Cache Valley Hiking Part 3 - Temple Sawmill

Behind the numbers:

• 6 miles out-and-back
  
• ~700 feet elevation gain/loss
  
• 3.5 hour round-trip with pregnant wife
  

The Temple Fork Sawmill hike is a good option for an easy partial day hike with less climbing involved. The trailhead is at the Temple Fork turnoff from the Logan Canyon Hwy, which is not quite as far up the canyon (from Logan) as Tony Grove where some of the previously reviewed hikes begin. Also, once turning off the main road, you only venture about a mile before arriving at the trailhead (all on gravel roads) and there is little change in elevation through this mile. This means that the Sawmill hike starts at a lower elevation than Tony Grove hikes (around 6000 ft).

At the trailhead

The first 1.5 miles of the Sawmill hike follows along the Logan River in an area where the river isn’t much larger than a creek. There is evidence of beaver dams throughout the first/last .5 mile. The terrain is very mildly upward sloping along this stretch and you walk through a valley with grass and sagebrush covered fields all around, so shade is limited. You can monitor your progress here by looking for the 2 bridges across the river that take you back to the Temple Fork Rd (1 at ~.75 miles and the other at ~1.5 miles).

 
Hiking along the river

Just past the 2^nd bridge, the trail turns along a smaller creek that feeds into the Logan River. Most of the climbing takes place from here to the sawmill site, but it is not a steady uphill drag. While much of this section is also exposed, there is more shade available due to tall pine trees and rock faces nearby.

Snowy mountains in the background

Derby loves hiking!

Only about .25 mile or so past the turn onto this stretch there is an area with more evidence of beaver activity (chewed stumps and felled trees) and there is a partially shaded “pond” in the creek that provides a good area for rest…it may have been our favorite spot along the hike.

    
Susan (and bump) along the route & Jeff and Derby navigating trees


At the beaver lodge

The rest of the trail to the sawmill continues to follow the creek before opening up to a flat field with some remains of the sawmill used to provide wood for the Logan Temple and a sign talking about the area. There was a small campfire site nearby as well if you intended to stop here for a picnic. As with most hiking in the Bear Mountains, there are trail options from the sawmill to venture further into the wilderness.

Derby with the Sawmill

Us with the Sawmill

Susan, Derby and I took a small snack break at the turnaround before retracing our route back to the car. Compared to some of the other trails we’ve hiked this one was less trafficked so was easier on us considering Derby’s behavior around other animals. The trail does lend itself well to mountain biking though, so we encountered a couple bikers.

 
Pika in the sagebrush     &     Jeff’s favorite kind of bird in the valley

Derby’s viewpoint

Overall, we enjoyed the Temple Sawmill hike and I’d recommend it to larger groups of variable abilities or those walking with children since it’s not as demanding. However, I wouldn’t want to hike this trail during afternoons in the summer since there isn’t enough shade. A nice payoff to the Sawmill hike is the bonus of seeing some history along with the natural beauty.