Skip to content

The Local

Things to do Pleasant View

Five ranked stops, each with an address, a season and a cost

The 5 best things to do in Pleasant View.

A shoreline trail that starts where the built path runs out, a bench that climbs a thousand feet under a mountain topping 9,712 feet, a June parade the whole city turns out for, four neighbourhood parks, and a free calendar that runs from an April egg hunt to Santa in December. Five picks, ranked, all inside one small city on the north end of Weber County, each with an address, a season, a cost and a drive time from the city offices on Elberta Drive.

On this page The short answer The five at a glance The shoreline trail Seasons and costs Plan your visit FAQ
By Scott Buehler, Moving Utah Updated August 2026

The short answer

If you have one afternoon in Pleasant View, walk a stretch of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail off the upper bench, take in the Ben Lomond skyline the city was named for, and, if the timing works, come for Founders Day in late June. Those three are the ones that belong to this city rather than to a neighbour. The rest of the list is the four city parks and the free events the city runs across the year, all of them close together and all of them free. This is a small place, so the honest number is five, and every one of them is a genuine thing to do rather than a listing padded to reach a rounder total.

Where Five stops inside one small city on the north end of Weber County, bench to valley floor
From downtown Pleasant View Nothing is more than about three miles from the city offices on Elberta Drive
Season The trail, the vantage and the parks run year round; the parade and events are dated
Cost All five are free; the only thing published to pay is a phone call to reserve a bowery
Time needed An afternoon for the town, a half day if you walk the trail out and back

The five at a glance

  1. 1. Hike the Bonneville Shoreline Trail
  2. 2. Take in the Ben Lomond vantage
  3. 3. Founders Day in late June
  4. 4. The four city parks
  5. 5. The free events calendar
Planning sections Where, when and what it costs Before you set out A morning, or a full day Common questions

Hike the Bonneville Shoreline Trail off the bench

Upper bench, near Pole Patch Drive Free Best spring to fall

The built miles of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail end in Pleasant View, on the city's upper bench, and that is what earns this the top spot. Walk south from the trailhead and you are on a continuous stretch of shoreline bench trail that runs all the way to Ogden. Walk north and the built trail simply stops, because there is a gap still on the drawing board and no official trail at all beyond the county line. Pleasant View is where the finished trail begins, which is a rare thing for a city this size to own outright.

Getting to the start is the catch, and it is worth being honest about it. No public body publishes a street address, a marked lot, a toilet or a fee for this trailhead, and four different organisations each call it something different. The trail committee names it the Pleasant View Trailhead, the trail foundation calls it the North Ogden Lookout, and the state map layer carries two more names again. The foundation measures the run to the North Ogden Divide at 4.65 miles one way with 732 feet of climb, rated moderate, and the trail allows bikes, horses, dogs and e-bikes alongside walkers.

Because the naming, the missing directions and the planning gap all take real untangling, the full story lives on the sibling page, the shoreline trailhead. The wider bench trail and the mountain above it are a whole-region subject, told once on the region page for Ben Lomond and the Ogden bench. This entry stays with what you actually do: park where it is legal, and walk the corridor.

The details

WhereThe north end of the power line corridor on the upper bench, near Pole Patch Drive; no street address is published by any body
From downtown Pleasant ViewRoughly two to three miles east and north of the city offices, about eight minutes; treat it as approximate
SeasonNo closure is posted by any agency; best spring through fall, with snowshoeing listed as a winter use
CostFree; no fee is published for the trailhead or the trail south
Time neededA half day out and back to the pass, or as short a stroll as you like

Getting there

The trail follows the power line corridor along the top of the bench, and the committee's own directions use two landmarks a walker can actually see: a numbered transmission tower, Tower 45, going south, and Pole Patch Drive, the residential street the path crosses going north. There is no signed lot with a board and a toilet, so park where parking is legal and obvious rather than where a map pin suggests. If you want the answer before you drive, the two useful calls are Pleasant View City on 801-782-8529 and the Forest Service's Ogden Ranger District.

