North Ogden Pass
 Spectacular
alpine scenes, that are set in an urban environment, just
aren't tourist attractions. People there just go about
their business as usual. There are no tourist traps, that
families flock to in their SUVs ( or formerly station
wagons with a picture of wood on the side ). You don't
find go-cart races, amusement parks or T shirt vendors,
pony rides or ATV rentals. Instead people push their
shopping carts across mile long parking lots into Wal-Marts,
fill up their cars or look for missionary suit sales (
second picture ) without ever taking notice of the 5000ft
wall of mountains, that blind the eyes upon exiting
Wal-Mart. This gives the area an attractive realness that
cannot be achieved by a tourist resort. North Ogden Pass
leads out of this suburban area over a steep crest in the
Wasatch Range. Considering its urban character, traffic
conditions are very favorable.
click on profile for more detail
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1.(4320ft,mile00) START-END NORTH:
Five Points, North Ogden: jct: US89 - Washington
Ave.
2.(4690ft,mile04) route makes 90 degree right turn
3.(6220ft,mile08) TOP: North Ogden Pass
4.(5110ft,mile11) Liberty
5.(4950ft,mile15) Eden. Profile stays right, along
west side of Pineview Reservoir
6.(4910ft,mile19) profile continues right down Ogden
Canyon
7.(4420ft,mile25) junction with Ogden River Parkway
Trail
8.(4310ft,mile27) START-END SOUTH: jct Ogden River
Trail - Washington Ave. |
Approaches
 From
North. There are many ways to ride up onto the suburban
benches. Taking the main street, here called Washington
Street, heads straight for Willard Peak. When it gets to the
terraces, left by the ancestral Lake Bonneville, the route
makes a 90 degree turn to the right. Suburbia ends abruptly
and Willard Peak already seems to have shrunk from this
perspective. Traffic is generally much less than the
population density would lead to suspect and there is a good
shoulder on the steeply climbing road. The road does not
switch back but seems to converge with power lines over the
pass. When they seem to do it a second time, they actually do.
Meanwhile the ocean of houses in front of the inland salty sea
has disappeared behind trees. At the top the Skyline Trail
crosses the road and an Indian Trails Monument illustrates
five Indian trails in the area, one of them leading over this
pass.
Down South. (described downward) The valley fault
block on the eastern side sits much higher, and so the descent
goes even faster. The shoulder disappears and yacht-pulling
traffic around Pineview Reservoir picks up. Funny how these
things always happen together. There are two ways to get
around the lake. The profile follows the shorter route to the
west of the reservoir.
 The
best way to continue from here on a bicycle would be to take
the paved road to Mountain Green and Weber Canyon. But instead
the profile seeks the shortest way back down and that is Ogden
Canyon. Signs discourage cycling and walking in Ogden Canyon
because of a narrow shoulder, but they do not prohibit it. The
shoulder is variable from small to nonexistent and limited on
the right by a construction barricade that is supposed to make
falling off the embankment into the river less likely. I rode
the route during a Sunday mid afternoon when all the boaters
were still boating or pulling their boats around the reservoir
and had no problems. But I can easily imagine more difficult
traffic conditions.
The bottom most section is a special treat, if you feel
about bike paths the same way as I do. What looks like a
turnoff to a business ( a restaurant called Rainbow Garage or
something weird like that ) at the exit of the canyon, is
really the beginning of the Ogden City River Parkway trail. It
winds through parks, Cottonwood groves, around tree trunks and
over bridges to connect with the Centennial Trail system. Two
photos are included in the picture page.
Tours
Dayrides. A loop ride starting in North Ogden, over
this pass, through Eden, and Ogden Canyon back to the starting
point measured 58 miles with 2600ft of climbing in 4:4 hours.
This also includes many extra miles on the Ogden River Parkway
trail system and an out and back run to Huntsville
(m3:7.06.09).
History
An Indian trail crossed North Ogden Pass, and another one
ascended Ogden Canyon since before it was popular to keep
track of these things. North Ogden Pass was first discovered
by an Anglo American from the east side. Cache Valley had been
a favorite hunting ground of early trappers. In 1825 Peter
Skene Ogden led a party out of Cache Valley over the unnamed
divide south of Paradise, and then crossed this pass into what
is now North Ogden.
In 1849 Howard Stansbury crossed into the Salt Lake Valley
over North Ogden Pass and was the first to notice the terrace
formations that had to be left by a large ancient sea, which
we now call Lake Bonneville.
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