By Scott Buehler, Moving UtahHike Waterfall Canyon and the city canyons
29th Street trailhead Free Year round, with ice in winter Directions
Waterfall Canyon is Ogden's signature hike, and it earns the top of this list because it is what most people arrive wanting. It is 2.4 miles round trip and about 1,275 feet of climbing from the 29th Street trailhead, up a wide sandy path that turns steep and rocky, to a fall commonly put at 200 feet. It runs all year, ices hard in winter, and crosses private land owned by the TR Guest Ranch, whose owner asks hikers to respect the ground and pack out pet waste. On busy weekends several hundred people share those 2.4 miles, so early is the good version.
The canyons on either side reward going past the postcard, and every one of them is boots only, no bikes and no horses. Taylor Canyon, named for the John Taylor who ran a lime kiln at its mouth, is the braided way up to Malans Peak. Hidden Valley branches off the Indian Trail behind painted rock markers. Strongs Canyon gives a short forested mile off 36th Street. And the big one is Beus Canyon, 5.6 miles and 4,402 feet up through the meadow called Fern Valley to the cairned saddle by Mount Ogden's radio towers. Mount Ogden's shortest route actually starts at Snowbasin; from the city, Beus is the mountain earned the long way.
Waterfall Canyon is steep, crowded and partly private, and it is not a scrambling route. The upper trail is steep and rocky and children need close supervision, winter ice calls for real footwear, the path crosses TR Guest Ranch land, and the cliffs around the fall are there to look at, not to climb. Go early, stay on the trail, and keep the courtesy that keeps the access.
The details
Getting there
The 29th Street trailhead serves the waterfall, Taylor Canyon and Malans Peak and has the parking and the restroom. 36th Street opens Strongs Canyon; Beus starts near Weber State where 4600 South curves at the microwave towers. All are street-end lots on the city's east edge.
Before you go
- Waterfall Canyon crosses TR Guest Ranch property; the owner's request is respect for the land and packed-out pet waste, and the trail exists because that courtesy holds.
- Taylor Canyon's creek crossings can be genuinely unsafe in high water, so the canyons are best after the spring runoff.
- The canyon trails are for boots only; the wheels belong on the shoreline grade below.
Climb Ben Lomond from North Fork Park
North Fork Trailhead, Liberty Free trail, park fee at the gate Summer to late fall Directions
Ben Lomond is the peak that anchors the whole bench, 9,712 feet by the Forest Service's record, and the classic Weber County way up starts in a county park. From the North Fork Trailhead by the horse corrals at the south end of North Fork Park, Ben Lomond Trail 042 climbs about 2,300 feet. The Forest Service puts the summit at 7.6 miles of hiking one way and calls it most of one day, on one of the most heavily used trails in the Ogden area.
Two things keep the mountain honest. You park on county ground and cross onto national forest as you climb, which is why the fee you pay is the park's and the rules above the gate are federal. And the ridge does not end at the summit: Willard Peak, two miles north and about fifty feet higher, has a shorter approach from the Box Elder County side, a route that belongs to that county rather than this page. The Weber approaches are the long ones, and the day is better for knowing it at the trailhead.
The details
Getting there
Enter North Fork Park's south gate and park at the large horse corral, where signs point west to the trail. The reliable drive is through Ogden Canyon and up the valley; the divide is shorter and can close without notice.
Before you go
- Carry more water than the mileage suggests; the climb is steady and the upper mountain is exposed.
- The trail is shared with horses and bikes and heavily used on summer weekends, so an early start gets it at its best.
Take the skyline route from the North Ogden Divide
Top of the North Ogden Divide Free Summer and fall Directions
The other Weber County way up is the ridge walk. North Skyline Trail 001 leaves the top of the North Ogden Divide, climbs to Ben Lomond's summit and carries on along the crest toward Willard Peak, with views the Forest Service describes as running from Willard to Antelope Island. The Trails Foundation of Northern Utah gives the hiking numbers: 15 miles round trip, 3,618 feet of gain, about eight hours, rated moderate to difficult with the climb spread gradually along the ridge.
