Willard Basin: Rugged and remote oasis, amid Willard and Ben Lomond peaks

WILLARD Peak and Willard Basin comprise some of highest and most rugged territory in Box Elder County. Willard Basin, approximately 8,600 feet in elevation and on the backside of both Willard and Ben Lomond Peaks, is a remote oasis and has been the site of some unusual events over the decades.

For example, the Ogden Standard-Examiner of July 22, 1948 chronicled that Willard Basin was the site of a Jim Bridger Festival for some years each summer.

The 12-mile road from Mantua into the Basin was widened and improved before the event.

“Those making the trip will be especially fortunate in that there are hundreds of acres of wild flowers in bloom at present, with hundreds of varieties to see,” the Standard story stated.

To lessen traffic problems along the mountainous road to the Basin, those going up had to be there by 11:30 a.m. Festival day. The rest of the day was reserved for return traffic on the road.

The Festival included games, races, a log sawing contest, games and talks on geology and botany.

The Standard-Examiner of June 24, 1956 includes the legend that Bridger himself visited the Basin on the way to Willard Peak to prove that the Great Salt Lake was an arm of the ocean, since it was so salty. Bridger supposedly carved his name on a tree in the Basin, though no one has ever been able to locate it.

-The Standard-Examiner of Sept. 27, 1970 reported that a lofty wedding was also held in the Basin. Rodney L. George and Connie K. Eldredge tied the knot there, with 18 people in attendance – and all overdressed for a serene mountainous setting.

                                Inside Willard Basin.

-According to the Standard-Examiner of Feb. 2, 1941, the original road into the Basin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1936 to 1940. Fire control, maintaining livestock fences and erosion control were the main reasons for the road being built.

(Many mountain roads in the west were built by the CCC.)

                            The lake inside Willard Basin.

In fact, an early fall snowstorm on October 18, 1938 trapped 15 CCC workers in Willard Basin. Bulldozers had to slowly chew their way to rescue the men, the Standard-Examiner of that date stated.

              Willard Peak resembles a knob-like feature from Ben Lomond Peak.

-Willard Peak, elevation 9,763 feet, is the highest peak in Weber County (taller than 9,712-foot Ben Lomond Peak), as it straddles the Box Elder-Weber county line. Paragliders have also from time-to-time leaped from Willard Peak or Ben Lomond Peak during various celebrations.

For example, the town of Willard’s July 4^th celebration of 1975 included paragliders jumping off Willard Peak and landing in town.

-On Saturday, Sept. 29, 1923, the schools in Box Elder County sponsored a hike to Willard Peak, the Box Elder County News of Sept. 25 that year reported.

                            The top of Willard Peak.

-“500 Trek to Willard Peak” was a July 18, 1939 headline in the Standard-Examiner. Residents from Ogden to Brigham City hiked to the top of Willard Peak that day. Government trucks provided transportation up to Willard Basin, so that the hike was only several miles long.

-Who was the first non-Native American to hike Ben Lomond Peak, the most distinctive peak in Weber County? It may have been Mountain Man Osborne Russell in 1840. The Standard-Examiner of Feb. 15, 1976 reported that Russell’s diary stated that he climbed a peak on the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake. Some believe that summit was Ben Lomond.

“I was upwards of 6,000 feet above the level of the lake; below me was a dark abyss silent as the night of death,” Russell’s journal stated.

He climbed Ben Lomond in February to hunt mountain sheep and bagged three. He also camped on the mountain and had an encounter with a wolverine.

-The winter of 1948-1949 was one of the harshest known winters in Utah. And, on May 17, 1949, heavy rains produced a flashflood in the Ben Lomond Peak area. This caused 10 to 20-foot deep gullies in fields and orchards some 5,000-feet below, along Highway 89.

              The face of Ben Lomond Peak in winter.                 Photo by Lynn Merrill.

-Ben Lomond Peak is often believed to resemble a smiling face during certain winter periods. The Standard-Examiner of May 3, 1956 also claims the face of the peak “grows a beard” too occasionally.

The story said: “The top of the peak resembles a Boy Scout’s hat. Two crevasses look like eyes. Later in the spring when melting continues, the Boy Scout sprouts a beard of melting snow and ice going down the front of the mountain.”

                                    Ben Lomond Peak, as seen from Taylor Canyon.

Willard Basin: Peaceful Monument to Overgrazing, Historic Flooding

                                                            Willard Basin.

PERHAPS the most scenic and peaceful portion of Box Elder County is also the most isolated.

Willard Basin, an isolated bowl of forest and meadows (located east of Willard and behind Willard Peak at an elevation of 8,600 feet), can be reached only via a 12-mile ride on a bumpy, steep and winding dirt road or by a 13-mile hike from North Ogden Pass.

Today, this is an ATV riding paradise, as well as haven for transplanted mountain goats.

The rugged trip, which climbs 3,300 feet, is worth the effort and makes an excellent mid- or late-summer picnic outing or even a camping excursion.It also offers a bit of history with a valuable lesson in watersheds and the dangers of heavy rainfall and their effects on the population below.

