Riverton residents flocked to the Jordan River at Dr. O. Roi Hardy Park to learn about wildlife, ecosystems, trails, wetlands and more. Held on Sept. 8, Riverton’s Jordan River Night was part of the Get to the River Festival organized by the Jordan River Commission and Jordan River Foundation.

The festival celebrates the 50-mile Jordan River Parkway, with each city located on the waterway hosting its own community event. Riverton City Councilmember Tawnee McCay serves on the JRC and said Riverton’s Jordan River Trail is a place to get away from the noise, enjoy a stroll and be out in nature.

“I love the Jordan River,” she said. “It used to be that residents couldn’t navigate it by boat or bike or on foot. I love that so many different organizations and groups got together to help make this available. Our family loves to come and ride bikes here.”

Attendees at the event were given an adventure passport with 13 stations to visit. Several organizations participated by hosting a station, sharing information and handing out fun prizes.

The Clark Planetarium educated residents about how light pollution affects migratory birds, Hogle Zoo was on hand to talk about the monarch butterfly way station located in Riverton and volunteers from city committees pointed out significant points along the walkway.

Linda Abel, former chair of the Riverton City Historic Preservation Commission, talked about the historic Jordan River Bridge, first constructed in 1864 as a means of trade between Riverton, Draper, Sandy and Bluffdale.

“It was reconstructed in the early 1920s,” Abel said. “In 1981, it was deemed unsafe for vehicular traffic as they’d built the new bridge over on 12600 South.”

Riverton’s Jordan River Night also highlighted the city’s water, sewer and mosquito abatement systems, including the new Green Well that was activated earlier this year. 

Ken Saldivar serves as the city’s water quality and conservation specialist. His booth focused on culinary water and conservation.

“Our Green Well is producing about 800,000 gallons of water every day,” he said. “Then we are also putting a little water in the river to send it to the Great Salt Lake.”

Trail etiquette was emphasized at one of the stations, as volunteers handed out bike bells to help keep trail bikers, runners and walkers safe. Kim Yore volunteers on the city’s parks and trails committee. She said trail etiquette includes keeping to the right, passing on the left, and using a bell or friendly voice to alert others.

“Our community has grown,” Yore said. “We have a lot of different users of the trails: bicycles, scooters, moms and dads pushing strollers, and people old and young who are walking. Our trails have become busier, especially when you add e-bikes.”

The first 200 people who completed the adventure passport at Riverton’s Jordan River Night received a free hot dog dinner. McCay hoped the event would encourage residents to get to the river more often to enjoy natural habitats and walkways.

“One of the top requests on our citizen survey is for more trails and paths, so we need to take advantage of the ones that we have,” McCay said. “I would like to have our canal trails paved, because we actually have five canals that run east to south.”

Riverton’s Jordan River Night included a walk along the Jordan River Trail, where participants could visit educational sites to learn about the area. (Peri Kinder/City Journals)