One rule changes the day. Trail 001 carries a special off-highway designation for motorcycles only, allowed from July 15 to November 15 each year. Before mid July and after mid November the ridge is quiet; between those dates you share it, so a summit day is worth planning around the window in either direction.
The details
Getting there
Drive North Ogden's canyon road to the top of the divide and park at the trailhead area; the Ben Lomond route leaves the north side of the road. The divide can close in storm, so check before a dawn start.
Before you go
- This is the longer of the two Weber routes and it is genuinely a full day; plan food, water and a turnaround time.
- For quiet, hike it before July 15 or after November 15; between those dates the ridge is the motorcycle window.
Walk or ride the record shoreline trail
Pleasant View to Beus Canyon Free Year round on the low bench
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail is the long spine of the bench, and its Ogden stretch holds a state record: Pleasant View to Beus Canyon, 22.2 continuous miles, the longest unbroken run of the trail anywhere in Utah. Weber County has built 23.7 of a planned 28.3 miles, more of its share than any other county. One county south the trail runs in fragments; here it runs. Ogden's own plan describes it plainly, as an unpaved recreational trail with spurs and loops tracing the eastern edge of the city.
Two gaps remain, both at the ends. At the north end a missing piece runs through the Pole Patch neighborhood of Pleasant View. At the south end a funded bridge over the Weber River near I-80 waits on a redesign of the interchange, so today there is no through connection between the shoreline trail and the river parkways. Until then, neither trail claims the connection.
The details
Getting there
Eleven trailheads ladder up the bench from Beus at 4600 South to Pleasant View, most at the top of numbered Ogden streets. Pick the nearest by the trip; the full roster is the last stop on this list.
Before you go
- Navigate by trailheads, not by segment names; the names on some maps are informal proposals rather than signs on the ground.
- The southern link to the river parkways is not in place, so plan an out and back rather than a loop.
Camp under a dark sky at North Fork Park
4150 E 5950 N, Liberty Camping fees May to mid October Directions
The trailhead park is the region's quiet giant: 2,600 acres of Weber County park under Ben Lomond's east face, with about 132 first come campsites across five areas, reservable group sites, horse corrals and three yurts named Aspen, Elderberry and White Fir. A single site runs 30 dollars a night, and the season goes from the first weekend of May to mid October, when the water is shut off. It is the honest opposite of a resort: no reservations for the ordinary sites, few hookups, and a mountain out the tent door.
Two things set it apart. It has been an International Dark Sky Park since 2015, one of the closest truly dark places to the Wasatch Front's cities. And in winter the same acres change hands: Ogden Nordic, a nonprofit, grooms the ground for classic and skate skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking, with adult day passes at 20 dollars. Same park, two seasons, two operators and two fee schedules.
The details
Getting there
Through Ogden Canyon and north through Eden and Liberty, or over the divide when it is open. Camp hosts sit near the south and middle entrances in season, and the corrals mark the Ben Lomond trailhead.
Before you go
- The dark sky is the point, so plan a moonless night for it.
- Winter questions go to Ogden Nordic and summer ones to the county; the operators and the phone numbers differ.
Ride the bikeable shoreline
12th Street to Beus Canyon Free Rideable most of the year Directions
One pattern organizes everything above the city: the canyon trails climbing off the bench are boots only, while the shoreline trail itself and its low connectors take bikes and e-bikes. The BST from 12th Street to Beus Canyon is the proof, 6.4 miles at a gentle 834 feet of gain, exposed to the sun most of the way, rideable end to end, entered at 12th Street through a tunnel under the road by Rainbow Gardens. North of town the Pleasant View to divide segment adds 4.65 miles and is the one stretch also open to horses, following the power lines across a working landscape.
