi storey indoor cloud forest called Ford Expedition Asia, an events venue and an education hub with laboratories. The original building still holds the shark tunnel, the penguins and the South American gallery. The aquarium page takes the galleries one by one, the water volumes, and the enormous steel structure standing outside.
The thing in the car park was a U2 stage
EECO, the Ecosystem Exploration Craft and Observatory, is a 165 foot four legged steel structure that spent two years touring the world as the stage for U2's 360 degree tour across 110 shows. Roughly 200 tons of its steel were recycled into a permanent installation here, put up in the autumn of 2019 and opened with the surrounding plaza in 2020. People drive past it on the freeway for years without knowing what it is.
Monday evening is the quiet version
Published hours in August 2026 ran Tuesday to Sunday from ten in the morning to six at night, with Mondays open until eight and a reduced admission rate after five. Last entry is an hour before close. That Monday evening window is the least crowded time to walk a building that is now very large, and it is the one worth planning around if the point of the trip is looking rather than queueing. Confirm the current hours before you drive.
The details
Getting there
The building sits beside the interstate on Lone Peak Parkway and is visible from it. Parking is on site and free, and the tall steel structure in the plaza is the landmark to aim at.
Before you go
- Book ahead in school holiday weeks. Walk up is usually fine outside them.
- Budget more time than a pre 2026 guide suggests. The building is much bigger now.
- Monday evenings run later and cheaper. Confirm the current arrangement first.
- If a ticket says Mountain America Event Center, it means the aquarium, not The Point.
- The new wing is indoors and warm, which makes it the strongest bad weather option here.
Ride the jump lines at the Draper Cycle Park
1455 E Highland Drive · Free · Roughly March into November
At the mouth of Corner Canyon, beside the Andy Ballard Equestrian Center, there is a purpose built cycling park that costs nothing to use and was largely built by volunteers. It opened on 6 June 2015 and it carries four jump lines graded from beginner to expert, a dual pump track, a separate beginner pump track, a strider area for children on pedal-less bikes, a skills course, and a short course cyclocross venue with a custom flyover bridge and a run up staircase.
The park exists because a cycling association and the city each supplied what the other lacked: Draper contributed underused ground at the canyon mouth and the Draper Cycle Park Association raised and built. The whole thing cost under 100,000 dollars to opening day. The cycle park page has the build story, the features and the velodrome that is still a target.
Wet means closed, and that is not negotiable
Pump tracks and dirt jump lines are shaped surfaces, and riding them wet destroys them in a way that takes volunteers weeks to repair. The park closes its pumps and jumps when they are wet from rain or snowmelt, which in this valley means a real portion of the spring. The working season is roughly March into November and the honest answer after a storm is to go and ride the all weather trails in the canyon instead.
It is a progression park, so use it as one
The lines are graded green, blue, black and a pro double black, and they are nested deliberately so that a rider can move up one step at a time rather than jumping to something they cannot land. That structure is the point of the place and it is what makes it useful to a complete beginner as well as to somebody sessioning the top line. Start lower than you think, and watch a lap before you commit to a line you have not seen.
The details
Getting there
Head east on Highland Drive to the equestrian centre car park at the base of Corner Canyon. The cycle park lies immediately west of that car park, with the canyon trails leaving from the same ground.
Before you go
- Do not ride the pumps or jumps when they are wet. Damage takes volunteers weeks to fix.
- Full face and pads are normal on the upper lines and sensible on the middle ones.
- Weekday evenings are the busiest hours here, not weekend mornings.
- There is no hire on site, so bring the bike you intend to ride.
- It connects straight into the canyon trail system, so plan the two together.
Watch the paragliders work the ridge at the Point of the Mountain
Steep Mountain, north and south sides · Free to watch · Most flyable evenings
The same mountain gap that squeezes the freeway squeezes the airflow, and the result is ridge lift consistent enough that pilots travel internationally to train on it. On most flyable evenings the sky above the south end of this city carries paragliders and hang gliders in numbers that visitors find genuinely startling, and watching them costs nothing at all.
