Kid Friendly Hike: WSU Discovery Loop Trail
Trail Overview
Distance: 1 mi | Location: Ogden | Best Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter | Elevation Gain: 151 ft | RouteType: Loop |Bathrooms @ Trailhead: No
WSU Discovery Loop Trail is located in Ogden, Utah near the campus for Weber State University. This trail is a great all season trail (though it can get a bit muddy and icy during early spring and late fall). The loop is a mile long, but there is an option to connect to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail if you are looking to do a longer hike (see trail map below for more details).
Getting There
The trailhead for WSU Discovery Loop is located east of the Weber State Campus, just above the football stadium. If you use Google Maps you can type in “WSU Discovery Loop” for the most direct route based on your location.
To reach it you simply turn onto 36th street from Harrison Blvd heading east. As 36th curves around Weber State University and starts heading south it turns into Skyline Drive. The trailhead is on the left-hand side of the road.
Trail Conditions
This is a nice, smooth single-track trail. Mountain bikers aren’t allowed on the trail so the only other traffic you need to worry about is other hikers. While I don’t mind sharing the trail with mountain bikers, being on a hikers-only trail is nice if you have little kids that want to hike out in front of you. Kids aren’t always the easiest for mountain bikers to see on the trail.
Trail Highlights
Madic and I actually stumbled upon this trail by accident. Our initial plans were to hike the Paracourse Fitness Circuit Trail (which shares the same trailhead) but thought the WSU Discovery Loop Trail looked more interesting. Below are some of the things we enjoyed on this hike.
Diverse Plant Life
At the beginning of the hike you are surrounded by vegetation typical for the Ogden benches (scrub oak and sagebrush) but as you start gaining elevation you will start to see cacti lining the trail. I have hiked a variety of trails on the benches of Ogden and this is the first time I have seen cacti. It was also the first time Madic has seen a cactus. He was beyond fascinated!! It was a fun reminder that Utah is a desert.
Educational Placards
As you hike the trail be sure to watch for the educational placards. Some of them are small and close to the ground so they can be easy to miss if you aren’t looking for them. While most educational placards are a bit wordy for little kids, these placards included fun, thought-provoking questions like “Do you know how trees get their food?” It was fun to ask Madic the questions to get him thinking a little bit more about the nature surrounding us.
NOTE: If you are into hikes with educational placards then be sure to check out Ladyfinger Point Trail and Limber Pine Trail.
Some Things to Be Aware Of
There are some exposed parts of the trail, so I would recommend saving this hike for cooler days or doing it early in the morning. And as is the case with most Ogden-based hikes this trail is in the flight path of Hill Airforce Base. If you have a child that has a hypersensitivity to sound be aware that the jets can get loud.
Enjoy!
If you are looking for a short, easy hike close to home I would definitely recommend checking out the WSU Discovery Loop Trail. If you get a chance to try it out please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
