UT-89 | Logan Canyon

  • Distance: 37.6 Miles (60.51 km)
  • Rating: 2-B, Overall a pretty mellow canyon, but some fun technical turns in the lower portion would rate as a 3. The canyon was recently resurfaced, so its in pretty darn good shape Ratings Explained »
  • Travel: Either direction for best results
  • Start: Logan, Utah
  • End: Garden City, Utah
  • Fuel: Available at both ends of the route
  • Along the Way: 18 Miles from Logan, turn north to go up to Tony Grove Lake. A five mile long, highly technical route with little traffic and the prettiest little lake you ever did see at the top. In Garden City stop and get a raspberry shake, it is said the best raspberries in the world grow here. Choose the place called “La Beau’s” over the other shacks for the very best raspberry shake experience.
  • Highlights: Aside from the raspberry shakes, bear lake on the eastern end of the road is known as the “Mediterranean of the West” because suspended limestone in the water turns it a brilliant blue. Be sure to stop at the top overlook to gander the lake before dropping into Garden City.
  • Advisories: Watch for Utah State University cops at the mouth of the canyon, Logan is a quiet town and the cops are always looking for something to do. Logan Canyon is the only real route from Cache Valley going east, so it gets a lot of traffic.

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Summary

For most of the 70’s and 80’s, Logan Canyon was used as the backdrop for the cover of the Sears-Roebuck catalogs, so you can expect some pretty decent scenery, particularly along the lower portions of the road nearest to one of the most beloved communities in the state of Utah, Logan. The agricultural university draws in a massive international student base adding much needed diversity to a mono-cultural area.

Dropping down a gentle hill just past the Forest Service Ranger station, you’ll pass third dam and the canyon begins with Logan Canyons most treacherous motorcycling corner. Gentle and wide sweeping corners dance rhythmically alongside the serene Logan River. There are plenty of triple-lane passing zones so don’t work too hard to get past slow moving traffic.

Logan Canyon reportedly has some of the most appealing rock-climbing routes in the area so don’t be surprised to see belayers standing in the road. The road will eventually narrow and become slightly more technical, this area used to be the best part of the road until a widening project began in 2000. After several more miles of cornering delight, the road will open up into a massive alpine valley. Keep a lookout for the turn to Tony Grove Lake if you desire some technical riding or views of the pristine mountain lake.

The road continues on gently, with only a few big long sweepers as is climbs up and past Peter Sinks, the coldest known location in the Continental United States. Near the top, there is a recently renovated overlook that offers a magnificent view of Bear Lake, be sure to stop before dropping into Garden City for your reward for riding 37 miles of canyon road, a raspberry shake.

Logan Canyon was the backdrop to our college years and so we have racked up thousands of trips through Logan Canyon, so for us, it offers a level of nostalgia, but as a canyon its more scenic than challenging, and the additional traffic that was brought on by the UDOT widening-and-straightening-for-safety project has denuded the road of most of its character.

Road Rating System

The first part of our rating describes how technical we feel that road is. Numbers one through five with five being the most technical and one being a more mellow road with few challenging corners. The second half of the rating is a letter grade. A rating of “A” would be a road that is in great condition and a grade-F would be a crumbly, slippery or degraded surface.

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