Trailhead is the University of Utah’s next dorm, and it is expected to be finished for the 2026-27 school year. The new building will bring new dining options, more recreation spaces and a nature-focused design to the center of campus.
Housing both first-year and upper-division students, new amenities and proximity to existing housing, Trailhead is a part of the U’s shift to become a residential campus as demand for on-campus housing grows.
Design and layout
The Executive Director of Housing & Dining Programs, Anna Dickherber, said, “Trailhead will have two L-shaped buildings.” There will be the West tower, Ascent, and the East tower, Summit. The two towers will be connected by a hallway. The main entrance and lobby are in the Ascent tower, which faces the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Between the buildings will be an outdoor courtyard that will include seating, hammocks and an “intimate amphitheatre,” Dickherber said. The main lobby will function similarly to the Kahlert Village lobby with a 24/7 front desk, with student staff during the day and a security guard overnight. After 11 p.m., only residents can access the building using their UCard.
Amenities and dining
Trailhead will have a range of amenities that includes both public and resident-only spaces. In partnership with campus dining, the building will include four food options. According to Dickherber, there will be a coffee shop, a grab-and-go market with possibly to-go meals and snacks, the Mexican chain restaurant QDOBA, and a hot pot restaurant, all of which will be available with meal swipes.
Additional amenities include a gaming lounge and two grasshopper climbing walls in the bouldering room. These walls, developed in collaboration with the Student Life Center, expand climbing opportunities on campus. Unlike The Summit, the bouldering room in Trailhead will have limits on the number of users at a time.
Public areas like the climbing room will be open to the campus, but residents will have access to amenities like the fitness room, ski and bike storage, and kitchens on every floor. The ski storage, Dickherber noted, was added in response to student demand.
Nature-centered features
Trailhead’s design is intended to have an emphasis on nature. The building’s design focuses on “bringing the outside in,” Dickherber said. The building will have floor-to-ceiling windows, natural colors and natural light. The goal is to have an environment where students can “find quiet moments of peace,” she said.
The building will have two Living Learning Communities, an Honors first-year community and the new Wild Utah cohort, which centers on outdoor engagement through studying Utah’s landscapes.
In the bouldering room, a mural rendering of Cottonwood Canyon is to be painted by an alumnus. This mural is a part of the natural elements incorporated into the building. Dickherber said that Trailhead will be “visually different than other buildings.”
Housing process
Trailhead is designed to be mixed-use, housing both first-year and upper-division students. According to Dickherber, half of the students set to live there are first-year and the other half will be upper-division students, with slightly more first-years. This model is the same as the most recent Learning Learning Community, the Impact & Prosperity Epicenter.
Construction on Trailhead is in phases, with the East being close to finished; the work is now shifting to the West. Dickherber said “the building is 100% going to be done for fall,” with completion expected in July, before the set August move-in date. “The building will be occupied by fall, we are excited for the students,” she said.
“College Town Magic”
“Each year, we’ve seen a rising trend of people who want to live on campus,” Dickherber said. Trailhead is part of a broader initiative of President Randall’s planned “College Town Magic.” The initiative intends to put more beds on campus to shift away from a commuter school.
Trailhead’s proximity to Kahlert Village and the Marriott Honors Community will bring about 3,000 students into a concentrated area, creating new “opportunities for collaboration.” The addition of Trailhead allows for a better deployment of campus resources and stronger connections between nearby dorms. Dickherber said Trailhead “moves the needle from a commuter school to a residential one.”
Student perspective
Austin Harmom, a current first-year student planning to move into Trailhead, chose the dorm for affordability and convenience. “I chose to live in Trailhead next year because it was the cheapest option for a single,” he said. “It is also close to Kahlert Village and my classes.”
From his current dorm, Harmom has been able to watch the construction progress. “I think it’ll be finished. I see the construction workers every day from my building. They’re progressing fast.”
Harmon described that he was looking forward to the building’s amenities. There will be “a lot of activities like the gym and a nice courtyard,” he said. Harmon said that Trailhead would also act as a place of connection. “I feel like I won’t leave as much.”