Before you go

  • No public body publishes an address, a lot owner, a parking capacity, a toilet or a fee for this trailhead; that is a statement about the record, not a claim about the ground.
  • The streets at the top of the bench are residential; keep the car clear of driveways and mailboxes.
  • Carry water and a downloaded map; the corridor is exposed and signal is patchy up the bench.
  • The four names this trailhead carries are untangled in full on the shoreline trailhead page, so search under more than one.

Take in the Ben Lomond vantage the city is named for

The whole city Free Year round

The mountain filling Pleasant View's eastern sky is Ben Lomond, which the Forest Service puts at 9,712 feet, and the whole city is the vantage. There is nothing to drive to and nothing to pay. What is worth knowing is how much ground the city covers vertically: the federal elevation service reads about 4,267 feet on the valley floor edge and above 5,300 where the shoreline trail crosses the city limits, roughly a thousand feet of climb inside seven square miles. That spread is the reason no single elevation number really describes this place.

The name came straight from the view. In 1882 Wilford Cragun, the first of the settlers' children born here, looked out over the community and remarked that it had a pleasant view, and the name stuck. Drive the bench streets that rise toward the mountain on a clear morning, or a spring one when Ben Lomond still holds snow into early summer, and you are looking at the exact thing that gave the city its name.

The measured elevation ladder, the naming, and why the widely printed single figure is misleading are all on the sibling page, the Ben Lomond vantage. The mountain as a hiking and bench-trail subject for the whole front belongs to the region page, Ben Lomond and the Ogden bench. This entry is just the window.

The details

WhereThe whole city, about seven square miles with no mapped water, Ben Lomond at 9,712 feet on the eastern skyline
From downtown Pleasant ViewZero; the difference here is about a thousand feet of elevation, not any distance
SeasonYear round; the mountain holds snow into early summer
CostFree, and there is nothing to enter
Time neededNone; a short drive along the bench is the whole visit

Getting there

From the city offices on Elberta Drive, head east and let the streets climb toward the mountain; the higher you go up the bench, the more of the valley opens behind you and the closer the peak feels ahead. There is no overlook and no gate, so this is a drive or a slow walk through ordinary streets rather than a stop with a parking lot. Early and late in the day are when the light on Ben Lomond is best.

Before you go

  • The peak is 9,712 feet on the Forest Service's records; a figure of 9,716 circulates but traces to an encyclopedia rather than an agency.
  • There is no single elevation for the city; the ground runs from about 4,267 feet to above 5,300 across seven square miles.
  • The bench streets are residential, so treat this as a drive-through view rather than a place to park and linger.
  • The full elevation ladder, point by point, is on the Ben Lomond vantage page.

Come for Founders Day in late June

Across the city Free Late June

Founders Day is the city's own summer day, and the first thing to get right is the name: it is Founders Day, singular, not Pleasant View Days. That matters here because the cities on either side run their own summer events on their own weekends under their own names, and mixing them up is the commonest mistake made about this town. In 2026 the day fell on Saturday 27 June, with a parade lining up from 9.00 to 9.30 and stepping off at 10 in the morning.

Around the parade the city stacks a full slate, all of it free to attend: a 5K fun run, a car show, a pickleball tournament, a volleyball tournament and a kids bike parade. The city lists no single venue for the day and publishes no parade route, which for a parade that steps off at ten is the one fact worth phoning ahead about. There is no rodeo and no fireworks on the published slate, so plan for a morning parade and a daytime festival rather than a night event.

Founders Day sits inside the city's wider calendar, and both the day and the parks it runs on are covered on the sibling page, the parks and Founders Day. The other free events across the year get their own entry at number five below.

