EDITORIAL: Cache Valley is beautiful—make sure you take the time to notice
This year, the editorial board of The Utah Statesman has addressed a number of topics that we considered to be worth your time and attention through our monthly columns. With this month being the final column for the 2018-19 staff, we’d like to end on a happy note.
If weather forecasts are to be believed, we should be getting spring in full-force this week in Cache Valley. And that makes this a perfect time to point out how stunningly beautiful this little valley really is.
Our hope and encouragement is that you’ll take time to appreciate our surroundings during the last couple weeks of the semester, and all summer long for those of you who will be around.
After a long day of classes or work (or both!), there’s nothing quite like a trip up Logan Canyon to get away from everything and relax in a hammock. There are so many places in the canyon to sit and be in nature — away from the grind of daily life and constant notifications. It’s a wonderful way to rest your mind and your spirit, an opportunity we as college students rarely get. Even just a drive through the canyon, with the windows down and the radio up, can be a great way to spend an afternoon.
Access to the mountains is one of the things that makes Cache Valley special. It’s easy for us to lose sight of because we’re around it so much, but the mountains here are right on top of us. The Utah State campus is built literally at the base of the mountains, and that proximity is unique. You can get in your car on campus and be in the canyon within two minutes, and be setting up your campfire within 10.
And there are opportunities to appreciate Cache Valley without even going into the canyon. If you take Center Street heading east it’ll eventually turn into Mountain Road, and at the corner where that road connects with Cliffside Drive there is a small grassy area with a bench that provides one of the best views around. And the Wellsville Mountains on the west side of the valley provide a picturesque backdrop that can’t be fully captured by any photograph.
All the marketing materials talk about the natural beauty around Logan for a reason.
And there’s not just things to look at either — there’s so much to do! There are a number of quality hiking trails all throughout Logan Canyon. A trek along the Crimson Trail is a great way to peacefully wind down at the end of the day, and when the evening sun is low, the views are absolutely stunning. A night hike to the Wind Caves also provides some vistas that our photographers have loved capturing. The Bonneville Shoreline Trail stretches across the Wasatch Front, and is an easy walk with benches from Green Canyon to Logan Canyon. And you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t made your way to the nature trails around Tony Grove lake.
If hiking isn’t your thing, there are plenty of easy campsites up and down the canyons around the valley, and a number of firepits where you can cook marshmallows or hot dogs with your friends and roommates. If hammocks and firepits are too fast-paced, you can always take a rod and some line out to see if the fish are biting.
You can get even more ideas—as well as tips and tricks to make the most of your experience—in Highlander Magazine and at highlandermag.com, the outdoor guide published by USU Student Media
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be the outdoorsy type to appreciate what the valley has to offer, either. Taking an afternoon to go swimming or have a water balloon fight in the yard or at a park can be wonderful fun. The city will host a number of events during the next few months, like Summerfest and the Pioneer Day celebrations, that will allow you to get outside and enjoy the sun. An evening fire at Second Dam, barbecue at Merlin Olsen Park, slackline, or the aforementioned hammock getaway are all activities to help you relax and reset. And we highly recommend taking a drive to Bear Lake this summer; not only will you get an incredible view when you pop out on the other side of the canyon, but you can treat yourself with a raspberry shake there in Garden City on the shores of one of the bluest lakes you’ll see.
Whether you’re at the grocery store, on campus or sitting in your apartment, you’re never more than a few minutes away from an opportunity to get outside and appreciate the natural beauty of Cache Valley. We hope you treat yourself well this spring and summer and give yourself a mental break from schoolwork and the other pressing concerns of being a college student.
This valley we all temporarily call home is amazing. This year, make sure you take the time to notice.