The river South Jordan
The city's own reach, and why almost nobody here has walked it
The Jordan River through South Jordan, pond by pond
South Jordan takes its name from this river and then puts almost all of its people fifteen minutes away from it. The reach runs along the city's eastern edge, from about 10600 South to 11400 South, on flat paved trail that ducks under one road and crosses a footbridge at the other end. On it sit three stocked ponds, which is a combination no other city on this river offers. Here is the reach, the ponds, the crossings, and the reason it stays quiet.
By Scott Buehler, Moving Utah
Updated October 2026
The short answer
South Jordan's stretch of the Jordan River Parkway runs along the city's eastern edge, from about 10600 South to 11400 South, with the trail continuing down the west bank as far as 11800 South. The part you want is Riverfront Park, near 11200 South off River Front Parkway, where three stocked ponds sit directly on a flat, paved trail about 1.6 miles long. It stays quiet because most of South Jordan lives fifteen minutes to the west, so a genuinely well equipped riverbank goes largely unused. Bring a Utah fishing license if the ponds are the point, use River Front Parkway as your approach, and check the park's posted hours, because pond access ends when the park closes.
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The river is on the far side of the city from almost everybody
South Jordan takes its name from the Jordan River and then spends almost none of its time near it. The river forms the entire eastern boundary of the city, and the western half of the population, which is most of it, sits a good fifteen minute drive away across Bangerter Highway and through the older grid. Almost nobody who lives in the newer villages has been down here, and that is the single most useful thing to know about this reach.
The city's own published section runs from 10600 South to 11400 South, plus the west bank of the river down as far as 11800 South. Along that stretch the trail runs on the east bank for about 1.6 miles, ducks under 10600 South rather than crossing it at grade, and reaches a footbridge just above 11400 South where it crosses to the west side. It is a short reach by the standards of this river, and it is unusually well equipped for its length.
What makes it worth the crossing is the water beside the water. Riverfront Park, near 11200 South just east of River Front Parkway, holds three stocked ponds sitting directly on the trail. No other city on this river has three of them side by side. That is South Jordan's real contribution to a very long trail, and it turns what would be a twenty minute stop into a legitimate morning. The whole system, all the way up and down the valley, belongs to the guide to the parkway as one river; this page stops at the South Jordan city line in both directions.
The ponds
Three of them, side by side, all stocked
Plenty of cities on this river have a pond. Having three of them next to each other, stocked, on the trail and with parking attached is a South Jordan peculiarity, and the redundancy is the actual amenity: if one is busy on a Saturday, the next is a short walk away. They are Midas, the northernmost and roughly circular and the one most people mean when they say the South Jordan ponds, plus Kidney and Riverfront alongside it, all inside the Riverfront Park complex.
The two fish daily limit is the rule most often got wrong, because it is tighter than the general state limit, and it applies precisely because these are community waters stocked for heavy local use rather than a wild fishery. The request to release largemouth bass is voluntary rather than a citation matter, and it exists for the obvious reason: a bass population in a small pond takes years to build and an afternoon to remove. The ponds are only open while the park itself is open, which matters more in winter than in summer and is worth checking rather than assuming.
They also sit directly on the paved parkway, so a fishing morning and a flat walk are the same trip rather than two, which is not true of most fishing water in this county. For anybody comparing this with the other water in the city, the difference is about access rather than quality: these ponds are open to anybody with a license, while the lake at the western end is public around its ring but limited on the surface to residents and their accompanied guests.
Riverfront Park, the fishing ponds
The route
An underpass at one end and a footbridge at the other
The shape of this reach comes down to two structures. At the north end the trail passes beneath 10600 South rather than crossing it at grade, which on a road that size is the difference between a continuous ride and a wait at a signal with a bicycle. At the south end, just above 11400 South, a footbridge takes the trail across to the west bank, and from there the published section continues down the western side to 11800 South.
Between them the trail runs roughly 1.6 miles along the east bank. That is short by the standards of a long river trail, and it makes a nicely judged out and back: a little over three miles round trip from the ponds to the underpass and back, on flat paved surface, which is a genuine hour rather than a token one. Continue in either direction and you leave the city, which is where the county's own material takes over.
The access parks are Riverfront Park, near 11200 South just east of River Front Parkway, where the ponds and the main parking lot are, and East Riverfront Park a little north at about 10991 South Riverfront Parkway. River Front Parkway runs north to south along this side of the city and is the road you want; it is easy to end up on Jordan Gateway or on Interstate 15 instead, and both are annoying to correct.
Directions to East Riverfront Park
The trail posts hours, and in most sections they run from five in the morning to eleven at night. That is a wider window than most people use, and it makes an early summer start genuinely practical: the eastern side of this city gets sun on the water before the western half is awake, and the corridor is at its best in the first hour. It also means a late evening ride falls within the posted hours, provided you carry a light, which on an unlit riverbank after dark is not optional.
The reason it is quiet
Fifteen minutes of city sit between the river and the lake
This is the fact that separates South Jordan's reach from every other city on this river, and it is a geographical accident rather than a design decision. The river sits on the eastern boundary and Oquirrh Lake on the far western edge, with the whole width of the city in between.
| The eastern edge | The western end | |
|---|---|---|
| The water | A working river with three stocked ponds beside it | Oquirrh Lake, an engineered lake of about 67 acres with a 3.4 mile ring |
| Who may use it | Anybody, with a Utah license to fish | The ring is open to anybody; the surface is for residents and accompanied guests |
| How busy | Quiet on most days, including summer Saturdays | Busy on any pleasant morning |
| Getting there | River Front Parkway, near Interstate 15 and Jordan Gateway | Bangerter Highway west, or three Red Line platforms |
| What is nearby | Older grid, commercial frontage and a FrontRunner platform | Daybreak villages, the ballpark at America First Square, and a commercial district |
| The distance between them | About fifteen minutes of driving across the whole width of the city | The same fifteen minutes, in the other direction |
South Jordan has more than 35 city parks, two county parks, more than nine miles of trails, three fishing ponds and 250 acres of natural open space, most of it along the Jordan River corridor. That is a real commitment of ground on a side of the city that comparatively few of its residents use daily, and it is the reason this reach feels less programmed and more like a river than several stretches further north.
