Ogden Valley (

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

: Ink-ah-we-in-da, “Red Pass Basin”) is a high mountain valley and ski resort community in Weber County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States. The population was 6,855 at the 2010 census. Planning in the valley is managed by a special county-level planning division, the Ogden Valley Planning Commission. The valley is a popular vacation and tourism destination with three ski resorts, Pineview Reservoir, Causey Reservoir, and national forest lands. Despite its name, the city of Ogden is not located in the Ogden Valley.

History

Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many exped ...

entered the valley on May 16, 1825 with a band of trappers employed by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

. William Kittson was in the group as well and drew a map of the area. They were trapping beaver as part of the company's campaign to eliminate all the furbearing animals between British-controlled territories and U.S. territory in order to keep American fur hunters from entering the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

. The HBC band left the Valley a few days later, but returned on May 25 after American trappers drove them away from Mountain Green at Deserter Point. In 1849 Captain

Howard Stansbury Howard Stansbury (February 8, 1806 – April 17, 1863) was a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. One of his most notable achievements was leading a two-year expedition (1849–1851) to survey the Great Salt Lake and its surro ...

of the U.S. Army explored the valley during an expedition to Northern Utah with

Jim Bridger James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, Animal trapping, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was ...

. Stansbury described the area as a "most lovely, broad, open valley" with its "numerous bright little streams of pure running water" a "scene...cheering in the highest degree". In November of 2024 voters decided to incorporate much of Ogden Valley as a new, independent city.

Geography

The Valley has three towns: Eden,

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, and

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

. Only Huntsville is incorporated as a town. Eden and Liberty are census-designated places. The Valley is centered around Pineview Reservoir, which is fed by the North, Middle and South forks of the

Ogden River The Ogden River is a long river in Weber County. Utah, United States. Description The Ogden River's three forks (North, Central, and South) begin in the Wasatch Range in Weber County and converge at Pineview Reservoir, near Huntsville. Th ...

. The Utah Geological Survey studied the water resources of the Valley and published their results in 2019.

Community

As of 2020, the Valley has eight churches, a grocery store, two post offices, three gas stations, an elementary school, and a junior high school. The county uses a master plan, published in 2016, as a guide for development. Eden and Liberty share a post office. The Valley has one local newspaper, ''Ogden Valley News.'' Several nonprofit organizations serve Ogden Valley. The Ogden Valley Land Trust preserves open space through conservation easements. The Community Foundation of Ogden Valley distributes funds to charities and causes that help Ogden Valley's community interests. The Ogden Valley Emergency Response Team is a nonprofit emergency preparedness organization that "focuses on public education and awareness to help increase the emergency preparedness". Local businesses are represented by the Ogden Valley Business Association.

Attractions

Three ski resorts are located in Ogden Valley: Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and Nordic Valley. The

Wasatch–Cache National Forest Wasatch–Cache National Forest is a United States National Forest located primarily in northern Utah (81.23%), with smaller parts extending into southeastern Idaho (16.42%) and southwestern Wyoming (2.35%). The name is derived from the Ute Trib ...

is found at all edges of the valley, with public access points throughout the area. Pineview Reservoir is located at the center of the valley.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Weber County, Utah