The details

WhereAcross the city; the parade lines up 9.00 to 9.30 and steps off at 10 in the morning, route not published
From downtown Pleasant ViewIt is downtown; the city offices and Barker Park share 520 W Elberta Drive
SeasonSaturday 27 June in 2026; the 2027 date is not yet published
CostFree entry to the whole day
Time neededA morning for the parade and the 5K, a full day for the car show and tournaments

Getting there

The city offices and Barker Park share one address at 520 W Elberta Drive, and that complex is the anchor for most of the day. Because the parade route is not published, the safe plan is to arrive before the 9.00 lineup, park well clear of the offices, and ask a marshal or a neighbour where the route runs. The city office on 801-782-8529 is the place to confirm the current year's plan in the spring.

Before you go

  • The name is Founders Day, singular; a neighbour's differently named summer event is a different weekend and a different city.
  • The 2026 date is confirmed; the 2027 date posts in the spring, so check with the city before planning a trip around it.
  • No parade route is published, so give yourself time to find the line before 10.
  • No fireworks and no rodeo are on the slate; this is a daytime event.

Spend an afternoon at the four city parks

Four addresses Free Boweries May to September

Pleasant View runs four parks, and the city publishes an address and a bowery rule for each and almost nothing else. Barker Park at 520 W Elberta Drive shares its ground with the city offices, so it doubles as the civic heart of town. Pleasant View Park sits on Pleasant View Drive, Shady Lane Park is at 600 W 3000 N, and Wadman Nature Park, the largest and the quietest of the four, is at 400 4350 N Street. None is more than about two miles from the offices, so you can walk or drive the whole set in an afternoon.

The rules are simple and worth knowing before you turn up. The boweries at Barker Park and Wadman Nature Park can be reserved on a first come, first served basis between 1 May and 30 September; Pleasant View Park's bowery is not reservable at all. Reservations are taken by telephone on 801-782-8529, and no fee is published for any park or any bowery. The city lists no amenity, no hours and no acreage for any of the four, so what you see on arrival is the record.

One quirk to carry: the city's own website gives two different street addresses for Pleasant View Park, so this page names it by its street rather than a number. The full four-park rundown, with the reservation wording and the address contradiction, is on the sibling page, the parks and Founders Day.

The details

WhereBarker Park, 520 W Elberta Drive; Pleasant View Park on Pleasant View Drive; Shady Lane Park, 600 W 3000 N; Wadman Nature Park, 400 4350 N Street
From downtown Pleasant ViewAll inside the city limits, none more than about two miles from the offices, roughly five minutes
SeasonBoweries at Barker and Wadman reservable 1 May to 30 September; parks otherwise open and unposted
CostFree; no fee is published, and reservations are taken by phone on 801-782-8529
Time neededAn afternoon; these are neighbourhood and community parks, not destinations

Getting there

Barker Park is the easy one to find, on Elberta Drive with the city offices. The other three are spread across the west and north of the city on ordinary residential streets, so a phone map is the reliable way to reach Shady Lane and Wadman. If you are meeting somebody at Pleasant View Park, ring the city offices first, because the two addresses the city itself publishes for it do not agree.

Before you go

  • The city publishes no amenity list, hours or acreage for any of the four parks, so call ahead if a specific feature matters.
  • Bowery reservations at Barker and Wadman run 1 May to 30 September and are taken by phone, first come, first served.
  • Pleasant View Park's bowery is not reservable, so it is turn up and take what is open.
  • The city's site lists two addresses for Pleasant View Park; confirm the meeting spot on 801-782-8529.

Catch the free events the city runs all year

Barker and Pleasant View Park Free Spring to December

Beyond Founders Day, Pleasant View runs a short, dependable calendar of free events, and its size is part of the charm: there are exactly six things on it, so it is easy to hold in your head. The year opens with an Easter candy grab at Pleasant View Park in April and closes with Santa at City Hall in early December. Every one of them is organised by the city and every one is free to attend.

The summer is where this calendar earns a place on the list. Movies in the Park play at dusk on a couple of Friday evenings in late May and late June, and the Food Truck Giddy-Up brings trucks to Barker Park at 520 W Elberta Drive on a run of Monday evenings across the summer, from about 5.30 to 8.30. Come fall, Pumpkin Palooza takes over the same park in late October. Between them they turn an ordinary summer week into a reason to be in town after dinner.

