Popular trail along St. George parkway gets artistic facelift

ST. GEORGE — Whenever Kim Pollock saw the large 300-foot concrete slab that lined a portion of the Mayor's Loop Trail in St. George, he dreamed of one day covering it with art.

That dream came to fruition on Monday when artists, community members, and project sponsors joined for a ribbon-cutting to commemorate a newly created mural depicting southern Utah scenery.

"My wife Shelly and I went down to Tucson and to Park City, and we saw what they've done on their bike trails," Pollock said. "We thought that there's no reason St. George couldn't add some art and culture along its bike trails as well."

Pollock is a board member of the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance and he spearheaded a project to create a mural that would depict the scenery between Snow Canyon State Park and Zion National Park. Pollock said that he initially contacted local muralist Jared Jones to complete the project, and it eventually turned into something neither of them had imagined was possible.

"I don't think any of us had a concept that it would turn out like this," Pollock said. "What we are celebrating is the connectivity between Zion and Snow Canyon. We're celebrating the culture and we're celebrating the community. It was truly the work of a lot of people who made this work."

Twenty artists contributed to the mural, each with a section of the cement slab. Each artist was instructed to depict a 3-mile section of the 62-mile Canyon to Canyon shared-use trail, which will run from Snow Canyon State Park to Zion National Park.

Jones was the first artist to sign on as a muralist, and he told KSL that art has always been a constant in his life — even while pursuing other professional endeavors.

"I continue to wake up every day, extremely grateful that I was even a part of this because my background is not traditionally in art," Jones said. "My background is in the fitness and wellness industry. A couple of years ago, I got really tired of doing what I was doing and the thing that always made me the happiest was art and creating."

Muralists for the project ranged from beginners to seasoned artists. A fourth-grade class completed a section under the direction of the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Learning Arts Program. The youngest artist commissioned to paint a section was 16-year-old Ollie Robertson, a junior from Snow Canyon High School.

"My grandma is one of the SUBA board members, and she asked me to apply to be a muralist," Ollie told KSL. "I have loved art my entire life. I wanted to do something silly and whimsical — like have an animal on roller skates."

Ollie's section features a tortoise on roller skates and a roadrunner riding a skateboard; both characters are on the trail that sidelines St. George Regional Hospital. She said one of her favorite parts of her mural is the color contrast in the mountain scenery.

"Pine Mountain, as well as the red mountains, really work together in harmony with color," she said.

Jones said that the color in all of the paintings is what he believes brings the section of the trail to life.

"I believe that art has the ability to raise the vibration of a community," Jones said. "I believe those types of things have the ability to create real change in the community. Any opportunity we have to smile and collaborate and bring a little joy, I'm all about.

"Walking down here, all you see is smiles, and that's just going to live in perpetuity," he said.

The mural sits upon a concrete wall along the Mayor's Loop Trail near 568 E. Riverside Drive in St. George.

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