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What you should know when biking with kids

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What you should know when biking with kids

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What you should know when biking with kids

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What you should know when biking with kids

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What you should know when biking with kids

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If you aren’t quite ready to tackle Hell’s Revenge on the slick-rock bike trails in Moab with your toddlers, but at the same time, you wouldn’t mind a little fresh air and a fun family bike ride, check out the following family-friendly places in Utah. With the weather staying cool for a while before the summer heat hits, now is the perfect time to take out your kids for a ride. Provo Canyon Trail. This trail is perfect for all ages and abilities. Start at Nunn’s Park, below Bridal Veil Falls, and bike up the canyon for two miles to Vivian Park. Stop, play, rest, have lunch, then bike back down to Nunn’s Park for a total of four miles. For a longer ride, plan to carpool and bike all the way downhill from Vivian Park to The Shops at Riverwoods – a scenic seven-mile ride.

Hobble Creek Canyon. Start at the Hobble Creek Golf Course parking lot and bike the paved path through a windy, hilly area and down the mouth of Hobble Creek Canyon into Springville for a four-mile, mostly downhill, bike.

Jordan River Parkway. This 7.5-mile, paved trail is great for beginners. For a nice 10-mile roundtrip ride, catch the trail at Main Street in Lehi (drive west through Lehi on Main Street until you see the trail about 100 yards east of the river, just after leaving town); or, catch the trail from Willow Park in Lehi (9800 W. 8470 North). Ride north to the Jordan Narrows turnaround and back, which takes you through the Thanksgiving Point golf course. There is a nice picnic area at Willow Park.

Bike around town. Weekends you’ll often find us biking to our local hamburger joint. We plan a bike ride somewhere each weekend. The kids love to be out in the open, and I need the endorphin release after a busy week. Bike, instead of drive, your way to the library, ball games, hamburger stops, or the park.

For more family-friendly, paved Utah biking trails and routes, see www.utahmountainbiking.com .