Things to Do Near Ogden: Hiking Willard Peak

My brother flew in from Houston this week and wanted to enjoy some of our great outdoors here in Utah.  After deliberating on several possible hikes, we decided to explore the Willard Peak area.

Our journey took us from Ogden north on I-15 to Brigham City.  We turned right on HWY 91 and followed it to Mantua (pronounced locally as MANT-OO-AA although I often prefer the fancy MAN-TWAH or MAN-CHOO-UH alternatives).  We exited in Mantua and followed the road to Willard Peak Rd.

Here is a view looking south on Willard Peak Road.  The road turns to a dirt road once you get into the canyon.  I would highly recommend a Jeep or SUV for this trip.  We saw some guy at the top of road driving his Hyundai sudan.  Not recommended!

The road ascends for several miles.

The road was bumpy enough to break the rusted weld on our luggage carrier.

Finally, we reached the Willard Basin area which is a beautiful basin full of pine and alpine vegetation.

The road goes all the way to the top of what is called Inspiration Point.  We stopped our Jeep early and decided to hike from the trail head that appears just after a spring and campground area before the road ends at Inspiration Point. 

Here is the view of Willard Peak just as the trail starts.

Here is a view of the trail that heads up in the direction of Inspiration Point.

We confused the trails at first and headed up to Inspiration Point before we figured out we were at the wrong summit.  Here is a view of Willard Peak looking south.  Of the two trails that head up the mountain, the left trail is the one to the top.  The right one meanders around the front of Willard Peak and on to Ben Lommond Peak. 

Here I am headed toward the summit.

Toward the top there is a huge fissure that runs for about 150 feet long and I would say it is at least 50 feet deep.  I dropped a rock down to time the fall and it fell about twice as far as I expected it to.  Don't loose your keys in this crevasse. 

At the top you will find this geographic marker.  You will also find a black PVC pipe with notepad registers of who has been to the top of the mountain.  We saw dates going back to 1988.  Treat the register kindly and leave your name and date.  I left a business card too.

 
Our trip from Ogden started at 10am and we arrived back home at 4:30pm.  It makes a great day trip.

Happy Hiking!