13 Best Sights in Ogden, Northern Utah

Background Illustration for Sights

We've compiled the best of the best in Ogden - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park

Fodor's choice

This 5-acre park near the mouth of Ogden Canyon is the stomping ground for about 100 life-size dinosaur models and the delighted children who come to see them. A playground with dinosaurs to crawl on appeals to younger kids, and adults can brush up on their geology and paleontology inside two natural history museums. You can watch technicians working with excavated dinosaur bones in the paleontology lab. A particularly good gift shop brims with dinosaur toys and souvenirs.

Historic 25th Street

Fodor's choice

The centerpiece of downtown Ogden's highly successful renaissance, this broad, lively street with restaurants, bars, and shops set inside handsomely restored 19th-century buildings is a great spot for a stroll any time of day. Historical markers tell the story of the pubs, brothels, and gambling houses that thrived here a century ago, an anomaly in heavily Mormon Utah. The three-block stretch from Union Station to Washington Boulevard is especially vibrant, but the action continues a couple of blocks north to 23rd Street, where you'll find the Salomon Center (an indoor complex of gyms and fitness enterprises that includes a bowling alley, surfing and wakeboarding park, climbing wall, and indoor wind tunnel) and a big multiscreen movie theater at the corner of Kiesel Avenue. As you venture east, beyond Grant Avenue and between 24th and 26th Streets, you'll encounter the rapidly emerging Nine Rails Creative District, a hub of galleries, start-up businesses, and creative endeavors that's anchored around the multiuse Monarch Building ( 455 25th St.), with its art studios and murals.

Ogden Nature Center

Fodor's choice

Although close to Interstate 15 on the north side of the city, this quiet 152-acre center abounds with opportunities to view and interact with nature. It's home to thousands of trees, plus vibrant marshlands and ponds, with nature trails that are popular year-round (cross-country skiers take to them in winter). It's possible to view Canada geese, great blue herons, red foxes, mule deer, and porcupines roaming the grounds (you can get especially good views from a small observatory tower), as well as rescued bald eagles, owls, and other spectacular species. The eco-consciously designed visitor center has interesting exhibits as well as activities for kids, while the education building shows rotating art exhibits and the excellent Nest gift shop sells nature-oriented goods.

Recommended Fodor's Video

Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum

Paying tribute to the golden age of automobiles, this extensive exhibit features almost 60 unique restored cars on display, including a single-cylinder 1901 Oldsmobile and a 16-cylinder Cadillac built in 1930. The 1911 Knox is a highlight. Antique gas pumps, fire engines, and a huge collection of license plates are also on display.

Eccles Community Art Center

Housed in an imposing 1893 Queen Anne mansion with soaring turrets, this vibrant community arts center with a focus on diversity and inclusion presents a permanent collection of works by regional and national artists. There are also rotating shows exhibited throughout the building's public spaces and a sculpture garden with flowers and a stunning fountain. The center also offers a wide range of performing and visual arts classes and special events.

Hill Aerospace Museum

You can view the exteriors of nearly 100 military aircraft dating from the early years of flight to the present at this impressive 30-acre indoor-outdoor museum at the north end of Hill Air Force Base, about 7 miles south of downtown Ogden. There are also missiles, military vehicles, munitions, uniforms, and thousands of other artifacts.

John M. Browning Firearms Museum

Celebrating the many achievements of inventor John M. Browing, this museum showcases sporting and military firearms, many of which were built by Winchester, Colt, Remington, and others to become the weapons of choice in the Old West before Browning formed his own company. Original models and working prototypes of many of the guns are displayed.

Ogden Botanical Gardens

This tranquil 11-acre urban oasis set along the Ogden River Parkway is operated by the University of Utah and contains a series of theme gardens—rose, Oriental, water conservation, edible, cottage—connected by a network of meandering paths, some of which flank the river. One garden has been designed for people with mobility challenges, and an arboretum features trees that are ideal for planting beneath powerlines, as they never exceed 25 feet in height. On warm days, the conifer garden is a fragrant spot offering plenty of shade. There are also attractive picnic areas and lawns that invite relaxing.

Ogden River Parkway

In downtown Ogden the parkway runs for 3 miles to the mouth of Ogden Canyon. This urban greenway is perfect for fishing, biking, strolling, running, or playing tennis or baseball. The trail takes you past botanical gardens, pavilion facilities, a swimming pool, a skateboard park, the Eccles Dinosaur Park, and rodeo grounds.

Treehouse Museum

Offering a hands-on learning experience where children literally can step into a story, this downtown museum is filled with imaginative interactive exhibits geared generally to those under 12. Visit Jack's Fairy Tale Diner, a Japanese House, the Jupiter Train Locomotive, or the German House Puppet Theater. Other fun activities include songs, theater, and art workshops. Admission is actually slightly higher ($8) for kids than adults.

Union Station

Incorporating elements from Ogden's original 1870s train depot that was destroyed by a fire in 1923, the impressive Spanish Revival replacement has been developed into a landmark cultural center with two art galleries and four diverse museums. The Browning Firearms Museum celebrates the many achievements of the museum's namesake and showcases the sporting and military firearms that were popular in the Old West before Browning formed his own company. The Browning–Kimball Classic Car Museum pays tribute to the golden age of automobiles with a small but dazzling collection of restored cars from the first half of the 20th century. The Utah State Railroad Museum thrills train enthusiasts with its meandering exhibits detailing all phases of Utah's railroad history; a highlight is the outdoor Eccles Rail Center, which includes half a dozen restored train cars. The smallest museum of the bunch, the Utah Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, features the Utah Cowboy Hall of Fame and honors artists, rodeo champions, entertainers, musicians, ranchers, and writers who have promoted the Western lifestyle. The Myra Powell Gallery mounts monthly photography exhibits, while the Gallery at the Station showcases local art in an enclosed passenger platform.

Utah Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Union Station's newest museum includes the Utah Cowboy Hall of Fame and features a variety of exhibits honoring artists, rodeo champions, entertainers, musicians, ranchers and writers who have promoted the western lifestyle. As the museum expands it will add books, a research center and memoribilia received from donors.

Utah State Railroad Museum

Train enthusiasts will have a ball at this museum featuring exhibits that detail all phases of Utah's railroad history through displays and interpretive signs. You can also watch model trains run through depictions of the transcontinental railroad route. The high point of the museum is the Eccles Rail Center, an outdoor exhibit containing several dozen restored train cars, locomotives, and cabooses that date from the late 1800s right up to the 2002 Olympic Games cauldron car.

Not finding what you're looking for?

We've got a few suggestions for nearby spots.
Ogden Valley

New World Distillery9.2 miles away

4795 E. 2600 N, Eden, Utah, 84310, USA
We recommend 2 Sights in Ogden Valley
Ogden Valley

Pineview Reservoir9.4 miles away

End of Cemetery Point Rd., Huntsville, Utah, 84317, USA
We recommend 2 Sights in Ogden Valley
Brigham City

Brigham City Museum of Art & History20.1 miles away

24 N. 300 W, Brigham City, Utah, 84302, USA
We recommend 5 Sights in Brigham City
Brigham City Fodor's Choice

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge20.3 miles away

2155 W. Forest St., Brigham City, Utah, 84302, USA
We recommend 5 Sights in Brigham City
Brigham City Fodor's Choice

Golden Spike National Historical Park28.8 miles away

6200 N. 22300 West, Promontory, Utah, 84302, USA
We recommend 5 Sights in Brigham City