Ogden, Utah: Over Night Itinerary With Kids

Over the weekend Eddy and I took the kids up to Ogden for a short trip. It was jam packed with fun and activities. A short drive, a short trip, but not short in excitement.

Ogden is about 45 minutes north of Salt Lake City.

Over spring break, we wanted to go visit Hill Aerospace Museum. A friend suggested we stay overnight and go visit a few other fun places as well. It didn’t work out with Eddy’s work schedule. But he was off last weekend, so it was go time. 😊

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. They have a good free breakfast, an indoor pool, and room for all 7 of us to stay in one room. The microwave seemed to be from the 80’s but it did it’s job.

Friday Plan (Day 1)

We had planned to leave around 10:00ish in the morning. But, true to our trip leaving fashion we were a few hours later… It never fails! Haha! We had to readjust our Friday plans just a bit.

Our original plan:

• Leave around 10:00 and head straight to the Ogden Nature Center to explore
• Get lunch somewhere
• Explore the Ogden Utah Union Station
• Quick run to the grocery store
• Check in to our hotel, eat dinner, swim, and watch a show

What really happened:

Our beautiful kids were being turkeys and not doing their daily lists very well. All while Eddy and I were trying to get our workouts in, running to find me a swimsuit, finishing with the packing, gathering, and cooking our food (I’m on a specific nutrition plan so I prepped all my food for the trip.), and doing some house cleaning. We finally left around 2:00.

We headed straight to the Ogden Utah Union Station to explore. And on my heavens!!! They had some amazing train cars and engines outside on display. Some were HUGE! I’m talking wheels bigger than Eddy.

We had a great time, though a bit cold and windy, looking at and reading about the trains they had on display. We finally made it inside with about 20 minutes before the museum closed. That was not enough time to check everything out, so we went to the train info and model train display. Again, we had a great time.

I would plan at least a couple hours to be able to tour all that the Union Station has to offer. Some of the other exhibits include art displays, guns, cowboys, old cars, and the building itself is beautiful.

Then we went to the grocery store so the kids and Eddy could pick out their dinner. Ha! We thought it would be fun to let them look at the frozen dinners and let the kids choose what they wanted. The plan was to eat in our room while we watched a show.

Don’t your kids love to watch a movie while eating dinner? It doesn’t happen very often, but it is always fun. I felt it would be easiest to eat in our room so I could warm up my dinner and not have to bring it into a restaurant. It also saved time so we could head to the swimming pool sooner.

This is one of the highlights of staying in a hotel, the pool. We were lucky to have the pool to ourselves for most of the time. Between the pool and hot tub, we all had a fun time.

Saturday Plan (Day 2)

Our checkout time was 11:00. We decided to have a lazy morning and not try to rush out of the hotel too soon.

Our Original Plan:                                                      

• Eat the free breakfast
• Swim
• Shower, get ready, pack, and check out at 11:00
• Meet my sister at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden
• Get lunch
• Visit Hill Aerospace Museum
• Head home

What Really Happened:

A few of our early risers woke up around 6:20. Awesome! Ha! But they got to stay in bed and be as quiet as possible. We got the yummy breakfast around 7:30. Eddy took the kids swimming while I did a quick workout. It was fun, the workout room had windows looking into the swimming pool. So, we got to smile and wave at each other.

Then I met them in the pool for some swimming fun. We had about an hour to shower, pack, and head out. We made great timing and checked out at 11:10.

Our first stop of the day was the Ogden’s Dinosaur Park. It had been about 20 years since I had been there. They have huge dinosaurs all over outside with plaques telling information about them. There is an outside sand area. The best part? It is shaded and there is a large area for parents to sit and watch their kiddos.

The outside playground is packed with fun and some dinosaurs the kids can climb on. Outside is a fun place to explore and learn about some dinosaurs. There are great walking paths surrounded by tress, grass, and plants. And of course, dinosaurs. 😊

Inside there is an exceptionally large collection of gems. I didn’t get very much time to look at them because I was nursing baby girl. There is also a dinosaur museum with some fun things to read, look at, and learn from.

Eddy found a fun place to get some lunch, Dylan’s Drive In. They even had a veggie burger!

After our bellies were full, we made our way to the Hill Aerospace Museum. Why have I never been there before??? It was amazing! And I can not wait to go back.

There are countless planes inside and outside to look at. The museum and grounds are all free. There are volunteers that are more than happy to help in any way.

This would be a place I’d love to come solo so I could read everything I wanted without my kiddos pulling on my hands to move on. Haha!

Pro Tip

Now that we are pros with all these places, haha, get there with plenty of time to explore. And don’t lean over the toilet with your sunglasses hanging on your shirt. You’re sure to lose them in the toilet…

It was packed and maybe we packed our weekend too much. We still had fun and were able to see so many things.

The real tip: if you are local then you need to buy a membership to the Dinosaur Park. Why? Because for a family it is only $60 for a year. One of the best parts is that it will also get you into the Union Station, the Ogden Nature Center, and the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake for free Monday-Friday. It’s a no brainer!

We did the upgraded plan for $70 and were able to add all four grandparents. If we did make it to the Nature Center, it would have been $72 to get us into all three places.

What fun overnighters have you been on lately? Or some favorites from the past?

Xxx, Steph

Want other fun trips or tips with traveling with kids? Check them out below:

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