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The Editors of Outdoor Utah Recreation Guide are proud to name Ogden
Utah’s Recreation City of the Year
By Shane OsguthorpePhotos by Monique Beeley  Malans Basin
This is the place that Al Capone said was too wild for his taste in the 1920s. And while they’ve replaced bootlegging, prostitution and gambling with skiing, climbing, kayaking and mountain biking, Ogden’s soul will always be a bit rowdy. If you want homogenized, Ogden’s probably not for you. But if you’re rolling around the western United States with a rack full of skis, snowboards, bikes, kayaks, climbing gear and some time to kill, welcome to one of the funkiest places you’ve never been. Though locals would have liked to keep it a secret, this metropolitan area’s proximity to world-class mountain sports got ratted out during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games when it hosted the downhill, super G and combined alpine events at Snowbasin and the curling events at the Weber County Ice Sheet. Since then, the city has attracted some of the most high-profile brands in the outdoor sporting goods industry to make Ogden their headquarters. Such relocations include, Solomon, Suunto, Atomic, Descente, Nidecker Snowboards and Goode Ski Technologies. The most cited reason? The “Mountain-to-Metro” effect. Virtually no other major metropolitan area can boast an international airport 30 minutes away and immediate access to over 210 miles of singletrack trail, over 13,000 acres of fresh water and over 170,000 acres of National Forest land. Translation: Descend from a 10,000-foot peak on plush singletrack mountain bike trail and refuel with fresh sushi and microbrews, sleep anywhere from a National Forest campground to a four-star hotel, start fresh with specialty coffee and find yourself in alpine solitude all over again. In addition to the do-it-yourself variety of high-adventure recreation, Ogden is home to some of the Beehive State’s marquis organized athletic events including the annual Ogden Marathon: Utah’s Spring Run-Off where runners descend what is arguably the most scenic marathon course anywhere. Athletes can choose events ranging from a full marathon to half-marathon, marathon relay, 5k and even Kids’ K distances.  Additionally, Ogden is home to the Xterra Mountain Championships — one of off-road triathlon’s crown jewels. The city also hosts the annual Mountain-to-Metro Games in conjunction with the Harvest Moon Celebration every fall. During this series of events, the city has secured a special water release from Pineview Reservoir to take the Ogden River to spring run-off levels for a kayak rodeo. Trail runners begin a seven-mile trail run in the foothills surrounding the city and end up downtown in time to watch cyclists racing the city streets in one of the last criterium races of the season. The events wrap up in time for participants and spectators to enjoy sunset on Historic 25th Street while eating local food, wine, brews and live music.
A partnership of local governments and businesses has produced a high-adventure recreation guide for visitors and is available by visiting http://www.ogden.travel/. Inside, visitors will learn about access to most of the following recreational opportunities. HIKING Virtually every inch of the area’s 210 miles of maintained trails are open to hikers and trail runners. While some trails are extremely popular with mountain bikers and equestrians, a few are ideally suited to hikers and you’ll find that you’re not sharing the trail with anyone but bipeds. Taylor Canyon, Hidden Valley, Indian Trial and Waterfall Canyon are among hikers’ favorites.  Wheeler Creek
If you check out the various Utah online and printed mountain bike guides, you’ll see that the Skyline Trial is considered “must ride” singletrack for its long, demanding climbs, wildflowers and unbelievable views as you ride the ridge between the Ogden metropolitan area to the west and lush Ogden Valley to the east. However, that 30-mile Olympic-caliber section of trail represents about 10% of what’s available to fat tire fanatics in the area. Don’t miss the Wheeler Creek to Coldwater Overlook trail or any of the countless options available on the Bonneville Shoreline trail that is a veritable spaghetti bowl of singletrack immediately east of the city. CYCLING Ogden is finalizing its application to the League of American Bicyclists to obtain designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community. If granted, Ogden will be the first city in Utah to obtain such status. Beyond the paperwork and clerical elements of the application, dozens of community players have worked tirelessly to expand bike routes, improve signage, increase education among cyclists and motorists, implement legislation and install community bike racks.  CLIMBING & BOULDERING
The Ogden area is an outdoor climbing paradise. Within 15 minutes from any place in the City, there are outdoor climbing adventures for beginning through expert climbers.Climbers can cling to walls more than 1,000 feet off the deck on parts of London Spire, the crown jewel of the Willard Spires, which guidebook author Dave Robb called “the most rugged place I’ve ever been.” The East Bench of Ogden is home to a lifetime of bouldering problems and sequences ranging from V0-V7 or higher. The lower boulder field is located in the area just beyond the top of 25th and 27th Streets; you can see many of the boulders from the road. PADDLESPORTS  Weber River
In addition to the class II to class IV whitewater on the Ogden and Weber Rivers, the Ogden Kayak Park offers an urban park-n-play experience just outside of downtown Ogden. The park offers good fun from about 150 cfs up to 1000 cfs. It was the first professionally designed play-park in Utah and immediately drew attention to the area as a kayaking destination. During late summer and low water years the park is less a destination for kayakers and more a local hangout and swimming hole. During medium flows it is a great place for beginning and intermediate boaters to get in some friendly hole surfing. And in high water it consists of three fairly intimidating wide holes that can take more than just a little work to exit. FLYFISHING The Ogden area sits at the confluence of two rivers — the Weber and the Ogden. Like most western rivers, head upstream for smaller rainbows, cutthroats and brookies that are usually a bit reckless. Aim downstream for bigger, savvier browns. This is three to five pound weight country. But know how to read water and make sure your fly box is full because the dense vegetation lining the streams eats flies as voraciously as the trout. So come to Ogden, but expect the unexpected!
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