Utah County’s plan to enhance trails and public viewing areas around Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon is materializing thanks to the cooperation of the U.S. Forest Service.

The county, which owns Bridal Veil Falls and placed it under a conservation easement in 2020, has a $9 million budget to improve the area around the falls, but has been limited on what it can do because the federal government owns sections of the surrounding land.

However, multiple county officials told the Daily Herald the Forest Service has recently agreed to work with the county both on a proposed property exchange for land near the falls and on proposed projects currently located on Forest Service land.

“If we’re able to get permission to engage with this, then we can start working on it right away,” Utah County spokesperson Richard Piatt said. “Because Bridal Veil Falls is such a treasure, such a frequently visited asset to Utah County and such a popular destination that we consider the project a priority.”

The county seeks to take over 39 acres of land near the falls owned by the Forest Service so it can better maintain and improve the area. In exchange, the county has agreed to give 39 acres of land to the Forest Service farther up the mountain.

“The goal is that long term we will have that property under county control,” Utah County Public Works Director Richard Nielsen said. “So the whole Bridal Veil site is in one ownership, which would be the county, rather than have part of it owned by the county and part of it owned by the Forest Service.”

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

The improvement plan is mostly funded by the county’s TRCC account, along with some state money, and is budgeted into a three-year project. Construction on phase one will begin this summer, Nielson said, and involve work on county-owned land at the base of the falls on each side of the Provo River.

“We should be able to do pretty well all the work we need to do, either with permits from the Forest Service or with the land swap,” Nielson said.

The Utah County Commission will hold a public hearing June 11 to discuss the land swap and allow the public to voice their opinion.

Teaming up

Last year, the county reached out to the Forest Service for permission to build a bridge on Forest Service land a quarter mile north of the falls that would cross over the Provo River and divert bikers away from foot traffic by the falls.

Commissioner Skyler Beltran told the Daily Herald in February that the Forest Service declined the proposal.

The challenge to get anything approved prompted the county to pursue a land swap, offering up 78 acres in exchange for land near the falls.

Initially, the Forest Service said making any changes would require “an act of Congress,” according to County Administrator Ezra Nair. So the county began rallying the support of Utah politicians, including Rep. Mike Kennedy, and the Forest Service changed its tune.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

“Earlier this year, once that started gaining some traction, they basically came back to the table and said, ‘Hey we’ve been instructed to work with you guys now,'” Nair said.

Now, the Forest Service has agreed to let the county build the new bridge — even before the land swap goes into place.

“We’re still running a land swap as a backup/guarantee that things will go forward and then also for future maintenance,” Nair said. “It’ll just be easier for us to just be able to have complete authority to go and take care of anything that’s in this improved area, which will be a huge benefit. But yes, they are working with us, so we can just continue with this (bridge) construction. I don’t think there’ll be any issues going forward.”

In addition, the Forest Service has requested Utah County shrink the amount of land it will hand over from 78 acres to 39 acres.

“They were actually like, ‘With the change in administration, we’re actually trying to reduce the amount of federal land that we have. So maybe shrink the footprint you’re giving to us,” Nair said.

Plan details

Courtesy Utah County

Nielson said the two-pronged goal of the three-year project is to clean up and beautify the area and address conflict points.

“Part of what this project will do is it will go upstream from the falls about a quarter of a mile, add a new bridge across the Provo River, bring a new trail down along the edge of the existing roadway until you get down to where you go into Nunn’s Park and then come back to the trail alignment down there,” Nielson said. “So it’ll reduce a lot of those conflicts and hopefully make for a better user experience, both for the people wanting to see the falls and for the people using the trail.”

Concept plans shared with the Daily Herald detailing the project are about 90% accurate, Nielson said.

A dirt parking lot between the Provo River and Provo River Scenic Drive will be turned into a landscaped area, with new parking lots paved both to the west and east.

The asphalt path on the waterfall side of the river will be pulverized and resurfaced into a 14-foot concrete parkway.

“We’ll go in and grind it all up, use it for base and help reshape and then put new pavement over the top,” Nielson said.

The steep gravel trail that starts at Provo Canyon Trail and goes up to the lower falls will also be widened and paved and have a designated viewing area to see the falls at the end.

“It’s steep, it’s narrow, not really safe in some spots and definitely not user friendly if you got a stroller or maybe somebody in a wheelchair,” Nielson said. “So what we’re looking at doing is trying to take that path and make it something more like what is at Timpanogos Cave.”

Courtesy Utah County

The proposed 90-foot bridge currently on Forest Service land would cross over to the river, leading to a new 10-foot asphalt bike path that continues southwest, adjacent to Provo River Scenic Drive.

Stairs will be placed at the Bridal Veil Falls overlook parking lock and meander down to river level.

“We’re trying to make something that’s a shorter distance so somebody pulls in on that parking lot and they can walk down,” Nielson said. “The idea is to have a viewing platform about halfway down so that they have a good, unobstructed view of the falls. So even if there’s a lot of people down on the ground below, you can stay there and take pictures and be above where all the people are, or you can come down and actually physically go over to the falls.”

Also included on the concept plan is a visitors center at the overlook parking lot, but Nielson said that’s not included in the current plan.

“It’s something that could happen. It’s not in the current funded plan, he said. “You know, 10-15 years down the road, it could possibly be there. It will not be built with this first part.”

Community reaction

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

Bridal Veil Falls is moderately busy on a brisk Thursday evening in May, with out-of-towners and locals alike congregating on both sides of the Provo River to admire the view.

A handful of people there were given a brief glimpse of the county’s proposed renderings and offered their thoughts.

“I think that’d be good, especially for the foot traffic,” said Austin Lynch, a Nephi native and Midland, Texas, resident who was home visiting. “As long as they don’t do too much damage to the actual scenery, as long as they’re careful in doing that, I’d say I’m fine with it.”

Provo resident Sarah Hale was more hesitant, arguing the falls are already crowded enough.

“Being able to come up here without literally 50 people here is not possible, and it’s not fun with that many people, honestly, and I just like when things keep their natural look a lot better,” she said.

Another Provo resident, Watson, said he rides his bike up to the falls three times a week. He said he was fine with the proposed changes and insisted that people shouldn’t be bothered about crowds at the falls.

“If you’re so worried about not seeing people, you should go further than Bridal Veil Falls,” he said. “It’s 10 minutes outside of my neighborhood. It’s like ‘Why are there so many people here?’ Those (same people) probably go skiing on Christmas and think the same thing.”

The county insisted the project will not impact the falls itself, with Piatt saying the focus is on trail accessibility and safety.

“This isn’t going to touch the natural features,” he said.