This article may include affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, Utah Outdoor Activities may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products or services we personally use. FTC Affiliate Disclosure.
The Little Bear ATV Trail is located up Logan Canyon just off the Hardware Ranch Road. The trail head is clearly marked with a small wood sign. This trail is just one of the many ATV trails in this area, plus the Hardware Ranch Road is open to ATV travel. We heard this trail was very rough and if you are not an experienced rider you may want to choose a different trail. As we pulled up to the trail head, someone has written on the sign "very difficult towards the bottom". After seeing that we were convinced that this trail may have some difficult spots.
Now I consider myself a fairly decent rider, but I am on a sport two wheel drive ATV, and I have never attempted a trail rated most difficult. Oh what the heck I’m game, if it gets to rough I can just turn around - right? The trail starts out rather calm, you meander through a few open areas filled with wild flowers, and several patches of Quaken Aspen. After about 2 miles of beautiful scenery and no great obstacles, we hit the descent, it was steep, rocky, and covered with loose shell rock.
The next couple of miles are boulder washes, and loose shell rock, so you better plan on getting bounced around and spending some time maneuvering around obstacles. As we continued our way down the trail we came across a Cow Moose and her calf standing on the trail. Just a word of caution, a Cow Moose with a calf are very unpredictable. We choose to take advantage of the opportunity and turned off our four wheelers, had a drink, and took some great photos of the Moose. Eventually she got tried of our presence and moved on.
At the base of the Little Bear you will come to a small wood sign marked Turkey Trail and Spawn Creek Trail. The Turkey Trail heads off to the North and is a hiking trail only. The Spawn Creek Trail heads to the South West, this trail is also marked the Great Western Trail. We continued our ride on the Spawn Creek Trail for a ways, and it took us along a ridge that looks down into Logan Canyon. However after review of the map, we decided that we did not have enough time to finish this trail before dark so we headed back up the Little Bear.
The ride back up the trail proved to be more challenging then the decent. You have to maneuver your ATV around all the obstacles that we mentioned above and your on a fairly steep incline on some parts of the trail. I don’t know if they have done some work to this trail or not but it didn’t fit the criteria of what I would consider most difficult. Now don’t get me wrong this trail is definitely challenging, but if your confident in your abilities and take it slow, you should have no problems.
It's very important when riding this trail to be prepared. Because of the sharp rocks, pack a tire repair kit. One of the four wheelers in our party received a small hole in the side wall of the tire. Luckily, it was a small leak and we didn't even notice it until we got back to the trucks. The trail was very dusty, so I recommend goggles and as always wear your helmets!
Directions To Trail Head:
The Hardware Ranch Road is located approx 32.8 miles up Logan canyon from Logan Utah and 7.2 miles from Garden City Utah. When you turn off on this road you will be traveling south. Drive 3.4 miles to the trail head. There are several places to pull off and unload your ATV's.
More Information:
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest
Salt Lake Office
Phone: (801) 236-3400
Nearby City - Garden City Utah
Related Articles:
The Legend Of The Bear Lake Monster
Utah Weekend Getaway - Bear Lake Raspberry Days
We hope you enjoyed this information. For more outdoor activities, please connect with us on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Help us keep this site up and running by visiting our online store which features outdoor themed gifts, decor and more. Thank you for visiting and for your ongoing support!