At the 18th Avenue Trailhead, the Water Tank Comes First

The old trailhead at the top of 18th Avenue was an ungraded dirt lot. It held 10 to 12 unmarked cars beside a vehicle gate that Public Utilities crews used to reach the reservoir. The rebuilt version at 925 Hilltop Road has paved parking for 22 marked spaces, including one ADA space. It also adds rope-and-timber fencing between the lot and the open space, plus a welcome plaza with an information kiosk and bike racks.

The Greater Avenues Community Council's November newsletter says the lot and trailhead will open this month. Better parking is only part of what's coming back. The trailhead was built as part of a water project, and that project decides which pieces open first, which ones wait, and where the trails start.

A Trailhead Built on a Reservoir Parcel

Salt Lake City Public Utilities is replacing the North Bench Pump Station, a facility more than 60 years old that supplies drinking water to residents north of downtown. The new station sits just north of the Morris Reservoir, at roughly 18th Avenue and Hilltop Road. That is the same corner where hikers and riders have parked for years.

The city's Public Lands Department had first listed 18th Avenue with its other major foothill trailhead upgrades. It postponed the work once the pump station project was scheduled for the same site. The two departments then combined the jobs so the site would be disrupted once instead of twice, which also cut the cost of the trailhead work. Construction began in mid-September 2025.

Even the lot's location was set by the water system. According to the city's project page for the trailhead, the parcel holds a water storage tank and underground pipes. The planners considered refurbishing the old dirt footprint, moving the lot to a larger area of the same parcel, or moving it to the Public Utilities parcel at 681 18th Avenue. The final site was chosen to protect the existing water infrastructure first and improve recreational access second.

Public Lands describes this as the highest-elevation trailhead in the city with its own off-street parking and amenities, at 5,175 feet.

What Opens Now and What Waits for the Pump Station

The water project also explains why some of the new amenities will arrive in stages. Two of them carry a note on the city's design list: "pending Public Utilities approval." The council newsletter adds a few details about this fall.

The fountain will stay off at least until the station starts running. Bring your own water, and water for your dog, on the first few trips up. The newsletter also says areas disturbed by construction will be fenced off while they recover. That is part of a restoration plan Public Utilities and Public Lands wrote together for the pump station site and the Meadow Trail realignment. Questions about the project go to the Public Utilities line at 855-925-2801.

Finding Your Trail From the New Lot

The realigned Meadow Trail is the main route into the Foothills from the new lot. Hikers who prefer the old singletrack dirt trail, and anyone heading to the I Street Bike Park, can turn left about 100 yards past the trailhead.

From there, the city's own list of connections is a long one. The trailhead leads to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, the Meadow Trail, the I Street Bike Park, other upper Avenues trails, and several user-created paths. Two routes on the city's East City Creek and Upper Avenues trail routes page start or end here:

1. 19th Ave via 18th Ave or Terrace Hills. A ride that starts at Bonneville Boulevard, 18th Avenue or Terrace Hills, climbs on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and comes back down 19th Avenue on downhill-only singletrack.
2. Avenues Ridge and BST Valleyview loop. A hike on moderate grades that follows the full Avenues Ridge Trail, then takes a connector trail back to the 18th Avenue trailhead.

With the east entrance at 683 18th Ave. closed, anyone starting from 18th Avenue begins at the paved lot on Hilltop Road for now.

I Street Drops In Behind the Same Water Tank

The I Street Bike Park shows how closely the recreation and the water system share this hillside. Its main drop-in area is behind the water tank, across from the 18th Avenue trailhead. Volunteers lead and maintain the park. Salt Lake City Public Utilities, the Public Lands Department and a group of volunteer stewards manage it together.

The city's page lists I Street as open. You can get there from the 18th Avenue trailhead, from the uphill-only BST East bike trail on the park's east side, or from BST Valleyview. The park is open sunrise to sunset. It is for pedal bikes only, so e-bikes and other motorized or throttled devices are not allowed. Riders are asked to stay off the park when it's muddy.

A Fresh Trail Surface Opening in Mud Season

The trailhead's new pieces open in November. The city says the Foothills' mud seasons usually come in spring and late fall. A newly resurfaced Meadow Trail and freshly restored construction areas are coming back at the time of year when trails are easiest to damage.

On its muddy conditions page, Public Lands explains the problem. Every footprint, wheel rut and paw print can harden into a shallow hole. Those holes collect water or send it off the trail, and the result is erosion that undoes the drainage built into the trail. The city recommends the following:

• Walk or ride straight through a short puddle instead of going around it. Going around widens the trail and kills the plants along its edges.
• When a trail is muddy, pick another route. South-facing trails get more sun and are more likely to be dry than north-facing ones.
• Check the city's Foothills trail conditions page before heading out.

The same page notes that Foothills trails are durable in summer and can stay dry through winter in low-snow years.

The city's Be W.I.L.D. campaign stands for Welcoming, Inclusive, Limit Your Impact, and Do What You Can. The new trailhead has a station built around it. The campaign asks trail users to think about the effects of feet, wheels and paws, and to pack out whatever they bring in. The Foothills are an on-leash area. Dogs need to stay leashed and on designated trails, and their waste gets packed out. The city's wildlife awareness tips also suggest avoiding dawn and dusk, especially in winter, and keeping dogs close and leashed. November days are short, so the dusk advice affects a lot of after-work walks.

Upper Avenues trail users have one more pending water project to know about. Salt Lake City Public Utilities plans wildfire mitigation in City Creek Canyon starting in 2027, with fuel breaks on parts of the south ridge and a shaded fuel break along the canyon road. That project is meant to protect a drinking water source.

Lori and Lisa Sell Team has spent decades on Salt Lake City's east side, and we know how much a good trailhead matters to the streets around it. If you own a home near Hilltop Road or along the upper Avenues and want to know how this corner of the Foothills fits into your home's value, we'll put together a free home valuation for you.