There is one more thing on this side of the city that no other reach on this river has in the same way. A FrontRunner platform sits at 10351 South Jordan Gateway, opened in December 2012 with the southern extension, which puts a commuter rail stop within reach of the riverbank. For anybody who wants to ride one direction on the trail and take the train back, or who commutes from this side of the city, that combination is worth knowing about.
And the honest limitation: this is an urban river running past commercial frontage and a freeway, not a wilderness corridor, and pretending otherwise would not survive your first mile. It is a good flat hour with three stocked ponds on it and a genuinely quiet feel, which is a specific and useful thing to have close to the middle of a city. The ranked list of things to do puts it fourth, and that is about right.
How to use it well
Three habits for a reach most of the city forgets
Start at Riverfront Park and treat the ponds as the anchor rather than the trail. Park once near 11200 South just east of River Front Parkway, walk the pond loop first, then go north on the parkway to the 10600 South underpass and come back. That is a shade over three miles round trip on flat paved surface with three pieces of water on it, and it is a better hour than the raw mileage suggests.
Go early, and go on a weekday if you can. This is the least busy good trail in South Jordan by a wide margin, for the simple reason that the population lives at the other end of the city. On a summer weekday morning you will have long stretches of it to yourself, which is not a sentence anybody can write about the ring around the lake.
And take a license if there is any chance of fishing, because the ponds are the reason to come and the requirement starts at age twelve. Two fish a day is the limit, largemouth bass are asked to be released, and the ponds are only open while the park is. Everything else about this reach is free, unbooked and available whenever the posted hours allow. What living on this side of the city rather than the other one actually involves is covered on the page about buying in a planned community.
Before you go
Quick answers
The reach, answered
It runs along the city's entire eastern edge. The published section goes from 10600 South to 11400 South, and the trail continues down the west bank as far as 11800 South. Along that stretch it runs about 1.6 miles on the east bank, passing beneath 10600 South at the north end and crossing to the west side on a footbridge just above 11400 South. River Front Parkway is the approach road you want.
At Riverfront Park, near 11200 South just east of River Front Parkway, where three stocked ponds sit directly on the trail: Midas, the northernmost and roughly circular, plus Kidney and Riverfront. They hold rainbow trout, channel catfish and largemouth bass. Utah community fishery rules apply, with a daily limit of two fish and a standing request that largemouth bass be released, and a Utah license is required from age twelve.
Midas, Kidney and Riverfront, all within the Riverfront Park complex near 11200 South. Midas is the northernmost and roughly circular, and it is the one most people mean when they refer to the South Jordan ponds. Having three stocked ponds next to each other, on the trail and with parking attached, is not something any other city along this river offers, and the point is the redundancy: if one is busy, the next is a short walk.
Yes. A valid Utah fishing license is required from age twelve, exactly as it is anywhere else in the state, and it is worth buying before you drive over. On top of that, these are community fisheries, so the daily limit is two fish rather than the general state limit, and anglers are asked to release largemouth bass rather than keep them. The ponds are only open while the park itself is open.
For a short, flat, uninterrupted ride, yes. The 1.6 mile east bank segment runs between an underpass at 10600 South and a footbridge just above 11400 South, so no major road crosses it at grade to break the rhythm, and the surface is paved throughout. It is a modest distance on its own, which is why most riders continue north or south out of the city. The county parkway page covers the through route.
Because of where the people are. The river forms the eastern boundary of a very wide city, and most of the population lives in the western half, a fifteen minute drive away across Bangerter Highway and through the older grid. The result is a well equipped reach with three stocked ponds on it that stays comparatively empty even on summer Saturdays, while the ring around the lake at the western end is busy on any pleasant morning.
Most sections post hours running from five in the morning until eleven at night, which is a wider window than most people use. That makes an early summer start genuinely practical here, since the eastern side of the city catches sun on the water first, and it means a late evening ride falls within the posted hours. Carry a light after dark, because the corridor is unlit.
Yes, and it is unusual. A FrontRunner commuter rail platform sits at 10351 South Jordan Gateway on this eastern side of the city, opened in December 2012 with the FrontRunner South extension. That puts a regional rail stop within reach of the riverbank, which opens up riding the trail one direction and taking the train back. The Red Line's three light rail platforms are all at the opposite, western end of the city.
South Jordan has more than 35 city parks, two county parks, more than nine miles of trails, three fishing ponds and 250 acres of natural open space, with most of that open space along the Jordan River corridor. That is a substantial commitment of ground on a side of the city that comparatively few of its residents use daily, and it is why this reach reads more like a river corridor than a landscaped strip.
A river most of this city has never actually walked
Three stocked ponds on a flat paved trail, close to the middle of the city and quiet on a Saturday, is a real amenity, and how a specific address sits relative to this corridor is not something a portal listing records. Send me the streets you are circling and I will connect you with a Salt Lake County partner agent who knows the eastern half of this city as well as the western one.
Or call Scott: (435) 357-4345or send Scott a message
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