A few days ago, one of my readers emailed me with a question about a couple of the places I regularly blog about with regards to them being handicap accessible with an electric mobility scooter.
It occurred to me maybe more people have the same question that needs to be answered so I decided to dig into it a little bit and share what I have learned with regards to the Farmington Bay nature trails.
I plan on doing more posts on this subject with regards to other locations, such as Antelope Island and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I get time to do a little research on the matter for both locations.
I’ve actually inquired about the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge already so I am just waiting to hear back from their staff on the matter.
The topic of handicap access is one that actually hits very close to home, and for good reason, I might add.
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My dad was wheelchair-bound for several years before he passed away and my mother is currently needing a wheelchair for mobility outside of the home.
So when the question of handicap access came up with regards to a few of my favorite places out in nature, I thought it would be a great way to not only honor my parents but to hopefully help someone else get out and enjoy nature a little bit more.
Now, let me say up front, this blog post isn’t anything more than just what I have found by way of doing a little inquiring about the matter with employees of the Utah DWR as well as also doing a little foot work out on the trails themselves to see what obstacles might be in the way for mobility devices.
Use this information at your own discretion and always contact the governing agency for the actual legalities and any safety issues or concerns on the matter with regards to handicap access on the property they manage for the public.
With regards to the nature trails at Farmington Bay, I asked both the manager of the Eccles Wildlife Education Center, Billy Fenimore, and his supervisor about the matter regarding the question about electric scooters for the handicap being allowed on the nature trails.
Both of their responses were the same and according to both of them, as far as they know electric scooters intended for handicap mobility are allowed on the nature trails at Farmington Bay.
As clearly posted on the trails, neither bikes nor motorized vehicles are allowed on the trails, however, and why there might be some confusion on the matter as recreational electric scooters and e-bikes are both becoming quite popular and are often thought of as a form of motorized vehicle which isn’t allowed on the nature trail.
I honestly don’t think this particular question has come up yet with the Utah DWR so I am thinking there isn’t a formal written policy by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on the matter regarding handicap mobility devices, but hopefully, someday there will be so anyone else wondering about handicap mobility devices on nature trails can have a clear answer on the matter.
With regards to the actual accessibility and obstacles on the nature trails at Farmington Bay, that is another question in and of itself and why I recently walked and photographed the trails to show what obstacles might be in the way of a motorized mobility scooter traversing the nature trails.
There are actually two different nature trails at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center, one an improved gravel trail and the other an unimproved dirt trail.
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The main trail, the improved gravel trail to the east, is more handicap scooter friendly than the unimproved trail but still is a natural type of trail.
In wet or snowy conditions, however, neither trail seems to be suitable for any type of mobility device.
Also, neither trail in any weather condition would be usable by just a wheelchair due to the soft soil or gravel.
And the unimproved trail itself has to be mowed during the summer months, making it even less accessible for mobility devices than the gravel trail.
The improved gravel trail has a few obstacles by way of boardwalks and bridges that I am not certain if a handicap scooter can navigate or not with their twists and turns and also handrails.
These wooden boardwalks and bridges do make for a great scenic walkway as they go out and over the marsh but they do have a few angles in them that might be a bit hard, if not impossible, to navigate with a mobility scooter.
There are a couple of observation platforms on the large pond that also have a boardwalk and handrails leading up to them, but once again, it looks like a tight fit and I am not certain a mobility scooter could navigate through it or not.
But the part of the improved gravel trail that would make it impossible to venture all the way around in an electric mobility scooter is the concrete bridge that goes over Farmington Creek.
Unfortunately, it looks as if the small, narrow bridge is nowhere near wide enough for a mobility scooter to pass over, making it impossible to venture all the way around the trail in a mobility device.
So, all in all, parts of the improved gravel trail could possibly be used by some mobility scooters that are designed for this type of outdoor use, but, unfortunately, not all of it, nor any of the unimproved nature trail looks to be usable by such manner.
If nothing else, I do hope this blog post might help lead to some discussion and eventual implementation of making more nature trails more accessible to the handicapped in some way so they can enjoy them as well.
I’ll be honest, when I walked the improved nature trail and paid close attention to it and what obstacles might be in the way for the handicapped, I was saddened a little bit when I realized much of the trail might not be accessible to the handicapped even in a motorized mobility scooter.
As such, there are parts of Farmington Bay some people will never get to view and enjoy in person that would otherwise want to.
I hope I can, at least, show some of it through this blog in an enlightening and enjoyable way, but it is always my hope for everyone to get out and enjoy nature firsthand whenever and where ever possible.
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