Northern Utah is a great place to learn about the history and future of transportation. It seems an unlikely spot until you start to learn about it. If you’re looking for things to do in Ogden, Utah this is the post for you.
In the 1860s, while the United States was in the midst of the Civil War on the east coast, the west was still being developed. It took 4-6 months to travel from one side of the country to the other, primarily by horse and carriage, so travel wasn’t exactly easy and transporting supplies was practically impossible. Brigham Young and his Mormon followers had been in Utah for over a decade and were continuing to build and explore the area we know now as Utah. President Lincoln had created the Pacific Railway Act in 1862 and now two railroad companies – the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific – were working towards each other from the east and the west to find middle ground where they could connect.
That middle point turned out to be Promontory, Utah. A literal bump on the road north east of the Great Salt Lake. At that spot on May 10, 1869 the two railroads converged and the transcontinental railroad was created. With the golden spike being hammered into the ground to connect the lines, both passengers and cargo could travel across country in just 10 days now!
Golden Spike National Historical Park
If you visit Promontory, Utah today, you can see replica engines of the ones that appeared that day and learn all about the efforts that went into creating this monumental task. Golden Spike National Historical Park is about an hour from Ogden and is well worth a visit. At 10:00 a.m. each day the two engines begin their arrival in front of the visitors center and the Park Ranger explains what happened leading up to that important day. There are plaques to read about how the railroad was constructed and there are walking and auto tours available.
Read all about our visit where we were actually able to participate in a full reenactment of the golden spike ceremony. We spent about an hour and a half at Golden Spike.
Northrop Grumman Rocket Garden
On your way to and from Promontory, you’ll see the vast open hills of northern Utah. There’s not much in this area, but you’ll notice that a large part of the land out here is owned by Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman is an aerospace and defense company who is currently partnered with NASA on the Artemis Project, which will take our astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars in the future. There are very few operations here that you can see, but there is a rocket garden that’s worth a stop.
Less than 2 miles north of the turn off to Golden Spike from Route 83 is the Northrop Grumman Rocket Garden. It’s free and easily accessible and you can stay a few minutes or an hour if you stop to read about each item. There are a wide variety of rockets displayed, many of which have plaques with more detailed information.
The solid rocket boosters that launched the space shuttle are there along with missiles created for the Department of Defense. There is also a patriot missile and many other rockets and rocket components. It was amazing to see just how enormous the solid rocket booster was. I also really enjoyed seeing the different types of rockets and missiles and how they’ve developed over time. It’s well worth the stop if you are visiting Golden Spike or if you’re fascinated by rockets!
Hill Aerospace Museum
When we returned to Ogden, we stopped at the Hill Aerospace Museum. The museum is on the grounds of the Hill Air Force Base and has both indoor and outdoor displays. The museum begins with the invention of airplanes by the Wright Brothers and continues on through modern day. The first building includes airplanes from many of our military combats over time and the second building contains all fighter jets. In addition to planes, there are many different types of engines on display.
There are also displays that explain how important northern Utah has been to the military. From designing new types of aircraft to creating new types of missiles and engines, this area has been instrumental in creating the future of transportation. The Hill Aerospace Museum is free and open to the public. We spent about an hour there, but you could easily spend more or just stop in to see a few favorites.
If you’re looking for things to do in Ogden, Utah, I’d highly recommend a day learning about the history and future of transportation. This area is a hot spot for creating new technologies for our transportation and military. We enjoyed seeing the spot where the first transcontinental railroad was created firsthand and it was amazing to go on to see the space shuttle boosters and fighter jets that are in use today.
What things would you recommend near Ogden? Tell us in the comments.