There are two flight parks and residents keep them straight: a Utah state recreation area dedicated to the sport on the south side, and a Salt Lake County park on the north side at 15300 South Steep Mountain Drive. Both date from the arrangement that preserved flying here. Tandem flights are sold by commercial operators if you want the view rather than the spectacle, and the launch sites are worth a visit even on a still evening for the view down two valleys.
Evening is the flying window, and the wind decides everything
This is a wind site, so the schedule is written by the weather rather than by an operator. Late afternoon and early evening are when the ridge usually works and when the launches are busiest, and a still day produces an empty hill. If the trip matters, look at the forecast for the ridge rather than for the valley, and be prepared to go a different evening.
Stand where you are meant to stand
Launch and landing zones are working areas with people committing to a decision at low altitude, and a spectator standing in the wrong place is a genuine hazard rather than an inconvenience. Both parks are laid out with viewing ground that keeps you clear of it. Use it, keep dogs and children close, and do not walk out onto a landing field to get a photograph.
The details
Getting there
The county park sits at 15300 South Steep Mountain Drive on the north side of the ridge; the state recreation area is on the south side. Both are signed and both have their own parking.
Before you go
- Go in the late afternoon or early evening. Mornings are usually empty.
- Check the wind rather than the general forecast before committing to a trip.
- Stay clear of launch and landing ground. These are working areas.
- The same wind rakes the freeway below, so allow for gusts on the drive.
- Take a layer. A ridge top at sunset is colder than the valley you left.
Spend a July week at Draper Days
Draper City Park and around the city · Mostly free · Nine days in July
Draper Days is the city's own celebration and it is unusually long: nine days in 2026, running from 10 to 18 July, spread across the city rather than parked in one field. The shape is a rodeo, a 5K, sports tournaments, film nights, concerts and a parade, and most of the individual pieces cost nothing to attend.
The two anchors are at the end. Park activities ran on Friday 17 July from five to nine in the evening and on Saturday 18 July from noon to nine, with a drone show on the Friday evening and a fireworks show on the Saturday. The parade steps off at nine in the morning sharp on the Saturday, and sharp is the operative word: this is a parade that starts on time and the good kerbside is taken well before it does.
The drone show is the newer half and the better one to plan for
Running a drone display on the Friday and conventional fireworks on the Saturday gives the week two different closing nights rather than one, and the drone evening is generally the calmer of the two to attend with young children. Both are at the park. Take the current programme from draperutah.gov rather than a listing site, because a nine day civic calendar is exactly the kind of thing third party listings get half right.
Park once and walk, because the streets around the park fill
A city park hosting a nine day programme in the middle of July generates a parking problem that is entirely predictable and entirely avoidable. Residential streets around the park fill early on the concert and parade days. Arriving well before the advertised start and walking the last few minutes is the difference between an easy evening and a long circle, and it is worth doing on the parade morning above all.
The details
Getting there
The park is the centre of gravity and most of the headline events happen there. The parade runs on city streets on the closing Saturday morning, so check the published route before choosing where to stand.
Before you go
- Take the schedule from draperutah.gov. Listing sites drift on a programme this long.
- The parade starts at nine sharp. Kerbside positions go long before that.
- Drone show on the Friday, fireworks on the Saturday. They are different evenings.
- Park once and walk. Streets around the park fill on the concert nights.
- July here is hot into the evening. Water and shade matter more than they look.
Book a session at Cowabunga Bay
12047 Factory Outlet Drive · Ticketed · Summer only
The valley's south end water park sits on Factory Outlet Drive beside the freeway, and the single most important thing to understand about it is that it does not run one long day. It runs two sessions, a morning block from roughly half past ten to two and an afternoon block from roughly half past two to six, and a ticket buys one of them rather than the day.
That structure is the difference between a good visit and a frustrating one. Turning up at one in the afternoon expecting to stay until closing is the standard mistake. Parking is free and plentiful, reservations are no longer required, and season passes are sold in a standard and a plus tier, the second of which brings a guest. Confirm the current session times before you drive, because they move with the season and the weather.
