BYU NewsNet - Provo parks provide many grills for public use

Grilling season began the day the temperature hit 70 degrees. Thankfully, Provo has many parks around the community available for students’ barbecuing pleasure.

According to provo.org, there are 10 parks around Provo and throughout Provo Canyon that provide grills for public use. There is a list online of all the parks and the various amenities available at each one.

In Provo Canyon, there are three parks with barbecuing capabilities. Big Springs is four acres and has water taps. There are three pavilions, one with 12 picnic tables and two with eight. The two other parks up Provo Canyon are Bridal Veil Park and Canyon Glen Park. At Canyon Glen, there are volleyball areas, fishing, an amphitheater and hiking trail access.

Around Provo, there are seven parks with barbecue facilities. Carterville Park, located at 2400 N. Carterville Road, has two barbecue grills at each pavilion. They have restrooms, playground equipment and a basketball court. Exchange Park, located at 900 N. 700 West, has a total of 16 acres. There are barbecue grills at each pavilion, one water tap, sand volleyball and fishing access.

A popular park for students is Kiwanis Park, located at 820 N. 1100 East in Provo. This 21-acre park has tennis courts, baseball amenities, volleyball and large areas of grass.

Bradford Riley, a public health major from Stafford, Va., said his friends like to go to Kiwanis Park and barbecue a couple times a month.

“I go [to Kiwanis] with the elder’s quorum, my roommates or with mission buddies often,” Riley said. “It’s nice because they have everything there; even a field to play soccer on.”

Other parks around Provo with barbecues are Harbor Park at 800 N. 2450 West, Maeser Park at 451 E. 600 South, North Park at 500 N. 500 West, and Riverview Park at 4620 N. 300 West.

At North Park, there is a swimming pool, water slides and barbecue grills at each pavilion.

Riley said most of the time his friends have spur of the moment barbecue parties.

“The best part is just relaxing, seeing friends, eating meat,” Riley said. “It’s great to not have any worries.”

At the Provo Parks and Recreation office, Jennifer Christensen, an office specialist, said they allow pavilions to be reserved or rented.This allows parties, family reunions or wards to guarantee the availability of a facility. The reservation or rental fee is typically between $60 and $80 and must be paid up front.

Christensen said the reservation period runs from May 1 until Oct. 1. The pavilions can be reserved anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The reservation fee covers electricity usage and maintenance.

“We put a poster up at the reserved pavilion stating what time it is reserved for,” Christensen said. “If there is a problem we encourage renters to bring their renter verification and a park employee will sort out the problem.”