Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter | Park City | Utah State University

Posted in Free Activities / Museums
Updated August 27, 2025

One spot that is worth a stop in Park City is the Swaner Preserve & Eco Center. The Swaner Preserve & Eco Center has two different areas to explore. Make sure to start with the EcoCenter so that you can get information about the trails and wetlands. Then you can explore outside, too.

EcoCenter

The EcoCenter has exhibits about the area, including lots of hands-on and interactive displays. There is a little cave for kids to explore and some dress up clothing. Our boys loved learning through the signs and activities. There is even a rock climbing wall for anyone to use. It is only open on Saturday and Sundays, and costs $5 for 5 climbs on the wall. The EcoCenter also has exhibits that change out. When we visited there was a beautiful art exhibit.

So many of the exhibits are interactive.

My boys were sad that this wasn’t open when we stopped by.

We loved the art exhibit that was there.

Outside the EcoCenter there is a boardwalk area where you can birdwatch and look for animals. Make sure to go upstairs to the second floor and enjoy the views. There are also binoculars so you can look over the wetlands. Lots of people spot moose, but we didn’t see any they we visited. In the front of the building, there are some beautiful gardens with ideas on what you can do in your garden to be more water-wise or attract butterflies.

There is also a little pond with birds..

We liked the upstairs for the views and binoculars.

Preserve

The Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter also has a large preserve area. There are trails in two different areas where you can hike and enjoy the wetlands and wildlife. There is a Wetlands Discovery Trail near the center, but you’ll need to stop by the EcoCenter to pick up a key to open the gate. It is a flat 1.0 mile roundtrip trail with info signs. We didn’t hike this one, but we have heard that it is a great one for families.

The gardens in front of to the EcoCenter.

We drove over to the Northern section of trails and parked at the Spring Creek Trailhead. We hiked part of the Stealth Trailhead. We chose this trail because it followed the little creek. We only walked about 0.3 mile out and the turned around. The trail continues for awhile, but we thought it was just perfect, and we got some beautiful pics.

The Stealth Trail is a nice little hike.

The trail begins as a boardwalk, but then goes to dirt.

There are a few trails that begin here, so make sure to use the map.

The Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter in Park City is open Wednesday – Sunday from 10 am – 4 pm. It is free to visit, but the suggested donation is $5/person. Please consider donating a little bit to help them continue to preserve this beautiful area. For current exhibits on their website.