The full calendar, with the parks each event uses and the reservation rules behind them, is on the sibling page, the parks and Founders Day. As with the parade, the city posts each year's dates in the spring, so treat the pattern below as 2026 as held.

The details

WhereMostly Barker Park, 520 W Elberta Drive, and Pleasant View Park; Santa is at City Hall on the same complex
From downtown Pleasant ViewAt or beside the city offices; nothing is more than about two miles out
SeasonApril to December; Movies in the Park and the food trucks run across the summer
CostFree; the food trucks sell their own food
Time neededAn evening for a movie or a food truck night

Getting there

Most of the calendar lands at Barker Park on Elberta Drive, the same complex as the city offices, so if you can find the offices you can find the event. Movies in the Park and Pumpkin Palooza move between Barker and Pleasant View Park, so check the city's listing for which park hosts which night before you set out.

Before you go

  • There are six city events in all, spring through December, and every one is free.
  • The food truck evenings run roughly 5.30 to 8.30 on Mondays at Barker Park across the summer.
  • Movies play at dusk, so the start time drifts later as midsummer approaches; bring chairs and a blanket.
  • Dates are posted each spring; the list here is 2026 as held, so confirm before a trip.

The logistics

Where each one sits, and what it costs.

The whole list on one screen. Drive times are measured from the city offices on Elberta Drive under ordinary conditions and are our own estimates, not figures any agency publishes. Because everything here is free, the cost column is really a note on what, if anything, you would ever phone ahead about.

The pick Where From the city offices Season Cost
Bonneville Shoreline TrailUpper bench, near Pole Patch DriveAbout 8 minutesBest spring to fall, open year roundFree
The Ben Lomond vantageThe whole city, bench streets eastYou are thereYear roundFree
Founders DayAcross the city, parade at 10You are thereLate June, 27 June in 2026Free
The four city parksBarker, Pleasant View, Shady Lane, WadmanUp to about 5 minutesBoweries May to SeptemberFree, phone to reserve
The free events calendarBarker and Pleasant View ParkUp to about 5 minutesApril to DecemberFree

Dated, so time it

Founders Day is a single Saturday in late June, and the events calendar runs from an April egg hunt to a December visit from Santa. Only these two turn on the date, and the city posts each year's dates in the spring.

Open any day

The shoreline trail, the Ben Lomond vantage and the four parks are there whenever you are, no ticket and no season. That is what makes a plain weekday or a quiet winter afternoon in Pleasant View worth the drive.

Worth a phone call first

The trailhead has no published directions, a bowery needs a call to 801-782-8529 to reserve, and Pleasant View Park carries two addresses on the city's own site. One number, the city offices, answers all three.

Preparation

What to sort out before you set out.

This is a small city with a thousand feet of climb from its valley floor to its bench, and two practical facts shape almost every visit: the trailhead nobody gives directions to, and a calendar that only posts its dates in the spring. The cards below sort the list by what you actually need to know first.

For the shoreline trail

  • No agency publishes a marked lot; park where it is legal on the bench streets, not on a map pin
  • The corridor follows the power lines; Tower 45 and Pole Patch Drive are the landmarks to steer by
  • Carry water and download a map, because the bench is exposed and signal is thin
  • Call the city or the Ogden Ranger District if you want the access answer before you drive

For the events

  • Founders Day is late June; in 2026 it was Saturday the 27th, and the 2027 date is not yet posted
  • The parade lines up from 9.00 and steps off at 10, and its route is not published
  • Movies play at dusk and food trucks run Monday evenings, both across the summer
  • Confirm the current year's dates with the city, which posts them in the spring

