Is Blackridge Reservoir worth visiting?

Blackridge Reservoir is one of Herriman’s genuinely great assets, and the single most useful thing I can tell you about it is to go early.

It is a sandy beach with mountain behind it, a playground, restrooms and a trailhead, sitting inside a residential neighborhood. That last part is why the rules around it are stricter than people expect.

The basics

Open 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and the gate locks at 10:00 (Herriman City, checked October 22, 2026).

The amenities list is better than most people assume: beachfront, playground, restrooms open April through October, a parking lot, a bike rack, a trailhead onto the paved trail, benches, four small pavilions, one large pavilion and a grass area.

Parking is the thing that catches people

A $15 all-day parking fee applies to the Blackridge lot on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from May 1 through September 7. It is administered on site by a contracted service, and cash is not accepted — you need a card, or to follow the alternate instructions on the signs.

The observed holidays are Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Pioneer Day and Labor Day.

Then there is the part that costs real money. The surrounding streets are a residents-only permit area. Permits are available to people who live inside the mapped zone, for their own vehicles and their guests. Everybody else parking there is subject to a fine of $100 to $200.

So the arithmetic is straightforward: pay the $15, or arrive on a weekday, or arrive early enough that none of this is a problem. What you should not do is assume you will find a clever street spot, because that is the expensive version.

Dogs are not allowed, and people keep finding out the hard way

Dogs are not permitted on the beach or in the water. Off-leash dogs are prohibited anywhere.

This is the rule I see broken most and the one that generates the most friction on a busy Saturday. If you are coming with a dog, the trailhead is the part of this that works for you; the beach is not.

Whether Herriman is a good place for dogs covers where they actually are welcome, and there are better options nearby.

The water, honestly

This is a natural, untreated body of water, and the city says so plainly. Swim at your own risk. There is no lifeguard on duty.

The water may contain waterborne pathogens, parasites, leeches and snails, and some users have reported swimmer’s itch. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality tests regularly for E. coli and harmful algal bloom, and publishes results on the state DEQ website.

I am not telling you that to put you off. Plenty of people swim there every summer and are fine. I am telling you because it is a reservoir rather than a pool, and the honest framing is the one the city uses.

Check the DEQ results before you go if anyone in your group is small or immunocompromised.

If you are bringing a paddle board or kayak

Non-motorized watercraft are allowed, and there is a requirement attached. Anyone with a paddle board, kayak or similar must complete an annual mussel-aware boater course through the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Motorized watercraft are not permitted at all.

What is prohibited

Worth reading before you pack, because several of these surprise people.

No alcohol. No open flames or charcoal grills. No smoking or vaping. No glass on the beach. No off-leash dogs, and no dogs on the beach at all. No fishing. No diving. No motorized watercraft. No fireworks. No UTVs or ATVs beyond the parking lot. No overnight parking. And in winter, do not go out on the ice.

The no-grills rule is the one that upends picnic plans. The pavilions are there, the charcoal is not.

What I actually see

People arriving at one in the afternoon on a July Saturday and spending twenty minutes circling before giving up.

The lot is finite, the neighborhood is off limits, and the beach itself is not enormous. By the middle of a hot weekend day it is full, and no amount of patience changes that. Mornings are a genuinely different place — quiet, cooler, and you can park.

The other thing I see is buyers touring nearby houses in winter, when the reservoir is empty and silent, and having no idea what the street is like in July. If you are buying within a few blocks of it, go stand there on a summer Saturday before you decide. Whether Blackridge Reservoir is worth living near goes through that side of it properly.

The trailhead is the underrated part

Most of the attention goes to the beach, and the trail access is arguably the better asset.

It connects into the hillside trail network, it is paved at the start, and it is usable in every season rather than three months of the year. On an autumn evening it is one of the nicer places in the valley to be outside, and nobody is competing with you for parking.

Whether Herriman has good trails covers the wider network.

When to actually go

Four windows, in order of how pleasant they are.

Weekday mornings in summer. The best version of the place. Free parking, space on the sand, and the water has not been churned up yet.

Early on a weekend. You still pay the $15 once the season is on, and you get a spot and a quiet hour before it fills.

September and October. Restrooms are open through October, the parking fee ends after September 7, and the hillside behind it turns. Too cold for most people to swim and ideal for everything else.

Spring evenings. Long light, nobody there, and the trail is the point rather than the beach.

The window to avoid is the middle of a hot weekend afternoon, which is unfortunately when most people think to come.

What to bring, and what not to

Bring a card for the parking machine, shade of your own, water, and shoes you can walk the trail in.

Leave the charcoal, the glass bottles and the dog. Those three are the rules broken most often, and all three are avoidable before you leave the house.

If small children are swimming, bring whatever flotation you would bring to open water. There is no lifeguard, the bottom is not a pool floor, and it is a reservoir rather than a swimming facility.

What to do next

Go on a weekday morning, or get there early on a weekend with a card for the parking machine. Leave the dog at home if the beach is the plan, and check the DEQ water results if that matters to your group.

I am Kelsey Earl, a Realtor with Keller Williams South Valley, and this is the kind of thing I would want to know before buying four streets away rather than after. Tell me where you are looking and I will tell you honestly what the neighborhood is like in season.

Note: Hours, fees, rules and dates come from Herriman City’s Blackridge Reservoir page, checked October 22, 2026. Fees, observed holidays and the permit area change. Confirm with the city before you go, and check the Utah DEQ for current water quality results.