HIKING HAPPENINGS - July 2024

It’s cool, inviting, and shady. Even in July. Old City Park is southeast of Moab and can be a refreshing break from the crowds and heat. Called by some a “crown jewel” and an “ecological diamond,” this park is the largest of Moab’s greenspaces at 21 acres. Swanny City Park is seven acres and sits partly on Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Swanny Kerby’s old ranch where he raised bulls and horses. Moab Rotary Park is a leafy three acres running along Mill Creek.

Old City Park was built around Westwood Spring, likely named after the family of Richard Westwood (1863–1929), a drover, farmer, ferryman, and Grand County’s first sheriff. The spring became the main water source for Moab, and the land, bought for $1,000 in 1934, was made into a park with help from several civic groups. Old City’s pond now provides habitat for migrating and local ducks and geese. One infamous resident of 20 years is Mr. Christmas, a grey-and-white gander, with a big, rusty-gate-swinging-open voice and handsome orange eye rings. Lefty, a black duck with a green head, swims with other yet unnamed mallard duck families. Now that the city has removed voracious, invasive carp, the pond is also a nursery for roundtail chub, native to the Colorado River drainage basin, which could eventually be reintroduced into the Dolores River from which they were taken as stock. Another pond resident is a wood duck family, of whom the drake’s flamboyant markings and colors may be familiar to some as the logo of Homewood Suites.

To get to the park, follow Mill Creek Drive from Sand Flats Road, turn left (east) onto Murphy Lane until the intersection of Highland Drive and Old City Park Drive, then turn right (south). You’ll see the park on your left, the gravel parking area on your right. An alternative route is to head south on Main Street/Highway 191, turn left (north) onto Spanish Trail Drive, and, at the roundabout, go left (west) onto Murphy Lane. After half a mile, go left at Old City Park Road to the westside parking area.

On a quiet summer morning, I stroll throughout the acres of well-groomed grass. With a group of artist friends, I once did a pastel sketch in this park, focusing on the lovely shadows cast by the many trees. A popular venue for festivals, weddings, concerts, birthday parties, and other events, the gazebo stage also offers a platform for music and speeches. On this particular morning, a group of teenagers plays volleyball, and a family with a toddler enjoys the large, canvas-shaded playground structure found on the upper level of the park above the horseshoe pits.

On its north side, this park also features a disc golf course, which uses specialized Frisbees. The course’s teeing areas and chain-and-basket targets are linked together by a sandy path above the park’s east side through junipers bursting with berry-like seed cones, sage and Mormon tea, and great, sprawling clumps of Gambel oak. After confirming no actual games were in progress, I hike the course, examine the targets, concrete tee pads, and benches, astonished by the wild feel looking west out on Old City’s leafy canopies. The area surrounding Tee #17 is particularly lush.

I’ve earned myself a calming rest at the waterfall pool, then a sit-down with my nature journal in a covered pavilion, one of several sitting areas, including a sandy amphitheater with stone benches and a firepit. Munching on my almonds and apple slices, I marvel at this verdant respite from summer’s heat, so close to town, yet far away in feel. The rich, grassy smells, cheery whistles of robins and honking geese, burbles of the waterfall, and cooling patches of shade remind me of the ecological variety even within a desert red rock destination like Moab.