Blacksmith Fork Canyon
Blacksmith Fork Canyon, nestled in northern Utah’s beautiful Cache Valley, is a premier destination for year-round outdoor recreation and wildlife viewing.
The canyon offers spectacular scenery and a wide variety of activities, including hiking, nordic skiing, snowmobiling, and fishing. For those looking to stay, camping is available within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, or visitors can rent the rustic Blacksmith Fork Cabin or the Canyon Lodge.
The canyon is most famous for its abundant wildlife, particularly in the winter. Hundreds of Rocky Mountain Elk gather at the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area, where locals and tourists alike flock to take horse-drawn sleigh rides through the herds. In addition to the elk, visitors frequently spot moose, deer, and eagles that call the canyon home.
About the Ride
To make the Blacksmith Fork Scenic Drive ride appealing for our group, my husband and I sweetened the pot by planning a 26-mile point-to-point downhill route. We successfully convinced four friends to join us, and the primary logistical challenge became scheming how to shuttle five people and their bikes up to the starting point near Hardware Ranch with the fewest number of cars.
While the full loop challenge is popular with local cyclists, we thoroughly enjoyed the easier, mostly downhill cruise. The ride was rewarding, featuring a total descent of 1,368 feet while climbing only 548 feet as we made our way back up onto the bench.
During the ride, I took the lead position while my husband rode sweep, and we regrouped at scenic pull-offs along the way out of the canyon. The perfect way to celebrate our successful downhill ride was stopping at the famous Aggie Creamery once we made our way back up onto the bench near the end of our trip.
Ride Overview
- • Ride Name: 26-BlacksmithForkCanyonToLogan
- • Ride with GPS: Link to turn-by-turn navigation cue sheet
- • Location: Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Logan, Utah
- • Course Type: point-to-point
- • Course Surface: paved
- • Bike: Salsa Warbird
- • Distance: 27.1 miles
- • Moving Time: 1:43:14
- • Average Speed: 15.8 MPH
- • Elevation Gain: 548 feet
- • Elevation Range: 4,583 to 5,675 feet
- • Weather: 62° and drizzly, but quickly turning to just cloudy, climbing to 78°
- • Date of ride: July 3, 2025
- • Start time: 8:25 AM
Fun Pictures from Along the Way
With five bikes secured to our two vehicles, we departed our friends’ driveway for the 50-minute drive to the designated parking area.
As we drove up Blacksmith Fork Scenic Drive (State Route 101)—the road we’d soon be flying down on our bikes—we wondered if the slight chance of rain would ruin our ride.
Just as we arrived at Hardware Ranch, a light drizzle started, but to our relief, it ended five minutes into our ride.
As is tradition, I gathered the guys for our pre-ride photo op before we hit the road.
I took the lead, pulling a train of four cyclists behind me, and looked forward to the early miles where we’d be braking more than pedaling.
We lucked out by starting early and beating the construction crews. Earlier in the week, we had experienced long waits due to ongoing work to lay fiber optic cables alongside the road, so the smooth, uninterrupted downhill run was a huge relief.
It was important not to get distracted by the gorgeous scenery and forget that we were sharing the road with vehicles much larger than us. Luckily, drivers of cars and trucks were generally very willing to share the space.
We continued our descent through the Cache National Forest, enjoying a very different type of ride.
The guys are back there—you may have to look closely to see them!
As Smokey Bear famously says, “Only you can prevent wildfires.”
We left the canyon and entered the flat valley floor, signaling the end of our nearly effortless, pedal-free ride.
Once back in Logan, we stopped at Sunrise Cyclery, the same shop that opened the summer we all moved here for the guys to start their graduate studies. Jeff, the original owner still runs the place but has cut back his hours as he gradually coasts toward retirement.
Naturally, we took a photo with the giant inner tube ball in the foreground. I should have asked Jeff how many years of bike repairs went into building it! Additionally, Jeff is one of the co-founders of the grueling LoToJa Classic, a 207-mile bike race that stretches from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming.
After an enjoyable visit to Sunrise Cyclery, we made our way up the hill to the bench. I’ve climbed it enough times now to have a preferred route, and as the scenery became more familiar, the climb somehow seemed shorter.
We made one final, mandatory stop at the Aggie Creamery—a local institution—to cap off the ride with ice cream. I chose a cone of the bright blue and delicious Aggie Blue Mint (mint ice cream with white chocolate pieces and chocolate cookie chunks) before we headed back to our friends’ house.
Shuttling Vehicles
As soon as we arrived at our friends’ house, the logistics started: the guys took a separate car and drove the 27 miles back to Hardware Ranch to fetch the two vehicles we’d abandoned earlier. I gratefully accepted a pass on the shuttle duty and got a head start on a much-needed shower while they were gone.
Garmin Stats
Post-ride Garmin…
Garmin map and elevation graph…
Final Thoughts on the Rides
Our morning ride with friends was a blast. The downhill course leveled the playing field for all of us, allowing us to cruise together and enjoy a completely relaxing pace. Being back in this familiar territory was especially great; we spent the time reminiscing and laughing about the cross-country skiing adventures we had on these same trails years ago.
Questions
- • Have you tried nordic skiing? ~ I learned to nordic ski when we lived in Utah, long before I tried alpine skiing.
- • What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? ~ My favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip. The Aggie Blue Mint at the Creamery is a genuinely “Gucci” take on that classic.
- • Do you stop and relax occasionally to fuel or take pictures, or barrel on through when on a long run or ride? ~ pictures, always pictures, unless I’m racing
I’m linking up with Jenn from Runs with Pugs and Jenny of Runners Fly for Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
What a gorgeous ride, Debbie — that canyon looks like pure postcard material!
I’m always impressed by how smoothly you manage the logistics with bikes and cars (I’d still be diagramming it on paper). I’d have loved that mostly downhill cruise, and the ice cream at the end sounds like a perfect reward. Utah really is stunning, I really need to get there one day!
I think you would enjoy Utah – from the desert to the mountains, it’s an outdoor lover’s paradise!
This sounds really fun, and the scenery as usual in Utah is gorgeous. Nice job on organizing all those logistics. Your ice cream sounds AMAZING. I’m not sure I have a favorite flavor of ice cream, but I do like mint chip.
i don’t even know the difference between nordic and alpine skiing- suffice it to say, I have done neither!
In skiing, Nordic is cross country and Alpine is downhill. And my husband gets most of the credit for organizing the logistics. He’s the best!
I wish I could have joined you…but adding one more bike to transport may have been a no-go, LOL. I’m no stranger to biking logistics on point-to-point rides. The rides, though, are always worth all the non-biking “work.”
We would have figured out a way to get your bike to the start (it could have fit in the back of the pickup truck)!
yes pictures, of course. Glad you agree so you can share them with readers. They are always beautiful.
Not a skier – did alpine when I was younger (not a fan of the cold!!)
Love ice cream – favorite is coffee.
Awww, thanks, Darlene! I do enjoy sharing pictures from our adventures! And I agree, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become less of a fan of participating in outdoor winter sports.