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The Ogden River Parkway is a great, super easy, paved 4.4 mile walkway that follows the Ogden River from the mouth of Ogden Canyon to where it joins the Weber River just east of i15. From there it joins the Weber River Parkway and will one day be a full 27 mile loop around the Weber Valley by joining with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The loop will be called the Centennial Trail when complete. We were thinking about seeing if we could do it one day. But that is a lot. Maybe on bikes, or do it in 2 days.
We have done most of the Ogden River Parkway before. Lorin Farr Park to Canyon Mouth, and Lorin Farr Park to Washington Blvd. After completing this section today we just need to do from the 21st St pond to Washington Blvd. to say we have done the whole thing.
21st Street Pond with the mountains above.
Ogden/Weber River Confluence.
Quick Details:
Length: 1 Mile around the pond. Going down to the river confluence will add Another 1.2 miles round trip.
Difficulty: DR2 Paved. pretty flat at this section.
Elevation Gain: 23 ft.
Restroom: No.
Dogs? Are allowed. I think Ogden has a leash law though.
To get here: take i15 to exit 343 21st Street in Ogden. Follow that for about 7/10 of a mile and turn left on the very small, 650 W. Follow that back about 50 yards, and park in the parking lot. You will be looking at the pond now. Address: 650 W 20th, Ogden, UT 84401.
Centennial Trail sign. We decided to head down towards the river confluence, and then come back around the pond, so we went left.
21st Street Pond. It is still frozen enough to walk on. Although, it has been warm enough the last few days that I didn’t want to walk on it.
Paved pathway. It even looks like it is plowed.
The frozen pond with Mount Ogden in the background. We got a couple closer shots of that on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail a few weeks ago.
So, the official Ogden City Page calls this 21st Street Pond, but this sign here says Goode Ski Lake. I did some googlefu and found a ski company located nearby by called Goode which sells water and snow skis, and they do their e’s the same way. Interesting.
A little more googlefu and I think we have an answer.
At the north west corner of the pond you come to the Ogden River. You can go right to continue around the pond, or left about .6 miles to the Ogden/Weber River Confluence. We went left.
Holy crap, it is really high and just gushing! Like I said, it has been warm, but this is what it looks like in run off season.
Really big fallen tree.
Little point of interest sign about bird mother behavior.
We found several bird houses along the way.
Ogden river and Ben Lomond.
We found a bridge that gave a better view of the river. There is a small park near here as well. Seems like it would be a nice spot for a picnic.
The river bending south.
Rather large nest.
After the park the trail is not as clear. However, it is still flat and easy.
Lovely wooded path.
Oh, I think we have reached the confluence.
Yep yep, we have!
Much better shot. This really reminds me of Colliding Rivers found in Oregon. Anyway, here the Ogden River (which generally flows west) turns to the south and where the weber is now flowing to the north. They slam into each other here and then head west, as the Weber River.
Panoramic to show it a little better. Ogden River to the right, Weber River to the left and forward.
We decided to continue down to that bridge.
It’s a nice bridge. I learned that West Haven is also working on continuing the Weber River Parkway down west. Nice!
Oh, it even has a name. Thanks Mr. McFarland.
Looking downstream towards the river confluence. By the way, we are now over the Weber River.
And looking upstream. The Weber River seems a lot calmer than the Ogden River.
We decided this was far enough for the day and decided to turn around.
Back to the river confluence. A little closer to the river.
Another panoramic. I don’t know why I find this fascinating but I do. Both rivers are fairly large. Most confluences I am used to are smaller streams joining larger streams or rivers so it’s not as dramatic as this.
The bridge from earlier.
One more time at the confluence. This better show the almost perfect T.
Small park with a couple pavilions. This took a bit more googlefu but I believe it is called West Haven River Park it sounds like it is new, and still being updated. I take back my plow comment from earlier. There is a shortcut on this side of the park that they did plow, but opted to not plow the longer trail around the bend.
Also, It looks like this could be used as an alternate trailhead. I found the parking lot at about 890 W 17th St, Marriott-Slaterville, UT.
Back to the River Parkway.
Nice shot of Mount Ogden.
They have done a great job of cleaning up the Ogden River. Landis even mentioned to me this area used to be particularly trashy. There are still signs of it, but for the most part it looks great and is a nice walking path.
Whirlpool in the river.
And we are back to the 21st Street Pond. That was a nice little detour to the river confluence. We decided to keep our original plan and continue around the pond.
Driving past this several times I always assumed it was a pond within the path of the Ogden River. However, I made a panoramic to show that is not the case. It is a manmade pond, and the water is diverted from the river, and then comes back in. right behind me here.
The pond again, from the north.
And from the east.
For a minute we were really confused as to how a rapidly flowing river was suddenly so calm and frozen. We later discerned it to be an overflow stream.
Looks like they came in and took care of a recent tree fall. And the wind must have been blowing north at the time. Nice to see they maintain the trail system so well.
Another view of the pond from the east side.
You know, I would much rather be up in the mountains, but I am having a great time today. It is a lovely trail.
A pretty nasty rapid with the mountains. Keep a close eye on the kids around the river.
Okay. I find these trail side Christmas Trees to be whimsical and fun. In December. If you don’t come back to clean it up, at this point it just becomes littering. Come on now.
Here you can see where the river is overflowing into the woods behind the lake. Like I said, I think the pond is man made, but I think this whole area was probably at one point flood area.
Duckies on ice!
There are several picnic tables situated around the lake.
Trees reflected in a puddle.
More duckies.
The pond again.
Warning signs near the entrance.
The south side of the pond lies right next to 21st street (hence the name I guess) and the busy road can be heard from some of the trail. Not a deal breaker, but it is unfortunate.
We saw something big, black, and long legged fly over us, so we came back to the melted area of the pond. Whatever it was, we lost it.
As we came around the bend I was just wondering where the heck the River Parkway Trail went. We discovered it comes up about halfway on the south side of the pond and then goes over the bridge on 21st Street.
And here is what that looks like. I know you have to get over the train tracks but, ick. This is a really busy road!
Loads off robins in the trees here.
The lake and mountains.
They even have a nice bike fixing station. It even looks mostly intact.
Last parting shot of the lake and mountains above.
I actually enjoyed this adventure more than I thought I would. I expected a leisurely stroll around a nice pond and at the time, I was totally just hoping the trail lead to the river confluence and I was right. Plus, that was pretty neat to see as well. Little bit of wildlife, well, ducks and other birds. And not a whole lot of people today. Of course, it was Superbowl Sunday though, so that may not always be the case. Definitely a good winter adventure. I think it would be just as lovely other times as well though. 7 out of 10 squirrels.
As for difficulty, it is flat, paved and almost completely cleared of snow. DR2.
Dogs are allowed, leashed. Please remember to clean up after your furry friend.
