With the temperatures getting colder, come events and activities to enjoy during the winter like months. Castle Country Radio was able to sit down with Conservation Outreach Manager, Aaron Bott to talk about sleigh rides at Hardware Ranch and Ice Fishing conditions.
Its’ been a few years since horse-drawn sleigh rides to look at elk were offered at Hardware Ranch in Hyrum, Utah. “It’s an area that we set aside to protect for habitat for wildlife and specifically we’ve got elk in this area and every winter they come down from the mountains, and they’ll just hang out in this little valley. So we’ve got sleigh rides that are offered from Dec. 2 until Feb. 12 and you can go every weekend, is when they are available,” stated Bott. Officials are so excited to offer this event this year as COVID prevented them from hosting it for a couple of years.
The rides begin at 10:00 am and run through till 4:30 pm and the cost for admission is very affordable as Bott explains, “It’s a great family, fun, activity. It’s pretty cheap too, it’s $10.00 for those who are 9 years of age and older, and it’s $4.00 for those that are 4 to 8, and anyone under 3 it’s free. It’s a great activity to get out there, it’s typically about a 40-minute sleigh ride. You can get up close to the elk, take pictures, it’s a great time.” The Hardware Ranch is 16 miles east of Hyrum. You can reach the ranch by traveling on state Route 101 through scenic Blacksmith Fork Canyon.
It’s that time of year for ice fishing and DWR is happy to report that the lakes around the Energy Loop are frozen. “Actually, the Energy Loop is frozen over. We’ve got people who are out fishing on Scofield already. The ice is just frozen over this past week, it’s been about a week and a half now. So be careful where you walk out on that ice, make sure that you’re going to be fishing where the ice is the thickest. You can kind of see where people have augured holes before and get out there and have some fun,” said Bott. Some of the benefits to ice fishing are physical exercise, stress relief and exploring nature during winter like conditions.
To keep informed on DWR please visit their website at https://wildlife.utah.gov/ or their Facebook page.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DWR