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Hardware Ranch • On a snowy and blustery February morning, the Cache Valley "elk club" gathered in a meadow at the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon.

Close to 600 Rocky Mountain elk hunkered down and fed on hay provided by the Division of Wildlife Resources, oblivious to the third-graders from Ogden's Bonneville Elementary School who rode horse-drawn sleds through the meadow at the top of the canyon.

Elk have been coming from miles around to this Cache Valley ranch since the DWR purchased it from the Box Elder Hardware Company in 1945.

According to Nicaela Haig, an information technician for the state wildlife agency, ranch managers grow feed in the summer months.

Instead of elk going into Cache Valley, where they could be hit by cars, damage fences or eat hay that farmers are growing for their livestock, the animals winter on this high mountain ranch where they are fed.

"We feed them to keep them from going down there," said Haig.

Public education is a big part of the mission of the ranch. A visitor center offers informational displays and hands-on education where kids can touch fur, listen to elk bugle and learn about the wildlife and its habitat.

"Our kids are seeing sights they are not accustomed to seeing," said Bonneville Elementary teacher Kevin Bruckman, who led his students on a field trip to the ranch. "We have been studying habitat in the classroom, but this is up close and personal."

Third-grader Annalese Flores said she learned that elk will soon shed their antlers.

"I learned that elk eat to keep themselves warm," said fellow student Cooper Barley. "They are huge and they are cool."

The ranch is open to the public year-round, with the DWR offering sleigh rides into the middle of the meadow Friday through Monday.

"We have lots of snow, lots of elk and lots of people," said ranch manager Brad Hunt. "This is our biggest year since I started four years ago. We had a couple of Saturdays where a big day was 1,500 people. We had 1,700-plus last Saturday."

Rides will be operated until Feb. 29, though the elk may linger in the meadow into March, especially if snow continues.

Wildlife watchers, hunters and kids love getting close to the huge animals that gather in the meadow. The DWR operates the horse-drawn sleds.

"A lot of people have never seen horses this big," said Hunt. "They enjoy watching horses work together as a team. And it is an exciting thing to learn about the elk."

There is a visitor center that includes a habitat room as well as another building that serves as a warming area for lunch or as a classroom.

Wild turkeys can often be viewed around the ranch. And the Utah Department of Transportation does an excellent job keeping the Blacksmith Fork road open on snowy winter days.

The elk, though, are the big draw here. And, for many northern Utah families, taking a winter weekend trip to Hardware Ranch is an annual tradition.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribtomwharton —

Hardware Ranch

P Hardware Ranch is located at the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon, 18 miles east of Hyrum. The Division of Wildlife Resources feeds a herd of 500 to 700 wintering elk.

• Facilities include a visitor center, lunch area and interpretive displays.

• The DWR offers horse-drawn sleigh rides into the meadow where the elk are feeding Friday and Monday from noon to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Cost of a sleigh ride is $5 for those age 9 and up, $3 for those 4 to 8, free for 3 and under. Last tickets sold at 4:30. There are no food facilities, so bring your own.