Cache County panel recommends funding for 2-mile Bonneville Shoreline Trail segment

The Cache County Open Space Advisory Committee on March 3 voted unanimously to recommend that the County Council fund a roughly 2-mile segment of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail between Hyde Park and Smithfield.

Committee members said the application scored highly in the panel’s evaluation and benefits from a $570,000 construction commitment from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation; the county’s contribution was listed in the application as an estimated $27,000 for easement funding and related county-level costs. “It’s rapidly becoming one of the primary regional trail systems in the Inner Mountain West,” said Brandon, a county trails staff member who presented the application. He told the committee the project links existing trail sections and fills a key gap between Dry Canyon and Hyde Park.

The committee’s recommendation comes after members discussed two proposed alignments on separate landowner parcels and potential seasonal closures requested by a property owner who manages wildlife access. County staff recommended building both alignments to provide year-round access in the event one alignment is seasonally closed. “So, yeah, it makes sense to us just to build both and get that double coverage,” said Landis of the county trails team.

Why it matters: the Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a regional network that county speakers described as a priority for recreation, emergency access and long-distance connectivity; committee members said the state funding window and strong local support made this segment a timely candidate for county bond funds. Committee members reported a combined score of 88.7 (out of 100) on the scoring rubric used for applications.

Key details: the application covers two short segments east of Smithfield, with small portions inside Hyde Park city limits and the majority on county or private land east of Smithfield; construction funding for the segment is from the state grant, while the county’s contribution is primarily for acquiring easements. Staff said preliminary design work includes small trailheads or access points where roads cross the trail and that those potential trailheads were included in the grant budget. North Logan City’s community development director, Scott Perks, submitted a letter of support and staff said Mayor Mary Peterson also supports the project.

The committee voted to recommend the project to the County Council and asked staff to treat the recommendation as a Phase 1 approval, with final funding conditioned on completion of legal documents and any required easements. Committee members discussed whether the recommendation should explicitly separate Phase 1 (recommendation) and Phase 2 (funding trigger), and staff said they would return to the committee if additional approvals or documentation were required before funds could be recorded.

Concerns and conditions: members pressed staff on seasonal closures, trailhead access and whether municipal partners would contribute funding; several members said they scored the application lower on the “municipality contribution” category to leave room for local partners to add funding later. Staff noted that this segment’s construction funding is primarily state-sourced and therefore the county contribution is relatively small.

Other notes: committee members suggested naming the segment in memory of a local trail advocate, Paul Gibbons, and discussed the wider vision to connect the BST from Nephi to the Idaho border. The committee’s motion was made and seconded; the committee announced the vote as unanimous with no oppositions or abstentions.

Next steps: staff will forward the recommendation and application materials to the County Council and will return to the committee if additional legal or appraisal steps are required prior to final funding and recording of easements.