The Four Bay recreational area in Payson Canyon is getting a parking lot in the coming months, and according to trail system creator, Carey Pierce, it’s been a long time in the making.
“It was two or three years ago when I ran into Mayor Wright and told him about my idea of a parking lot, and it’s really great to see it happening,” Pierce said.
“Four Bay is becoming a place for those who want to experience the outdoors in Payson Canyon, and putting in this parking lot will improve the experience,”
One of those improvements will be safety.
“Right now, there isn’t really a safe access point to the Four Bay area,” Pierce said. “Those who park on the lower access point have been parking at the pipeline corral on the west side, and then have to cross over the road to get to the trails.
“Those who start on the upper part, have to park on the east side in the scout parking lot, and cross over the road to access those trails. Having this parking lot will allow access to the main portion of the trails down low, especially for children who ride the simpler trails like the Ezra trail.”
The new parking is funded in part by a Utah outdoor and recreation grant Payson City was able to receive.
The parking lot will go just north of the three mile marker near the cattle guard on the east side of Payson Canyon Road.
Right now, the lot will have space for about 20 cars, with the potential to grow. According to Payson City Recreation Director, Karl Teemont, the parking lot is something that he hopes will improve user experience.
“Four Bay is a great thing for our community,” Teemont said. “People come from all over to bike, hike, run, snow shoe, and just to experience the outdoors. The parking lot is something that is needed to make the experience better, improving safety and giving ease of access to the wonderful trails there are out there.
“The plan right now is to have the lot, a restroom and a bridge going over the river, accessing the trails on the east side.”
The Four Bay trail system has nearly 10 miles of single track that have seen increased traffic over the past year. According to Pierce, the parking lot could not be coming at a better time.
“Four Bay has been growing steadily over the years, but with the pandemic, a lot more people have been outside recreating. We also have a lot more high school teams using the area. With all of this, I’d say that we’ve seen a 5-10 year growth in use just over the past year.”
Pierce said that he is happy with the growth and increased use of the area so people can see what the canyon has to offer. (Brown is a Serve Daily contributor.)