For the parks and the drive

  • A bowery at Barker or Wadman needs a phone reservation, first come, first served, May to September
  • Pleasant View Park carries two addresses on the city site, so confirm a meeting spot by phone
  • Everything sits within about three miles, but the stops are spread, so a car makes the day easier
  • The city offices on 801-782-8529 answer parks, events and the trailhead all from one number

Getting here and around

Pleasant View sits on the north end of Weber County, and the freeway exit that serves it, I-15 Exit 349, is signed for the neighbouring town as well, so watch for the shared name. A mainline railway runs through the west side of the city but no passenger train stops here; the nearest station is down in Ogden. In practice this is a drive-to, drive-around town: the stops on this list are close together but spread across the city, and no single transit line links them. The full orientation, with the exit, the rails and what could and could not be confirmed about buses, is on the sibling page for Exit 349 and the corridor.

A note on the hot springs

If you came looking for Utah Hot Springs, the honest answer is that you cannot visit. The old resort with the heated pool came down about 1970, the springs sit on private ground in an industrial corridor on the county line, and no public body publishes any access, trail or viewpoint there. The name survives on a highway junction a few miles north, and the geology and the history are genuinely interesting, but they are a page to read rather than a place to go. That story sits on the sibling page for Utah Hot Springs.

Put it together

A morning, a full day, or a June Saturday.

Five stops in a small city do not need a three day plan. Here are three honest ways to fit them in, depending on how much time you have and whether the calendar is on your side.

If you have a morning

  • Walk a stretch of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail off the upper bench early, while it is cool
  • Drive the bench streets down for the Ben Lomond view on the way back
  • Finish at Barker Park on Elberta Drive, the civic heart of town
  • Add a food truck night here in summer if you can stay into the evening

If you have a full day

  • Morning as above, out and back on the trail to the pass if you have the legs
  • Midday: work through the four parks, ending at Wadman Nature Park for the quiet one
  • Afternoon: the bench drive again at the golden end of the day for the mountain
  • Evening: a movie in the park or a food truck night in season

If it is Founders Day

  • Arrive before the 9.00 parade lineup and park well clear of the offices
  • Watch the parade step off at 10, then stay for the car show and the 5K
  • Let the day be the visit; the tournaments and the festival fill the afternoon
  • Walk the trail or drive the bench the next morning if you are staying over

Keep reading

Seven more doors into the same city.

The trail's north end

The Shoreline Trailhead

Where the built trail stops, the four names it carries, and why nobody publishes directions to it.

Read the guide

The view and the name

The Ben Lomond Vantage

A thousand feet of climb inside seven square miles, the mountain above it, and the 1882 remark that named a city.

Read the guide

Parks and the calendar

The Parks and Founders Day

Four reservable parks, six free events, and the address quirks in the city's own listings.

Read the guide

On the county line

Utah Hot Springs

An emigrant road, a resort with excursion trains, a demolition about 1970, and why you cannot visit today.

Read the guide

Getting out of town

Exit 349 and the Corridor

The freeway exit that carries the neighbour's name, a mainline railway, and the train that does not stop.

Read the guide

Water and growth

Water and How the City Grows

The city's own water ordinance, how many people it plans for by 2050, and what its plan says about supply.

Read the guide

The practical side

Moving to Pleasant View

The schools inside the limits, the city's own police department, the census figures, and the postal-address trap.

Read the guide

Common questions

The list, answered.

Walk the Bonneville Shoreline Trail off the upper bench, because the built trail actually begins in Pleasant View. Go south and you are on a continuous stretch of shoreline bench trail that runs to Ogden; go north and the built trail stops at a gap still in planning. The catch is access: no public body publishes a street address, a marked lot or a fee for the trailhead, and it follows the power line corridor near Pole Patch Drive. Park where it is legal and call the city on 801-782-8529 if you want the answer first.

All five things on this list are free. The Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the four city parks are free to walk into, the Ben Lomond vantage is just the view from the city's own streets, and every event the city runs, from Founders Day to the summer movies and food trucks to Santa in December, is free to attend. The only thing published to pay for is a phone reservation for a bowery at Barker or Wadman Nature Park, and even that carries no fee on the city's site.