Willard Basin, like the city of the same name, was named after Willard Richards, an early apostle and settler in Brigham Young's time. (The Willard area was originally named "Fort Willow Creek" in 1852-1853.)

Uncontrolled cattle grazing, mining, fires and a sawmill had left little vegetation in Willard Basin by the 1920s. All these, as well as extra heavy rainfalls, contributed to two severe floods that originated in the basin in 1923 and 1936. The water flowed through Willard Canyon, the main drain in the basin, 4,000 feet downward to Willard City.

The August 1923 flood (actually a mud-rock flow) was caused by an estimated 6 inches of rainwater hitting the basin in less than an hour. Two women in Willard were killed, and the force of the water carried the bodies one-half mile away.

The rainfall was a lot of water even for the best of watersheds, but the lack of vegetation made it worse. The flow had enough force to move a 500-ton rock as well as a barn containing 150 tons of hay.

This was considered one of the top 10 weather events in Utah during the 20th Century, by the National Weather Service.

But even the loss of two lives was not enough to convince residents of the need for drastic conservation measures. More cattle grazing and land abuse in the basin continued. In fact, it took a similar flood in 1936 to do that. No lives were lost then, but considerable property damage again occurred.

The Utah State Road Commission, Box Elder County and residents of Willard donated money to buy the privately owned Willard Basin after the 1936 flood. The land was then deeded to the Forest Service for protection.

As a result, 700 miles of terraces, trenches and fences were constructed (over a 1,500-acre space) and trees and grasses were planted from 1936 to 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The terraces and trenches in the basin are still readily visible today. These and the rock water-catching basin, just east of the old highway in Willard City, are reminders of the two floods.

The CCC also constructed the 15-mile-long dirt road from Mantua to the basin.

*The basin road starts at the LDS Church in southern Mantua, about five miles east of Brigham City, at an elevation of 5,500 feet. The upper road (10 miles out and near the final switchback before it drops down into Willard Basin) is almost always blocked by spring snow into mid-July. It's not rare for the road to still be blocked on July 24 because the road is never cleared by machines. The snow must melt off. No signs are ever posted indicating snow blockage.

The road has deteriorated a lot over the years. In 1979, an automobile could make the trip with few rut/ bump problems, but by 1985, not only had it become unwise to take any car on the road, but even trucks were bumped around plenty as the road had worn down toward a base of solid but rugged rocks.

East of here are private roads that descend into Devils Gate Valley and Devil's Hole Canyon.

The road passes briefly into Weber County and offers glimpses of Pineview Reservoir (to the southeast), and east of Perry Reservoir are the headwaters of the Ogden River's north fork.

                    The wide open view from nearby Ben Lomond Peak.

The road forks just past Perry Reservoir but dead ends below Grizzly Peak near some old mining areas.

The road rarely gets really steep though, since it switchbacks before dropping into Willard Basin. It's just the bumps and ruts that are unnerving. A sign at the top of the switchbacks (actual elevation 8,800 feet) explains the history of the basin.

Next, the road descends about 200 feet into the heart of the basin. No functional picnic tables or rest rooms are left in Willard Basin. They have long been abandoned and even vandalized. 

There's also a makeshift water pipe offering drinking water in the heart of the basin.

Inside the basin, you are enclosed completely. At the south end of Willard Basin (a 600-yard walk and slight climb) is a small circular lake. Several foot trails from the road lead to the lake, and they merge into one trail that after 1.5 miles and a 600-foot climb reach the mountain saddle (9,200-foot elevation) and connect with the Ben Lomond Peak trail system. From here is an unlimited view of Willard Bay and North Ogden. Willard Peak, the tallest point in Box Elder County at 9,764 feet, is about 800 yards away to the east. Willard Peak is 52 feet higher than Ben Lomond Peak, Weber County's highest, another 1.5 miles away on the Skyline Trail.

The trail is well-marked, but it is not for those afraid of heights. Although the trail is relatively level, it has been carved into the side of the mountain and the many mammoth mountain pinnacles and spires that can be seen from Willard or nearby I-15 are viewed from a different perspective along this trail - straight down!

Inspiration point (elevation 9,422) marks the dead end of the Willard Basin road. It is located another two miles away and 800 feet upward from the basin's picnic area. True to its name, it offers some stunning panoramic views of the Great Salt Lake, Willard and Brigham City by overlooking Holmes Canyon and Pearsons Canyon.

(Some vehicles parked at Inspiration Point on a summer afternoon reflect the sun like a mirror and can been seen from as far away as western Layton.)

There are several old mines in the area, including one below Willard Peak.

Sources: personal travel, www.wrcc.dri.edu
NEED good Willard Basin history source --

(-Updated from an article in the Deseret News, by Lynn Arave, July 14, 1988.)

-NOTE: The author, Lynn Arave, is available to speak to groups, clubs, classes or other organizations about Utah history at no charge. He can be contacted by email at: lynnarave@comcast.net