Ogden is a historic railroad town in Utah's Wasatch Range.
Get in
By plane
By car
Ogden is on Interstate 15, about 40 minutes north of Salt Lake City, and 1 hour and 10 minutes south of the Idaho border.
By bus
- The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Phone: +1-888-RIDE-UTA (743-3882) operates an extensive bus system all across the Wasatch Range, so you can easily and readily reach Ogden by public transportation from almost anywhere along the Wasatch Range.
By train
- The FrontRunner commuter rail line runs between Ogden and Provo. Service runs every hour on weekdays (with more frequent service during rush hours) and every hour or two on Saturdays. One-way fares range from $3.00-$9.50 depending on how far you travel. Future plans call for an extension of the FrontRunner.
Get around
By bus
- The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Phone: +1-888-RIDE-UTA (743-3882). UTA buses travel to all of the major points around town.
Downtown Ogden is very walkable. Most of the major hotels and many tourist sites are clustered around a few city blocks along 25th Street between Wall and Washington Avenues.
See
- Historic 25th Street. A three-block historic district. Stroll through history as you visit restaurants, art galleries, and shops. Historic 25th Street hosts outdoor events throughout the year, including a farmers' market (July through September), zombie walks, an event called Witchstock, and car shows. Inside Union Station, on the west end of the street, there are three museums. The Utah State Railroad Museum is a remembrance of Ogden's railroad history, and a lot of fun for kids. The Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum is a smaller car museum with several restored antique cars. Finally, upstairs, is the John M. Browning Arms Museum, which features hundreds of rifles and other guns from the Browning family collection. For one price, all three museums can be visited.
- Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park. A favorite of all kids visiting Ogden. It has over 100 realistic full-sized dinosaur sculptures. There's even an animatronic tyrannosaurus rex! And while you're in the neighborhood, stop by Rainbow Gardens, one of the largest gift shops in the West.
- Lindquist Field, 41.223779°, -111.974845°. Lindquist Field is the home for the Ogden Raptors minor league baseball team.
- Utah State Railroad Museum, 2501 Wall Ave - in historic Ogden Union Station. W-Sa 11AM-4PM. +1 801-629-8680
Do
- Great trails. Go east to the foot of the mountains for awesome hiking and mountain biking trails. Not as good as those in Park City, but not as crowded either. There are several trail heads along the east side of the valley.
Buy
The Newgate Mall is anchored by Dillard's and a Cinemark movie theatre.
Historic 25th Street has a variety of quaint shops and galleries.
Eat
- The Bickering Sisters, 3909 Airport Rd (between 24th and 25th Streets), +1 801-695-7544. Daily 9AM-3PM. Bright, creative riffs on eggs, pancakes, and other breakfast staples (all day), and on lunch sandwiches, soups, and salads. Plentiful vegetarian options. The outdoor courtyard is surprisingly pleasant and cool, even on hot summer days.
Drink
Drinking in Ogden
Utah has some drinking laws that are different from other states. You can't order a pitcher of beer by yourself: You have to have at least one other person with you. Liquor is metered instead of free poured, so if you order a drink with 2 types of liquor in it, you'd need to get 2 shots; 3 ingredients would require 3 shots, etc. If you see a "Private club for members only" sign on a bar, that's a hold-over from a pre-2000 Olympic anti-barhopping law that required people to be members at bars. Even if such a sign is up, you can go in and have a drink and don't need to be a member.
Alcohol
There are several bars on Historic 25th Street, including the famous Kokomo Club, which was featured in Jack Kerouak's book Visions of Cody. There is also Roosters, a classy brewpub.
Some restaurants also feature a full bar, but since this is Utah, not nearly as many serve alcohol as might be expected elsewhere.
Utah has alcohol laws known by the rest of the United States to be restrictive. This leads to lower ABV drinks being served, as well as a hard limit of 2.5 ounces of hard alcohol (anything over 5.0% ABV) being sold in stores. However, bars and pubs can serve higher alcohol content beverages.
Coffee
If you're just looking for coffee, the local favorite is Ogden-based chain Grounds for Coffee has three locations in town. The most popular is on 30th and Harrison.
Sleep
- Best Western High Country Inn, 1335 W 12th St, 41.24400°, -112.01207°, +1 801-394-9474.
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 2245 S 1200 W, 41.22661°, -112.01063°, +1 801-392-5000. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM.
- Motel 6, 1455 Washington Blvd, 41.24027°, -111.97053°, +1 801-627-4560.
Go next
- Snowbasin is around the corner. It's a nice place to ski, but it doesn't get as much or as good snow as they do in Park City. And there's no lodging on the mountain .
- Antelope Island, accessible by car about 30-45 minutes from downtown Ogden, is known for its bison and scenic hiking trails.