Salt Lake City has over 100 public parks, with the official city website listing various types… like regional, community, neighborhood, and mini-(or pocket) parks, totaling around 100+ green spaces. The city manages different park sizes, from large ones like Liberty Park (80 acres) to smaller neighborhood spots, and includes many amenities like playgrounds, fields, and trails.

The oldest park is of course, Liberty Park, created in 1881 when the City bought the land from Brigham Young’s estate for $27,000. In the early 1900’s the ‘City Beautiful’ movement emerged which called for “well-planned urban spaces that could improve the civic and moral character of their residents”. In the early 1900’s greenhouses were added to grow plants for the park, and then came the zoo, tennis courts, picnic areas, etc. The Chase Mill located in the middle of the park was given to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers as a ‘Relic Hall’ and in the 30’s the Aviary was build in the original Zoo area, followed then by a swimming pool, bathhouses and tennis courts on the west side of the park.

The biggest park in the City is Sugarhouse Park, which has massive history as a beet sugar processing plant, a state prison, with Highland High being built at the east part of the land, and now a popular green space for humans, dogs and ducks.

The City just completed an upgrade to the old Raging Waters/ Seven Peaks water park at 1375 W. 1700 South. The beloved 17-acres waterpark in the Glendale neighborhood was famous for having the first wave pool in the state (the ‘Wild Wave’), and was only the third such pool in the country.  There were water slides for littles and adults and picnic areas. In the summer they showed movies on a big outdoor screen where you could float and watch Jaws with your friends and family. It closed due to competition, broken equipment and vandalism in 2018. The cost to replace the pools and slides was $20mil but the City reached out to neighbors and found out that folks wanted a safe and welcoming gathering space, providing access to nature, recreational opportunities, improvement of natural resources, and connection the Jordan River to neighboring parks.

Phase One is officially open and offers an all abilities playground, basketball courts for kids and adults, walking paths, shaded canopies, a native wetland, open lawns, a food truck promenade for community events and 12 pickleball courts. This first phase meets the Sustainable SITES Initiative and is the first in the state to receive the designation of Gold. Further development plans for a skating ribbon and rink, public art, sledding hills, interactive water features, a skatepark, pump track, event stage, boardwalks and a kayak/canoe launching area. The second phase will be complete in 2028, but drive by now…it’s already a popular place for Glendale folks and the rest of us to play!