Traveling to Salt Lake--Day Trip to Ogden

Ogden is about a 45 minute drive north on the I-15 freeway. I suppose I'm partial to Ogden for a family history day trip because my maternal grandfather's parents settled in Ogden for a time. But it has an amazing railroad history that is most fascinating. You can take the FrontRunner train up to Ogden in about 45 minutes and it will drop you off just a block or so from the Union Station. In 1869 when the transcontinental railroad was connected at Promontory Utah, Ogden became the central hub of transportation in the intermountain west. The station is not in use for trains anymore but houses three interesting museums: the John M Browning Firearms Museum, The Utah State Railroad Museum and the Browning-Kimball Classic Car museum. The station is open Monday-Saturday 10am to 5 pm and admission for all three museums is $5.

Or, if you would rather learn about Airplane history, make the stop on the way up to Ogden at Hill Air Force base and visit the Hill Aerospace Museum. The museum boasts one of the largest collections of vintage aircraft with over 90 military aircraft and military aerospace vehicles. Exhibits take you through the dawn of the airplane and the history of the Air Force with interesting stories about the people who were involved. The museum is open 9:30 am to 4:00 pm seven days a week and admission is free but donations are appreciated.