The session model rewards the morning block
Both sessions cost the same and they are not the same product. The morning block starts on a park that has been cleaned overnight, with shorter queues and cooler ground underfoot, and it finishes before the hottest part of a Utah July afternoon. The afternoon block gets the heat and the crowd. If the choice is free, take the morning, and if it is not, know which one you have bought before you arrive.
Weather closes attractions individually, not the park
Severe weather can shut individual slides and towers for periods without the park closing, which means a thundery afternoon can leave you inside the gate with half the attractions unavailable. That is normal for an outdoor water park and it is worth knowing before you buy a session on a forecast that looks marginal. Hours are published as subject to change without notice.
The details
Getting there
The park sits on the outlet centre side of the freeway with its own free car park. Follow the signs from the interchange rather than a residential approach.
Before you go
- Buy the right session. Morning and afternoon are separate tickets.
- Confirm current session times. They move with the season.
- Parking is free, which is not true of every water park in the state.
- Severe weather closes individual attractions without closing the park.
- The pass with a guest option is the sensible buy if you will come back.
Take an evening at Boondocks
75 E Southfork Drive · Pay per attraction · All year
Eight acres beside the freeway carrying sixteen bowling lanes, two go-kart circuits, a 38 foot ropes course with a zip line, two 18 hole miniature golf courses, bumper boats, multi level laser tag, an immersive dark ride and an arcade of well over a hundred games. It is an unusual roster for a city this size and it is the reliable wet weather answer at the south end of the valley.
The go-karts run a road track and a rookie track, so there is a version for drivers too small for the fast circuit, and the ropes course is the outdoor piece that people underestimate at 38 feet. Attractions are bought individually or on a bundle, and the arithmetic changes sharply depending on which you pick, so decide what you are actually going to do before you reach the desk.
Decide the plan before you buy the wristband
A venue with this many separate attractions prices them individually and also sells bundles, and the two do not cost the same for the same evening. A group that will genuinely ride everything is better on a bundle; a group that came to bowl and eat is not. Five minutes of honesty about what you will actually do saves a surprising amount, and it also prevents the trailing hour of people wandering an arcade because they paid for it.
The outdoor half is seasonal even though the venue is not
Bowling, laser tag and the arcade run all year. The bumper boats, the ropes course and the outdoor karting are weather dependent, and a January visit is a substantially different venue from a July one. If a specific attraction is the reason for the trip, ring ahead rather than assuming that an all year venue means all year attractions.
The details
Getting there
Southfork Drive runs off the frontage road on the west side of the interstate, and the site is signed from the interchange with its own parking.
Before you go
- Work out which attractions you want before buying. Bundles are not always cheaper.
- Outdoor attractions are seasonal and weather dependent. Ring ahead in winter.
- The rookie kart track exists for drivers too small for the road course.
- Weekend evenings are the busiest, and the karts queue hardest.
- It is the strongest wet weather option at this end of the valley besides the aquarium.
Ride the Porter Rockwell Trail across the flat side of the city
West and central Draper · Free · Year round
Not everything in this city climbs. The Porter Rockwell Trail is a paved rail trail running across the western and central part of Draper, connecting on into Sandy at one end and running south toward Bluffdale at the other. It is commute grade tarmac rather than singletrack, which makes it the piece of Draper's trail network that works with a pushchair, a road bike, a scooter or a set of skates.
It passes Galena Hills Park, which carries a paved loop of its own, and it links the residential middle of the city to the western edge without touching a canyon or a car park queue. At the western boundary the valley wide parkway takes over, which is a county subject rather than a Draper one and lives on the Jordan River Parkway page.
It is the answer when the canyon lots are full
On the mornings when every trailhead above Highland Drive is parked out, this is the trail that still has room, because it is linear, it has multiple access points and nobody drives to it. That makes it worth knowing about as a fallback rather than only as a destination. It is also the flattest sustained riding in a city that is otherwise defined by gradient.
Paved does not mean uninteresting
A rail trail follows a grade laid down for a railway, which means long consistent angles and a route through parts of the city that roads do not take. It is genuinely useful as transport as well as recreation, connecting neighbourhoods and parks on the flat side of Draper, and it carries a steady stream of people using it to get somewhere rather than to exercise.
