Logan Canyon Scenic Byway
A Quick Trip, Logan Canyon Scenic Byway
| Departure: | Logan, Utah |
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| Destination: | Garden City, Utah |
| Time to allow: | 1 day |
This guide is for the traveler who wishes a taste of Logan Canyon Scenic Byway. Tantalizing glimpses of history from ages long past to living memory will unfold before you as we introduce you to significant sights along the Byway.
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Start: Logan
Nestled in narrow Cache Valley and home to Utah State University, Logan enjoys scenic beauty and cultural opportunities.
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Stop 1: Logan Ranger Station and Canyon Entrance
Distance from Previous Site: 1.5 miles / 2.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Take a few minutes to orient yourself at the colorful panels outside the Logan Ranger District Visitor Center. Stop inside, browse the gift shop, and pick up a free guide to the canyon.
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Stop 2: Lady Bird Overlook
Suggested Time at This Site: 45 minutes It takes millions of years to create a view as lovely as the one seen from this overlook. The Wellsville Mountain Range, boasting the steepest incline from base to summit of any range in the continental United States, forms a snowcapped backdrop to the mix of rural and urban landscapes before us. The broad flat-topped terraces visible at the base of all the mountains surrounding the valley were formed by the descending shoreline of ancient and extinct Lake Bonneville. You are standing on one, and two splendid examples are visible just to your left, across the wide river valley known locally as 'the Island.'
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Stop 3: River Trail
Distance from Previous Site: 1.5 miles / 2.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes The Wasatch-Cache National Forest border sign on the left side of the road marks a small area that provides roadside parking for the Stokes Nature Center. Park here and look up the canyon. On the other side of the road a few yards ahead is a gravel road that is the trailhead to the River Trail, and the path to the Stokes Nature Center. Please be careful crossing the highway.
The rolling terrain and shade trees of the River Trail make it ideal for pleasant walks or bike rides. Thick vegetation screens out the noise of the highway and allows visitors to enjoy the rushing, bubbling sounds and beauty of the Logan River. In winter, cross-country skiers find this gentle wide path a quiet retreat from the snowmobiles that share the basins further up the canyon. In summer and fall, joggers, hikers, dog-walkers, and others share the trail.
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Stop 4: Stokes Nature Center
Distance from Previous Site: 0.25 miles / 0.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes A quarter-mile up the River Trail is the Stokes Nature Center. This 3,000 square-foot lodge was constructed in 1924 by members of the American Legion and later donated to the Boy Scouts. Today, the Stokes Nature Center provides a variety of high-quality, hands-on programs for school children, community groups, families, and the general public. Check their website for a schedule of programs and events.
Return to your vehicle the way you came for a second look at the River Trail. This time, look for small placards hung from trees and plants along the way (summer only) to learn more about local flora and fauna.
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Stop 5: Second Dam
Distance from Previous Site: 1.25 miles / 2.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Continue up canyon for a few minutes, until you find a roadside parking area to your right where the Byway curves to the left. This is the lower parking area for Second Dam. Park here, or continue ahead and turn into the upper parking area indicated by the roadsign.
Year-round, Second Dam is one of the most popular fishing spots on the Byway. The tree-shaded boardwalk fishing pier borders a wide stretch of the river. With mountains on all sides, cool shallows for wading and shaded picnic areas, families find this park a pretty wilderness getaway.
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Stop 6: Power Plant at Second Dam
Distance from Previous Site: 0.1 miles / 0.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes Logan City began producing its own electrical power from this site shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Monthly rates at that time ranged from 20 to 50 cents per light. Bills were determined by a "checker" who visited each house and counted the number of light bulbs in use. Up to 15% of the city's electricity is still produced here.
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Stop 7: Wind Caves
Distance from Previous Site: 2.3 miles / 3.7 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 4 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 45 minutes Look carefully for the Dewitt Picnic Area roadsign on the right of the road, and pull in here for a moment. Look high up the side of the canyon across the road at the prominent band of gray limestone, known as the "China Wall." Search for some large "holes" in a ridge in this band.
This is your first look at one of Logan Canyon's most unique features: the Wind Caves. Years of wind and water have worn a delicate triple arch and natural cave into this prominent rock layer visible throughout most of the lower canyon.
A 1.3-mile hike (one-way) to this local formation is just 0.4 miles further up the Byway. Stop and read the interpretive panel for more information about this fascinating bit of local geology.
