When: June 3 to June 10, 21 2001 (seven nights)
Where:  Salt Lake City KOA
Cost: $66.47/night for full hook-ups (includes taxes, fees, and a 10% KOA discount)
Biking:  Jordan River Parkway
Bucket Lists:  International Peace Garden

Salt Lake City KOA – Location, Location, Location!

I’ve never been a huge fan of KOA campgrounds.   The nationwide corporatization of campgrounds just inherently rubs me the wrong way.  Plus, KOAs usually contain lots of amenities (like a pool, playground, etc) that we don’t use.   Lastly, the KOA RV parks also tend to be somewhat pricey. 

Our experience with KOA in Salt Lake made me re-think my stance a little.   Of the amenities, we used the laundry and the fenced dog park.   The laundry facility may not necessarily be a part of the KOA corporate machine, but regardless, it was convenient, and also contained numerous commercial washers/dryers that made doing laundry very quick and easy.   The dog park included a dog wash station, which I had never seen at an RV park before.  Although we didn’t use the dog wash, we spent several evenings and mornings on the artificial plastic-like turf in the dog park.  The dog park was well used by us and several others, and I was baffled as to why it didn’t smell bad since the turf didn’t look like it could absorb much.  I’m curious to know how a dog park like this is cleaned, as well as how often.   If you know, please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

The KOA’s sites were fairly cramped, but they still accommodated some very big motorhomes.   We saw several Super Cs, as well as several Newmars and Tiffins.  Our section of the park was interesting because our RV was oriented so that our door/awning side directly faced the door/awning side of our neighbor’s RV.   For camping with friends, that is a great layout, and I wish that other campgrounds had that sort of orientation as an option. 

The best part about the Salt Lake KOA is the location.   The KOA is right next to the Jordan River Parkway, a 45-mile, multiple use trail that traverses the city from north to south.   That was our main motivation in choosing to stay at the KOA.   We loved being able to hop on our bikes and easily get on the trail about a ½ block away.   The KOA is also right across from the Power Station, which is served by the Green Line of the Utah Transit Authority TRAX (light rail) system.  We bought a $5/person day pass on the days that we wanted to explore Temple Square and downtown Salt Lake.   The light rail was also nice on days when we knew we were going to multiple breweries and didn’t want to drive. 

The main downside to the KOA location was that the general area contained a large homeless population.  Given that I had just experienced a pretty bad bike wreck in Colorado Springs the week before because a homeless person had blocked the trail, that made me a little nervous that something similar might happen.   We saw a few encampments along the Jordan River Parkway, as well as dozens of tents and makeshift shelters in a few abandoned parking lots within just a few blocks from the KOA.   We also observed what we presumed were several folks riding the train simply to cool off.   If you aren’t comfortable with that sort of thing, then the Salt Lake KOA probably isn’t for you.      

International Peace Gardens – Diversity in Salt Lake City

During our bike ride on the Jordan River Parkway, we exited the trail to visit the International Peace Gardens.  Local groups having ties to various countries are allotted plots to create a garden typical of the homeland.  It is a true testament to the diversity of the area.  The countries represented have changed over the park’s lifetime (which was dedicated in 1952), and the website indicates that there are 26 countries currently represented.     I didn’t capture videos/photos of all of the countries, but hopefully you’ll get the idea if you watch the video.  I absolutely fell in love with this park, and would put it near the top of my list of the things we did while in Salt Lake.  

The area’s emphasis on diversity was one thing that was completely unexpected to me about Salt Lake.   Before my visit, I thought that the Mormon religion dominated the culture and politics of the region such that it would be quite homogeneously conservative.   Yet, while there is a Mormon influence, different views and cultures seem to be encouraged.   Another example of this was the prevalence of rainbow flags throughout much of the city during our stay.   June is LGBT Pride month, and the we saw dozens of stores, restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, and other venues celebrating.   A few of the breweries had even concocted special LGBT beers.  Some had rainbow-themed labels; another beer was brewed with some sort of glitter.  It was nice to see such a thriving gay community in the middle of Utah!    

Donut Falls (near Salt Lake City)

Who doesn’t like donuts?   We were immediately interested in hiking to Donut Falls simply because of its name.  

There are two things you should know about Donut Falls when planning your visit: (1) parking is very limited at the trailhead and (2) the place is busy.   So, the answer to the question “Who Doesn’t Like Donuts?” is apparently “no one” because everyone in the area seems to like this place. 

We made the mistake of trying to go to the falls on a Saturday morning.   We went early, but there were already cars lining the 0.8 miles of road between Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (Highway 190) and the trailhead.  There are around 20 parking spots at the trailhead, and we were one of the few lucky folks to snag one.  Many people parked at the larger parking on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (adding roughly another 1.6 miles the overall hike), but it was also filling up by the time we left.

The hike to the waterfall is about 1.5 miles round-trip.  It’s a fairly easy, well-marked hike, and we saw lots of families and people of all ages doing the hike.  It was so busy that it was quite difficult to take any photos or video without people.

The donut itself did not disappoint because it is such an unusual waterfall.  Many people go down on some slippery rocks to get a view of the waterfall from below, and some braver ones continue to climb the wet rocks so that they are much closer to the falls. We were not so brave, and only did the former.  Neither one of us were wearing the right kind of shoes to be doing much more than that.  After exiting the slick rocks, we found a dry path that keeps going upward that is not very well traveled or marked.  We took that and were able to view and hear the waterfall from above, which was my favorite part.  

I completely understand why Donut Falls is so popular.  I think I’d like to go back and hike it on an early weekday morning.