Whenever I conquer a trail, I ride the whole thing, from end to end. Today I conquered the Denver & Rio Grande Western rail trail, riding its 23.5 miles from Hinckley Drive in Ogden to 400 North in West Bountiful. I rode to and from the trail for a total ride of 51.2 miles–my first time passing the 50-mile mark!
I rode as far as Gentile Street on May 29 (23 miles round trip) and hit Antelope Drive on June 5 (31 miles).
The trail is paved and features many street crossings through the towns of Roy, Clinton, Clearfield, Layton, Kaysville, Farmington, and Centerville. A few segments in Kaysville are tree-lined and shady, but most of the trail lies out in the open sunlight. The trail passes a pond in Clearfield and there is even one little meta moment when passing miniature trains at the S&S Shortline Train Park in Farmington. Trail signage is great.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad connected Denver with Salt Lake City in 1870. It ran the highest main line rail line in the U.S. at an elevation of 10, 240 ft. in Tennessee Pass in Colorado. The railroad’s Rio Grande Zephyr was the last privately operated interstate passenger train in America (through 1983).
This segment of the rail line was converted to trail over many years and completed in 2013.
See trail details at AllTrails, Trail Link, Walk-Ride USA. More photos here.
Additions
- On May 14, 2022, I rode part of this trail during the Golden Spoke ride.
the Bikeswain 