Ogden, Utah

Bright Lights & Dark Sides

Choose your adventure: From the mountains to the city in Ogden, Utah

Mountain adventure or urban escape? A trip to Ogden, Utah can provide either. Better yet, it can provide both. The interactive planning tool below highlights just a few of our favorite options. Mix and match to create your own Ogden summer adventure.

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Q1:
“I want a ___________ adventure.”
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Metro
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Mountain

From our nationally-recognized Treehouse Children’s Museum, to historic aviation, and dinosaur museums, exciting art galleries and performing arts centers, you’ll find an abundance of engaging experiences every day in Ogden. Sure bets include the monthly First Friday Art Stroll, Saturday Farmers Market, and special events like Pioneer Days, and the Harvest Moon Celebration.

Events Calendar

Hundreds of miles of beautifully maintained trails wind through thousands of acres on the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, just outside the city. A mecca for hikers, mountain bikers, and climbers, many trails trace the Ogden and Weber Rivers, or circle the Pineview and Causey Reservoirs, giving easy access to kayakers, stand up paddle boarders, and fly fishermen.

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Q2:
“Music sounds best above 6,000’/below 5,000’.”
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Mountain
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Metro

Ogden Twilight

Bottom line: You’ll be hard pressed to see such top-tier, nationally-touring artists at lower ticket prices than you’ll find at Ogden Twilight. This year’s line-up of concerts includes Fitz and the Tantrums, The Flaming Lips, Big Wild, Group Love, and more. Click the button for tickets and info.

Tickets

OFOAM

The Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music Festival is a three-day event held at historic Fort Buenaventura, on the banks of the Weber River. Past artists have included Mandolin Orange, Lakestreet Dive, The Wood Brothers, and Robert Earl Keen. This year’s festival features names such as Town Mountain, Dustbowl Revival, and The Mccrary Sister, along with dozens of other award-winning and up-and-coming blues, folk, Americana, and bluegrass acts. Click the button for festival info, tickets and camping.

OFOAM

Blues, Brews, & BBQs

Every Sunday, from June to October, Snowbasin Resort hosts Blues, Brews & BBQs on the plaza surrounding Earl’s Lodge. This free concert series typically showcases three acts each week: a local opener, a regional warm-up act, and a national headliner. Enjoy amazing food and a broad selection of brews at these high-elevation, high fun events. Click the button below for the 2019 schedule.

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Q3:
“I want to____________ history.”
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Re-live

Check this off your Ogden bucket list: Have a cold one and sample the three-napkin, “Best Burger” in the state at one of the oldest continually operated saloons west of the Mississippi—The Shooting Star, in Huntsville. Kiss the 300-pound, stuffed St. Bernard on the wall, drop a few quarters in the old jukebox, and shoot a few games of pool to country classics by Hank Williams and Dolly Parton. You won’t want to miss this place.

Visit Site

For its first 20 years, Ogden was a small agricultural community. Then, the trains came. In 2019 Ogden celebrated the 150th anniversary of the “Golden Spike,” with a four-day Heritage Festival. Now each year you can attend the anniversary celebrations at Golden Spike National Historic Park. Plenty to see and do for young and old alike, including a Steam Train Meet-up, vintage steam engines, historic presentations, and more. Come party like it’s 1869. Celebrate the legacy of the Transcontinental Railroad, which earned Ogden the name “Junction City,” because of its location between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. Because who doesn’t like trains. Click below for everything you need to know.

Colorful History
Q4:
“This is what I call nightlife!”
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Dark Skies
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Bright Lights

North Fork Dark Sky Park

The Wasatch Mountains are a giant wall that obscure the city lights of Ogden, opening the night sky in the Ogden Valley to stargazers. North Fork Park is a designated International Dark Sky Park, with abundant camping opportunities nestled at the base of some of the most stunning peaks in the Wasatch Range.

Dark Sky Info

Compass Rose

For those looking for a more intimate view of our solar system—as well as distant star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies—a night at the Compass Rose Lodge is a must. This boutique, 15-room hotel in Huntsville blends in with the nearby pioneer homes and barns surrounding it. In what appears to be a silo, is the lodge’s own observatory, the Huntsville Astronomical & Lunar Observatory (HALO), featuring advanced astronomy equipment, like the 16-inch aperture Ritchey-Chretien style telescope, designed with hyperbolic shaped mirrors, just like the Hubble Space Telescope. Comfortable, modern rooms with a Western flair add to your experience.

Explore Deep Space

Dining

With more than 100 independently-owned restaurants, Ogden is a foodie’s paradise. Whether you want to grab a quick slice of authentic New York-style pizza, dine on award-winning sushi in a traditional Japanese dining room, or dig into a meal of wild game paired with locally-distilled spirits while overlooking historic 25th Street, your palette will delight in the flavors of Ogden.

Restaurant Guide

Nightlife/Bar Scene

Dive bars with cheap longneck bottles while shooting a few games of pool? We’ve got that. Swanky signature cocktails at an elegant rooftop bar overlooking the city? Ogden’s got you covered. Brewpubs serving up local craft beers? That number continues to grow. Go ahead and abandon whatever preconceived notions you had about Utah’s liquor laws. You’ll never be thirsty here.

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Plan your Ogden adventure now.