HYRUM – It wouldn’t be winter without another season of bundling up and riding on a horse drawn sleigh through hundreds of wild elk. The winter sleigh rides began at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Hardware Wildlife Management Area on Dec. 1.
Haviland’s Old West Adventures will offer horse-drawn sleigh rides through the elk herd on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from now until February 11. Rides start at 10 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. on those days and last about 40 minutes.
For those 9 years of age or older the cost is $10 and $4 for those 4 to 8 years old. Children 3 years of age or younger ride for free. Tickets are only sold at the Hardware Wildlife Education Center, and they must be bought in-person on the day of the ride.
Haviland’s Old West Adventures is offering a new opportunity this year. Reservations for groups of 25 people or more can be made for sleigh rides Monday through Thursday. To take advantage of the offer, call Haviland’s at (435) 744-3229 to reserve a sleigh ride for groups on one of those days.
Food trucks will be available near the ride lines where participants can eat while waiting in line. Santa Claus will also be on hand to greet kids every weekend through Christmas Eve.
“If your kids are wanting to see Santa’s reindeer this holiday season, you can provide the next best thing by visiting the Hardware WMA and seeing hundreds of their reindeer cousins,” DWR Hardware Wildlife Education Center Director Marni Lee said. “Elk and reindeer are both members of the Cervidae family.”
In addition to riding through the middle of hundreds of elk, you can spend time warming up and learning more about elk in the Hardware Wildlife Education Center. A new “All About Elk” exhibit will be available to see in the center’s habitat room. Fun activities for families will be held in the center at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Each activity runs for about 30 minutes.
“Making Christmas ornaments using sagebrush, bitterbrush and other plants found at the WMA is a fun and popular activity,” Lee said. “We’ll be making the ornaments during December.”
There’s no cost to visit the center and participate in the activities.
The elk seen at Hardware this winter have been known to migrate long distances. Elk at the Hardware WMA have traveled as far as Montpelier, Idaho and Cokeville, Wyoming.
The Hardware Ranch WMA can be reached by traveling 16 miles east of Hyrum on state Route 101. You’ll drive through scenic Blacksmith Fork Canyon on your way to the WMA.
For more information about the sleigh rides and the wildlife management area, visit the DWR website. You can also call the WMA at (435) 753-6206 or email Lee at marnilee@utah.gov.