HIKERS OUT, GOLFERS IN

Beloved Ogden trail closes permanently to make way for ‘birdies’

OGDEN – With Ogden’s East Bench attracting ever-increasing numbers of hikers, runners, and cyclists to its mountain trails, Mayor Ben Nadolski has a simple message to recreationists: Stay off the golf course.

Until last spring, an alternate path had dropped down from the popular Gibb’s Loop trail to cross limited portions of the Mount Ogden Golf Course. This path provided gentle recovery runs and a place where parents could teach children how to ride bicycles.

Here’s a quick timeline of how that unofficial route through the golf course  – actively used for decades –  became off-limits to public use:

• Late April 2025: City crews barricaded this section of trail at Nadolski’s request, spurring outcry at City Council meetings from avid users of that route. About 3,000 residents signed a petition to keep the path open.

• Through the summer, longtime Ogden resident and runner Chloe Reynolds worked with city staff to compile a less-intrusive route through the golf course. 

• From Sept. 11 to Oct. 6, a “nonscientific” survey and proposed map of that new trail option circulated to 25,000 golfers who had emails on file with the Mount Ogden Golf Course, along with trail users who were contacted primarily through social media.

• A Sept. 14 Standard-Examiner story reported on the issue and provided the proposed alternate path map and survey link.

• By mid-December, Nadolski decided against any path through the golf course. Reynolds learned of that decision in a Dec. 17 email from city staff, thanking her for her collaborative efforts to find a better option for trail users. 

• A Dec. 18 Standard-Examiner story revealed details about Nadolski’s decision.

• On Dec. 19, Episode 45 of “The Ogden Way” podcast featured a 53-minute discussion between Nadolski and Mount Ogden golf pro Todd Brenkman about mixing trail use with golf. 

About 44 minutes into that city-sponsored podcast, Nadolski described his personal Mount Ogden golf experience: 

”You're sitting in the tee box waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. And then people are backing up behind you, waiting, waiting, waiting. … All we're waiting for is this old lady to finish walking the length of a par five hole,” Nadolski said. “And you're like, why am I waiting for someone that didn't pay a fee to be here?”

Brenkman replied: “That's the frustration I see from the customer all the time.”

DONE DEAL? SOME SAY NO WAY.

In spite of Nadolski’s hard “no” about mixed use on the golf course, trail advocates still hope for revival of the less-intrusive path option that Reynolds and city staff had compiled.

During public comments Jan. 6 at the City Council’s first 2026 meeting, several residents voiced concerns about what they viewed as a flawed process and breach of trust that resulted in the permanent closure of the barricaded trail. 

That process also came up for discussion during the work session prior to the Jan. 6 council meeting, with Nadolski describing the history of the “unofficial” trail as he understood it.

“The official trail went around the golf course, but enforcing it became more lax over time. … Unofficial trails began to be created and expectations for recreation on the golf course,” Nadolski said. “At the same time, conflicts between trail users and golfers increased and we started seeing issues with that. We did have reports of close calls recently.” 

Kevin Lundell, newly elected to the council last November, differed with Nadolski’s perspective.

“The use of that trail wasn’t a lack of enforcement, it was full-on endorsement by previous administrations, including the mayor himself using the trail regularly,” Lundell said during the Jan. 6 work session.  

FLAWED SURVEY?

The city’s survey last fall consisted of these four questions: 

1. Do you support a trail route that prioritizes the safety of trail users and golfers by minimizing the number of locations where interactions can occur?

2. Is there anything you would change?

3. Please share any other comments or concerns regarding the proposed trail re-alignment.

4. How close do you live to Mount Ogden Golf Course?

Lundell acknowledged that he found the wording of the first survey question to be confusing as to whether he should answer yes or no.

 “So I ended up not taking it,” Lundell said. 

That confusion surfaced in the raw data the city released Dec. 17, indicating many respondents answered no when they meant yes, and vice versa, as evidenced in answers to subsequent questions.

Read survey data here.

Of 884 survey responses received between Sept. 11 and Oct. 6, about 52% wanted to keep the unofficial trail closed, while 48% did not. Until Sept. 30, most of the responses favored a path through the golf course. But during the final week, the tide dramatically turned against it.

“The public input was reasonably split and I’m looking for balance, so I’m deciding to stick with the current plan,” Nadolski said, “the same plan that our leaders before us foresaw with Gibb’s Loop that goes around and golf that gets played in the middle.”

During the work session, Nadolski defended the survey, which had been compiled by Logan Simpson, a design company that contracts with the city on major planning projects.

“If (a scientific survey) was what we were after, that’s what we would have done, and it would have cost us a fortune. I was looking for something that helps characterize and gives me some sense of sentiment from the public,” Nadolski said. “So I’m not hanging my hat on it, but it is a factor in my decision making.”

SHARED GREEN SPACE?

In a recent phone interview, Reynolds – now 34 – said she began using the trail through the golf course at about age 10. That use continued through cross-country training in high school and college. And 15 years ago, she married an avid golfer, becoming one herself. And waiting, she said, is woven into the fabric of the game.

“In all the rounds of golf I played since I married my husband, we have always — with no exception — had to wait for the group ahead of us to clear the fairway or clear the green,” Reynolds said. 

Without the ability to cross through the golf course, Reynolds said that runners have to use sidewalks and streets to complete the circuit. And the “unofficial” path provided more than just a shortcut.

“The trail in question is flat and without boulders, ruts, and things like that. It’s wide and kind of like a service road,” Reynolds said, affording the ability to walk side by side. “A lot of our trails are single track. There’s something so integral, I believe, to Ogden when we recreate together.”

Reynolds said her fight for a less-intrusive path through Mount Ogden Golf Course will continue on behalf of the many trail enthusiasts who reached out to her with their concerns.

The improved route resulting from Reynolds’ collaboration with city staff — work that she said included a golf cart tour with Nadolski — would run alongside fairways rather than through them, and would also cross behind two tee boxes.

“We're working on creative actions to gain support and to communicate how little interaction there is — if we’re given the chance,” Reynolds said. “We’re asking for much less pointed access than we’ve had for decades.”