One mile off Highway 89, on SR 243, you will arrive at the cozy lodge of Beaver Mountain Ski Area. The Seeholzer family has operated this charming resort since the days when skiing meant sliding around on narrow wooden boards attached to your foot with a 2-inch piece of inner-tube. The resort first opened in 1939. Harold Seeholzer dreamed of a lift running all the way to the top of Beaver Mountain. The “Harry’s Dream” lift was built in his honor. Beaver Mountain currently runs four chairlifts and is a winter tradition among thousands of devoted skiers.

Beaver Mountain is not the sprawling mega-resort like you find in Park City and other Utah locales but it offers wonderful runs, great Utah snow, shorter lift lines and less burden on your pocket-book. It is one of Utah’s best kept winter secrets.

A visit to Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area is both fun and educational. During winter months, a trip to the ranch makes a great outing for the whole family with the memorable experience of viewing up to 700 wild Rocky Mountain elk. A horse drawn sleigh gives you up close and personal views as it takes you right into the middle of the herd. The area is also an extremely popular snowmobiling area.

During the summer, Hardware Ranch area provides great opportunities for outdoor recreation and wildlife viewing. An extensive network of ATV trails will take you north all the way to Logan Canyon, Bear Lake, and southeast Idaho. Head south and explore the Monte Cristo area all the way to Ogden Valley.

The Cache Valley Visitors Bureau Gift Shop in Logan at 199 N. Main sells an excellent topographical map from National Geographic. It shows hiking trails, biking trails, horseback riding trails, and ATV trails for this entire area. A separate map covers the Monte Cristo area.

Ice fishing is a popular cold weather activity in Cache Valley. The sport requires some generally inexpensive equipment for boring a hole in the ice plus a special ice fishing rod.

The following locations in Cache Valley offer excellent opportunities to catch fish through the ice: Newton Reservoir for bluegill, bass, trout and tiger musky; Hyrum Reservoir for yellow perch and trout; and Porcupine Reservoir for trout and Kokanee salmon.