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Stop 8: Wood Camp Campground
Distance from Previous Site: 5.6 miles / 9.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 7 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes As you continue up the canyon, you will pass many campgrounds, picnic areas, and recreation spots. The cattail-edged expanse of Third Dam to your right harbors waterfowl and beaver, and trout to tempt fishermen in all seasons. As the canyon narrows and tall limestone cliffs loom up beside the road, watch out for rock climbers. Logan Canyon offers some of the most technically difficult climbs in the area.
Just past the China Wall Picnic Area (the only area of the drive where trees meet over the road), follow the sign to the left for Wood Camp Campground and Jardine Juniper Trailhead. Turn here, drive over the river bridge, and continue a minute or so until the road ends at a trailhead.
During the 1870s and 1880s, timber cut from this hollow provided railroad ties, telegraph poles, and hundreds of cords of firewood for use in lime kilns in the lower part of the canyon. These kilns processed the limestone and provided the mortar used in the construction of the Mormon Temple in Logan. Due to its location, Wood Camp also served as a halfway station for weary loggers in need of food and shelter as they made their way back and forth through the canyon.
The powerful work of avalanches shaped the expansive basin before you. Look for misplaced sections of soil and scattered rock which the avalanches carried down-slope with them.
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Stop 9: Jardine Juniper Trail
Distance from Previous Site: 0.01 miles / 0.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes The wood campground is the trailhead to the Jardine Juniper, an old, gnarled juniper thought to be 1500 years old and one of the oldest living juniper trees on earth. Hikers, bikers, and horse-riders enjoy this 5.8-mile hike (one-way) through shady forests and wildflower-strewn meadows, which takes them to high views of the canyon below.
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Stop 10: Ricks Spring
Distance from Previous Site: 4.8 miles / 7.7 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 6 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Just past the Temple Fork Road turnoff, on the left side of the road, is Ricks Spring Cavern. This large cave has been a traditional wayside stop for generations of canyon visitors. Early settlers would fill up jugs of spring water, until it was discovered that this "spring" is not a "spring" at all, but an underground diversion of the Logan River. Read the panels, explore the nearby micro-caves in the surrounding rocks and enjoy the cooler air, but please do not take a drink! Like all open water in the West, Ricks Springs contains giardia, a microorganism that causes severe intestinal problems.
If time permits, take a 7-mile side trip to glacial Tony Grove Lake. This area explodes into wildflowers in the early summer. A popular 0.8-mile trail takes visitors around the lake, with interpretive information along the way. Many popular hikes start in this area, including several which lead into the Bear River Range backcountry and the Mt. Naomi Wilderness Area.
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Stop 11: Limber Pine Trail/Logan Canyon Summit
Distance from Previous Site: 15 miles / 24.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 20 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes At 7,800 feet, the Byway reaches its highest point here, just past the Rich-Cache county line. Pull into the small parking area, stretch your legs and enjoy the scent of the pine forest around you. Read the interpretive panels, and, if time permits, take the easy 1.3-mile round-trip hike to the Limber Pine. This hike is perfect for families with children.
The Limber Pine Nature Trail uses a series of switchbacks to navigate an elevation change of about 80 feet as it passes through the fir and aspen forest and meadows abundant with wildflowers even in high summer. Interpretation sites along the way point out local nature to the hiker. There are fine views of Bear Lake from several points along the trail.
The goal is a large limber pine, which is actually several trees grown together. It is much older than most other trees in the area, and in fact was once believed to be the oldest and largest limber pine in the country.
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Stop 12: Bear Lake Overlook and Visitor Center
Distance from Previous Site: 1.1 miles / 1.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes Pull off the road here for a bird's-eye view of Bear Lake. On clear days, the incredible turquoise blue color of this huge desert lake is caused by limestone particles suspended in the lake. Native American tribes, such as the Shoshone, Bannock and Utes, once gathered here to fish and hunt. From 1824-1828, mountain men also gathered here in great rendezvous or trading fairs, which to these independent wanderers, was a county fair, fiesta and carnival all rolled into one. Today's visitors flock to the lake's sandy beaches and inviting waters to swim, water ski, sun bathe, and sail.
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End: Garden City
Distance from Previous Site: 6.2 miles / 9.9 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 8 minutes
