ST. GEORGE, Utah — It's something that southern Utah has been doing for years, and now it looks like the rest of the state is about to catch up on. But to actually catch up, you're going to need a bike.
The Utah Department of Transportation announced plans last month to connect the entire state with 3,100 miles of paved paths, following a model started in St. George and Washington County.
"We have been working for years in the city of St. George to build, but now it's become a statewide effort, and it's really exciting for us," said St. George councilmember Dannielle Larkin. "I feel like we have the weather that made it easy for us to be the trendsetter, right? So we started out with the right kind of weather to be able to transport ourselves by bicycle or by foot."
The Utah Trail Network, which officials admit may take decades to finish, would make the Beehive State the fifth in the nation with such a system. In 2023, Utah lawmakers set aside $90 million for the project.
As co-founder of the St. George Bicycle Collective, Larkin has spent more than a decade working to create an interconnected paved trail system in Washington County, but added that it doesn’t just benefit bikers and hikers.
"What it really helps is cars," she explained. "Because cars will end up in congestion situations if we don't have other forms of transportation that can take some of the stress off of our main car corridors.
Larkin claims the trails also improve safety. The southern Utah effort gained momentum after several bicycle accidents, including a bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run on old Highway 91 near Ivins in 2014, and one that left former NBA player Shawn Bradley paralyzed in 2021.
"You just always feel safer on a bike path as opposed to on the road," said Ann Daniels, who was biking while on a visit from Denver.
"I think anybody getting out and seeing all this beauty is incredible. And some people don't have the same ability as others, and so I think bikes allow people to see things that they might not have seen," added Annie Conover, who was in the area from Sacramento.
Conover shared another benefit of an expanded bike freeway in Utah.
"I feel like I'm a kid again!"
