Winter can be a difficult time for families who don't ski but enjoy getting outdoors.
One of the best short trips to enjoy this time of year is making a drive to Hardware Ranch, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources managed area 18 miles east of Hyrum.
Several hundred bull elk winter at the management area, where they are fed so they do not do damage to area farms and ranches in Cache County.
Visitors can enjoy exhibits at the small museum and visitor center and view the elk. Horse-drawn wagons or sleighs also take visitors into the middle of the herd. Cost to ride a wagon is $5 for those nine and older or $3 for kids four to eight. All other activities are free. The rides begin Friday.
Sleigh rides run from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays and Mondays and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, there are no rides available and the visitor center is closed but visitors can still see the elk from a distance.
This Saturday would be a good time to visit. The DWR is holding its Elk Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Events include making Christmas ornaments using sagebrush, bitterbrush and other plants found at the ranch; making bird feeders out of pine cones and painting a replica of a fish.
Haradware Ranch Manager Brad Hunt encouraged visitors to bring binoculars and clothing for all types of weather. Even if it snows, the event will go on.
No food is available at the ranch, but there is a warm area inside for those who want to bring their own lunch.
For details, call 435-753-6206 or visit www.hardwareranch.com.
Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Blacksmith Fork Canyon gives visitors a unique opportunity to experience wild Elk up close. The working ranch maintains healthy rangelands for wildlife as well as increasing public awareness through community outreach and education programs. The ranch opens Dec. 12 with the annual Rocky Mountain Elk Festival being held Dec. 13. The ranch will offer sleigh rides through mid-March.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Wintering elk feed at Hardware Ranch near the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Cache County,.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Wintering elk feed at Hardware Ranch near the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Cache County,.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Wintering elk feed at Hardware Ranch near the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Cache County,.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Division of Wildlife Resources information technician Nicaela Haig gives Ogden elementary students a wildlife lecture at Hardware Ranch.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Jeremy Butler drives a horse drawn sled at Hardware Ranch to allow visitors to get up close and personal with elk.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Elk at Hardware Ranch.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Elementary school kids from Ogden experience Hardware Ranch visitor center.
Tom Wharton | The Salt Lake Tribune Sled returns from visiting elk at Hardware Ranch.