Draper showcases a century of trails

DRAPER — Draper residents came together to celebrate 100 years of trails at the Draper Trails Day event June 3 at the Andy Ballard Equestrian Center, 1600 E. Highland Drive in Draper.

The event featured activities for the whole family, including 4-, 6- and 10-mile trail run/walks, mountain biking, horseback riding, hourly trips to Ghost Falls, buggy rides, a geocaching activity for children and numerous booths. It started at 7 a.m. with the trail walk/run and lasted through the afternoon.

The Draper Trails Day committee hoped to bring more attention to the trail system in Draper and Corner Canyon, as well as raise money for the Draper Amphitheater by putting on the event.

"There are 100 years of trails that go back to the pioneer era," said Glen Sisom, chairman of the Draper Trails Day committee. "There's 63 miles of trails going up the mountains. We wanted to bring more awareness to those trails."

Adri Pachelli, 17, was excited to take the 4-mile hike to Ghost Falls.

"My mom is running the hikes to Ghost Falls, and I've been hearing about it from her," she said. "We're an outdoorsy family (and) . . . the waterfalls are so gorgeous."

Leslie Johnson brought her three children, Elizabeth, 8, Laura, 6, and Aaron, 4, to do something fun and support friends putting on the event.

"I think it's a really good event for our community and brings people together," she said, pointing out that she loves attending functions like this in Draper such as Christmas in the Heart of Draper and Draper Days. "(Coming today) will help me be more aware of the trail system and let my kids participate in activities good for their age."

Leighann Gilson, secretary of the amphitheater committee, was in charge of the trail races, which have already been going on for several years. The point of the event, she said, was to help people see their home area.

"I think it educates everybody about what's in their back yard," she said. "I talked to a lady today who ran in the trail race who said she had no idea (this scenery) was in our back yard, and she was on such a high (from finding it)."

Julie Theriault, manager of the Key Bank branch in Draper, chose to have a booth at the event to promote the bank's community involvement. The bank opened a Draper office in 2001 and has enjoyed the location.

"Everything Draper does to promote community is part of why we wanted to attend and to be involved in a big event for Draper," she said.

Sisom said the real purpose behind Draper Trails Day was to unify the community.

"We do this to bring the whole community together," he said. "We couldn't have asked for better (turnout). We're succeeding in bringing better unity to our community."

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com