The connectors fill out the easy end. Jump Off Canyon makes a 1.8 mile loop with Ben Lomond views and one real hazard: an open canal beside the trail is dangerous for dogs and children when the water runs, spring to fall. Birdsong is the bench's easy mile and a half, 193 feet of gain from the Rainbow Gardens side, minutes from 12th Street with a bench and a golf course view halfway. Between them the bench serves every speed, as long as the wheels stay on the shoreline grade and the boots take the canyons.
The details
Getting there
For riding, start at 12th Street or Beus and run the shoreline grade. For the easy walks, Birdsong from Rainbow Gardens and Jump Off Canyon from the north bench are the gentlest entries on the wall.
Before you go
- Most of the rideable bench has no tree cover and little water, and dogs feel the exposure first.
- Ride around the muddy stretches, never through them; the tread is the one thing every group here spends money repairing.
Cross the North Ogden Divide, and find Lewis Peak
The pass between North Ogden and Liberty Free Open except in storm Directions
The divide is the bench's own mountain pass, a county road about 4.5 miles long linking North Ogden to the Liberty end of the valley. The jurisdiction matters: it belongs to Weber County, not UDOT, and it closes when avalanche or storm conditions demand rather than on a set calendar. The county's own guidance is the part to keep: the divide should not be used as a shortcut to Ogden Canyon, being the harder road, with steep drop-offs, sharp curves and rockfall.
The top of the pass is a trail junction worth knowing beyond Ben Lomond. A short North Ogden Divide trail, 1.47 miles, makes a family-scale walk from the same parking. And southbound lies the sleeper: Lewis Peak, 8,031 feet, 3.35 miles one way off the skyline, with views the Forest Service calls spectacular of Willard and Ben Lomond, wildflowers peaking from late July into August, and a fraction of its famous neighbor's crowds.
The details
Getting there
From North Ogden take the divide road east over the pass. The shoreline trail crosses at the top, Ben Lomond's route leaves north, Lewis Peak's leaves south, and the short divide trail makes a walk from the same lot.
Before you go
- Treat the county's warning as the plan: when the canyon is your route, take the canyon; the divide is the scenic option, not the backup.
- The Pleasant View to divide shoreline segment is one of only two bench trails open to horses, and e-bikes run it too.
Pick a trailhead, and try the Peak Challenge
Eleven doors along the city's east edge Free trailheads Challenge runs June to October Directions
The bench's genius is its doors: eleven trailheads laddering the city's east edge, most at the top of numbered streets, from Beus at 4600 South to Pleasant View. The workhorse is 29th Street, the busiest and best equipped, with ample parking, a restroom and the junction for the waterfall, Taylor Canyon and the shoreline in both directions. The newcomer is 27th Street, opened in 2026 above the retention pond, sized from a real use survey at about 60 cars, with bike repair stations and a water fountain but no restrooms yet.
The organizing game on the bench belongs to the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah: the Peak Challenge, a self-paced season on the four summits above the region, Malans, Lewis, Mount Ogden and Ben Lomond. In 2026 it runs from June 6 to October 23, at 30 dollars a person and 20 per dog, with a summit photo for proof, stickers, and a finishers' gathering in the fall. It is the best short list of the bench's honest objectives, from a half-day overlook to the region's biggest single-day climb. One more free season the challenge skips: Ogden grooms the Mount Ogden Golf Course for Nordic skiing and fat biking each winter, free to the public.
The details
Getting there
Pick the door by the trip: 29th Street for the waterfall and the facilities, 22nd for the Indian Trail, 12th for the bikeable shoreline and the tunnel, 36th for Strongs, Beus for the big day, and the divide for the skyline.
Before you go
- Trailhead lots sit at the top of real neighborhoods; park inside the lines and leave the cul-de-sacs alone, because access here runs on the neighbors' patience.
- Ogden's trails committee dates to the early 1990s, formed when new building threatened access, so the doors are kept open by policy.