The Provo-Orem metro area, located 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, lies in the Utah Valley and has a population of about 500,000. It”s a scenic area, surrounded by the Wasatch mountains, with Utah Lake at the west end. Provo is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). There’s a good variety of running in Provo, from long multi-use paths to some nice sections around Utah Lake, to extensive trail running opportunities.
The best place to run in Provo is the 15-mile Provo River Parkway Trail. In Orem, the signature run is the paved Murdock Canal Trail. We also love running around the BYU campus, which connects to other trails in the area. There are also several shoreline running options in the Utah Lake area. For trail running, good options are Y Mountain, trails Rock Canyon/Provo Canyon, and sections of the 100+ mile Bonneville Shoreline Trail that are in Provo and Orem. Note these can be hilly and challenging.
Notes: The area is at 4,500 feet elevation. The terrain gets very hilly as soon as the foothills are reached! Also, weather is a factor here: it can be cold and snowy in winter, and consistently hot in summer.