Honestly, nobody publishes it. The trail committee's directions section is blank for this trailhead, the trail foundation lists no facilities, and the city publishes no trails content at all. The trailhead sits at the north end of the power line corridor on the upper bench, near Pole Patch Drive, with no signed lot, no board and no toilet documented by any body. Park where parking is legal and obvious rather than where a map pin suggests, and ring Pleasant View City on 801-782-8529 or the Forest Service's Ogden Ranger District before you drive.

Late June. In 2026 it fell on Saturday 27 June, with the parade lining up from 9.00 to 9.30 and stepping off at 10 in the morning, followed by a 5K, a car show, a pickleball tournament, a volleyball tournament and a kids bike parade. It is free, and the name is Founders Day, singular, not Pleasant View Days. The city posts each year's dates in the spring, so the 2027 date is not yet published; confirm with the city on 801-782-8529 before planning a trip around it.

No. The springs sit on private ground in an industrial corridor on the Box Elder and Weber county line, the old resort with the heated pool came down about 1970, and no public body publishes any access, trail, viewpoint or open hours there. The spring water is used in a commercial greenhouse operation and the site remains closed to the public. That is why it is not on this list. The name does survive on a highway junction a few miles north, and the geology and history are worth reading on the Utah Hot Springs page.

Four, all inside the city limits. Barker Park at 520 W Elberta Drive shares its ground with the city offices; Pleasant View Park is on Pleasant View Drive; Shady Lane Park is at 600 W 3000 N; and Wadman Nature Park, the largest and quietest, is at 400 4350 N Street. The boweries at Barker and Wadman can be reserved by phone on a first come, first served basis from 1 May to 30 September, with no fee published. The city lists no amenities, hours or acreage, so call ahead if a specific feature matters.

The mountain filling the eastern sky is Ben Lomond, 9,712 feet on the Forest Service's records, and it is what the city was named for in 1882. There is no single elevation for Pleasant View itself, because the ground climbs a lot: the federal elevation service reads about 4,267 feet on the valley floor edge and above 5,300 feet where the shoreline trail crosses the city limits, roughly a thousand feet of spread across seven square miles. Drive the bench streets east and the view is the whole point.

No, it is its own incorporated city on the north end of Weber County, with its own police department, and it has been since 1945. It is easy to confuse, because the postal addresses do not follow the city line: schools and buildings inside Pleasant View limits, including Weber High, carry Ogden or North Ogden mailing addresses, and its I-15 exit is signed with the neighbouring town's name. The city sits north of Ogden and west of North Ogden, tucked under Ben Lomond, and the mailing-address quirks are untangled on the moving-to page.

For most visitors, yes. A mainline railway runs through the west side of the city but no passenger train stops here, the nearest station is down in Ogden, and no bus route could be confirmed serving the city in this research. The five stops on this list are all within about three miles of the city offices, but they are spread from the upper bench to the valley floor with no single transit line linking them, so a car makes the day work. On Founders Day, the one exception, you can park once near the offices and do the whole day on foot.

Scott Buehler, Moving Utah

Five picks, and a quieter corner worth a closer look.

A day here shows you the bench, the trail and the parade. What it will not tell you is whether Pleasant View fits a household: which streets sit high on the bench and which on the valley floor, how the city's own growth plan reads, and what a given block actually costs. Those are the questions I can help with. Tell me what you are weighing and I will connect you with a Weber County partner agent who knows this end of the valley, and stay on the file for the research and the financing side.

Explore Pleasant View homes Talk to Scott

Referral disclosure. Outside Southern Utah, I connect home sellers and buyers with partner agents I trust in their area. If you choose to work with an agent I refer, that agent's brokerage pays my brokerage (Real Broker, LLC) a referral fee. The fee comes out of the agent's compensation; it is not an added cost to you. You are always free to choose any agent you wish, and using a referred agent is never required.