A weekend on the road: less than 30 miles from Logan

Published in the Utah Statesman February 13, 2009

Sick of watching a movie, hanging out at home with friends or going out to dinner for entertainment? How about snowshoeing, going on a food sampling tour, jumping around at a tumbling gym or exploring beautiful Logan Canyon? These are just a few of the dozens of things students can do within just a half hour of Logan.

Starting a little more than a half hour north of Logan near Preston, Idaho is Riverdale Resort Hot Springs, one of many natural hot pools around Cache Valley. Besides “five pools of wonderful naturally warm water,” in the summer, the resort also features a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool, camping and RV sites, picnic shelters, a bed and breakfast and two hydro tube slides (www.allidaho.com/mall/riverdale).

Although several of the amenities are only open in the summer, the toasty natural pools make Riverdale a great place to visit in chilly winter months.

About 15 miles northeast of Preston is the Oneida Narrows, a canyon reservoir perfect for tubing in the summer. Cheryl Hobbs, long-time Preston resident and student at BYU-Idaho, said floating the Oneida Narrows is one of her favorite summer activities.

“There’s just enough rapids that it makes it really fun,” she said. “There are also a couple of small waterfalls you go over.”

Hobbs said she recommends floating the canyon in the warmer summer months because the water can get pretty cold. Besides simply tubing the canal, Hobbs said she has also seen people float the river on air mattresses and kayaks.

Hobbs said there are also many reservoirs and lakes near Preston that are perfect places for swimming, campouts, picnics and bonfires. She said her favorites are Glendale, Lamont and Twin Lake reservoirs, all within about 15-20 minutes of Preston.

A little closer to Logan there are several world-famous food factories and plants, including Gossner’s Cheese Factory in Logan, Pepperidge Farm and Casper’s Ice Cream factories in Richmond. These factories are great places to visit for tours, free samples and to purchase inexpensive factory “seconds.”

Gossner’s Cheese Factory, located on 1051 N. 1000 West in Logan, processes 1,900,000 pounds of milk into cheese daily, according to their Web site, www.gossner.com. The factory offers samples of cheese spreads, world-famous squeaky cheese and flavored shelf-stable milk. While there, purchase a case of individual 8-ounce cartons of flavored milk in chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, vanilla and several other flavors.

Pepperidge Farm Factory is located at 901 N. 200 West in Richmond. According to their Web site, www.pepperidgefarm.com, their thrift store, the only one in the western United States, offers inexpensive factory seconds of products like Milano cookies or Goldfish.

Finally, Casper’s Ice Cream factory is located at 11805 N. 200 East in Richmond. The factory offers tours and inexpensive Fatboy Ice Cream bar factory seconds. The Casper’s Malt Shoppe in Providence is also a delicious place to stop for a treat anytime.

Free food is always a poor college student favorite, and other food-related ideas include bread samples at the Old Grist Mill and Great Harvest, chocolate samples at The Bluebird Restaurant and samples at Sam’s Club for members.

Want to see a movie? Instead of going to a regular theater, check out The Reel Time Theatre, a small theater on 795 N. Main that shows unique, independent films.

Visit the Cache Valley Fun Park, well-known among USU students for Monday and Wednesday night swing dancing. Besides dancing, the Fun Park also has bowling, a laser tag arena, Utah’s largest indoor soft playground and a roller rink. Roller skating is only $2 on Tuesday nights if students bring their own skates.

Jodi Burton, junior in public relations, said she purchased roller skates at the D.I. a few years ago and has used them well at the Fun Park’s $2 Tuesdays and around Logan.

“Roller skating is an inexpensive, fun activity that can be done almost anywhere,” she said. She also said another great place to roller skate, long-board, bike, walk or run for free is on the river walk by the Logan River Golf Course on 550 W. 1000 South.

Besides offering exercise equipment, dance and aerobics classes, racquetball and basketball courts and a swimming pool, the Sports Academy on 1655 N. 200 East is also home to a little-known gem of Logan – High Point Gym. This tumbling gym offers gymnastics equipment and three world-class trampolines that can launch a person about 30 feet in the air. College and adult open gym nights are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

The Rock Hauss, an indoor climbing gym, is directly across the street from the Sports Academy on 1780 N. 200 East. This gym has about 12,000 square feet of climbing area. A day pass is $13 for students and monthly climbing passes are also available.

The Gardener’s Market each Saturday from May through October is another fun activity in Logan. The market is held at Pioneer Park, located on 200 E. 100 South and features local art, music and fresh homegrown produce.

Students looking for activity ideas don’t have to look farther than Utah State’s own campus. Sledding and ice blocking down Old Main Hill, and playing ultimate frisbee, soccer and flying kites on the Quad have always been student favorites on campus.

The Outdoor Recreation Center (ORC), located at 1050 N. 650 East is another great place resource for students interested in doing anything outdoors.

Pete Timmons, English literature senior and ORC employee, said the center rents “practically anything” a person would need to enjoy the outdoors at a very reasonable price. This includes anything from mountain bikes to cross-country skis to yurts and zero-degree sleeping bags. Timmons said one of the most popular rental right now is snowshoes, only $10 for an entire weekend.

“Every weekend we’ve been sold out of snowshoes,” Timmons said.

He also said ORC employees are happy to suggest places to hike, bike, ski and camp. For more information about ORC rentals, visit their Web site at www.usu.edu/orc.

Logan Canyon is less than 5 minutes from campus and offers a host of year-round activities and possibilities. Stokes Nature Center, Second Dam, the Wind Caves hike, the Bear Lake Overlook trail and dozens of other trails for hiking, biking and snowshoeing are right at students’ fingertips. For a complete Logan Canyon scenic byways guide, visit www.byways.org/explore/byways/2001/ for more information.

Willow Park Zoo, located at 419 W. 700 South in Logan, is another fun activity year-round, featuring dozens of birds, mammals and reptiles for only a $1 admission.

Moving south of Logan, Porcupine Reservoir is a great place for fishing, camping, swimming and cliff diving during the summer.

American West Heritage Center, located at 4025 S. Highway 89-91 in Wellsville, offers activities year round like star-gazing, pony and wagon rides and several cultural exhibits. For more information on their schedule and activities at www.awhc.org.

–karlie.brand@aggiemail.usu.edu