Finding a public bathroom in Salt Lake City parks can feel like mission impossible. Here’s what you need to know about where bathrooms are, why they’re sometimes hard to find, and what’s being done to improve them.
How Many Bathrooms Are There?
Salt Lake City has 56 public bathrooms across its 114 parks and open spaces. Only 46 are permanent fixtures, while the other 10 are portable toilets. So, about half of our parks don’t have bathrooms at all.
🚽 Where to find ‘em: Generally, you’ll find facilities in the bigger community parks (over 10 acres). Those little pocket parks? Usually bathroom-free.
Why So Few?
A few reasons:
- Aging infrastructure: Many bathrooms were built in the 1970s and aren’t up to modern standards.
- Vandalism and misuse: Can lead to frequent closures.
- Maintenance: With limited staff, it’s hard to keep every bathroom clean, safe, and open.
📲 What you can do: If you come across a closed, dirty, or unsafe bathroom, report it on the MySLC app. The city relies on those reports to respond quickly.
The Bad News
Most bathrooms shut down around mid-October and don’t reopen until spring. That’s because they weren’t designed to withstand freezing temperatures. The Salt Lake City Cemetery public bathroom is the only one that stays open year-round.
The Good News
Salt Lake City funded an in-depth restroom study (which starts this winter) to figure out where the biggest gaps are and how to redesign for safety and accessibility.
They’ve also set aside money from the $85 million parks bond to go toward bathroom upgrades in big parks like Fairmont, Glendale, Pioneer, and Liberty.
