Little Dell Reservoir — Local services in Utah

Beautiful location, we've been coming here for years to kayak. Our recent visit was not so great. Upon entry, we were questioned what we were planning on doing-- we said kayaking and paddle boarding. "No paddle boarding" the guard said (guard??? Not a state park ranger?? More on that below...). "Ok" we said "No paddle boarding, we'll just kayak". We got ready to pay and he continued for about a minute explaining that if he lets us go down there, he needs to radio to rangers that we have a paddle board, etc etc. We promised him we had no need to paddle board... He continued in a condescending manner. My wife finally interrupted and asked him to just state what he was trying to communicate... "Are you saying we can't go down?" "No, you can go down..." Lol! Odd exchange, but we really wanted to kayak, so we went to hand him a twenty (entry is 5) and he said he couldn't make change for a twenty... 😂. Really? There's like 20 cars in the lot and 15 plus kayaks on the water... No fives in there for change? We turned around and went up to the East Canyon reservoir about 35 more miles. More on the guard-- since when did the state start using SBI (that's what his patch said) for gate attendees?? SBI = state bureau of investigation? Like major crimes?? We will wait a bit before returning. Too bad too, nice spot. I bet he was having a...

This could be a nice place for a picnic lunch and some hiking, but it is poorly maintained. There are some covered picnic tables, but they are dirty, and most of the covers have wasp nests. The trails are overgrown with weeds. I do not think there is even a trail to the dam, which would have been nice to see up close. A walking and bike trail around the entire reservoir would have been nice, and I estimate it would be just under 3 miles. Parking by the entrance is free, but parking down the hill by the reservoir is $5. If you are going to take a canoe, you will want to pay the $5. There are a couple of the no plumbing style restrooms around. No swimming is allowed, and there are no barbecue grills. It looks like they spent some money on this park years ago, but there does not seem to be any spending on maintenance. With proper maintenance and a few more trails, this would be a nice...

Kayaker here. meh. pros and cons. pro - short drive from Salt Lake County pro - no speed boats so no wake, noisy music, or boat fumes con - lots of fishermen crowding the banks so no pulling out for a picnic and lots of steering away from the shore to avoid fishing lines. con - boat ramp didn't allow cars, so plan on transporting your kayak 150 feet from your vehicle to the water. con - no swimmimg con - uninteresting shoreline. Just high banks or fishermen. con - no fish jumping, and we were there from 6:30-8:30pm. Seems like a prime time to see activity. con - lots of flies. pro - nice sunset, although con - sun in our eyes as we approached the boat ramp. pro - only $5 to get in. Total: 4 pros, 7 cons. So I'm glad we went, but imma see what else is out there...