The details
Getting there
The trail is picked up from several city streets and from Galena Hills Park. It continues into Sandy to the north and toward Bluffdale to the south, so plan it as a corridor rather than a loop.
Before you go
- Multiple access points mean you can start anywhere. Park at a city park, not a trailhead.
- It is paved and open all year, which is not true of the canyon jump lines.
- It links north into Sandy and south toward Bluffdale for a longer ride.
- The valley wide parkway on the western boundary is a county subject, not a Draper one.
- Good option when every canyon trailhead is full, which is most fine weekends.
Two halves of one city
The half that climbs, and the half beside the freeway.
Draper splits cleanly for a visitor. East of Highland Drive it is foothill and canyon, city owned, free, rule bound and weather dependent. West of the interstate it is ticketed venues with car parks. Both halves are worth a day and they ask completely different things of you.
| The eastern half | The western half | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Nothing, with no fee station and no permit anywhere in the canyon | Ticketed, by session, attraction or admission |
| Who runs it | The City of Draper, on ground it bought and owns | Private venues, plus one state land authority |
| Best season | Spring and autumn for the trails, summer for the jump lines | All year indoors, summer only for the water park |
| Dogs | Barred above the bench line; leashed only below it | Venue rules, which generally means no |
| Parking | Small trailhead lots that fill by mid morning at weekends | Large free car parks that rarely fill |
| What is changing | Enforcement questions about electric motorcycles | A 104 acre district under construction since June 2026 |
Neither half is the better one. The eastern half is why people who live here talk about the city the way they do, and the western half is why people who do not live here drive to it. A visitor with one day should split it. A household weighing an address should walk both, and should walk the eastern half on a Saturday morning.
Before you go
What to sort first, because three of these carry a rule.
None of this is difficult and all of it is cheaper to deal with at the kitchen table than at a ticket desk or a locked gate. The canyon entries carry the rules, so they are where the five minutes of homework belongs.
Sort before you drive
- Whether the dog is coming, because the upper canyon trails are closed to dogs outright
- Which class of e-bike you are riding, because only Class 1 is legal on those trails
- Which trails are one way and in which direction, before you commit to a descent
- Which session you want at the water park, because a ticket buys a block rather than a day
- A second choice of trailhead, because the good lots are gone by mid morning at weekends
Check on the day
- Trail conditions on the city's own page, because wet dirt jumps are closed dirt jumps
- The wind at the ridge rather than in the valley, if the paragliders are the plan
- Current aquarium hours, which have a longer Monday and a reduced evening rate
- The Draper Days programme at draperutah.gov, because a nine day calendar drifts on listing sites
- Whether the outdoor attractions are running, if the entertainment venue is the destination
Turn up and it is fine
- The Draper Cycle Park, which is free, ungated and needs nothing arranged
- The Porter Rockwell Trail, which is paved, linear and never full
- Watching the ridge on a flyable evening, which costs nothing at either flight park
- The all weather trails in the canyon, when everything else is too wet to ride
The dog rule here is the one that catches people, and it is enforceable. Draper City bars dogs from the Corner Canyon watershed because that watershed is the city's drinking water source, and the ordinance makes a breach a class B misdemeanour rather than a fine on a sign. Leashed dogs are legal on the bench trail and below it, and on the Potato Hill Trail and below it to the Ann's Trail junction. Above that line, no dog, on or off a lead. There are designated off leash parks in the city instead, and the canyon page names them.
What this list leaves out, and why
- The Point. It is the most important thing happening in this city and it is a construction site rather than an outing, so it sits on its own page here rather than in a list of things you can go and do this weekend.
- The route along the old lake shoreline. It runs through six cities in this county and belongs to all of them at once, so the county page carries it and this companion does not compete with it.
- The Cottonwood canyons and their four resorts. They are within reach of this city and they are shared by eighteen of them, so the county pages cover the canyons and the winter road rules better than a summary here would.
- The valley wide parkway on the western boundary. Same reasoning: eight cities touch it, and it has a county page that treats it end to end.
- The shopping, which is a genuine draw at this end of the valley and includes the only IKEA in Utah. It is covered on the city guide, where the retail corridors belong.
