Hardware WMA

Hardware Wildlife Management Area — located at the top of Blacksmith Fork Canyon in northern Utah — provides habitat supporting a variety of wildlife species, as well as public access for wildlife viewing, hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation.

Wildlife-viewing opportunities

The Wildlife Education Center at Hardware WMA is open on select weekends this fall, presenting the "Wild Night Life" exhibit in October and "Turkey Tales" exhibit in November. Join us for free crafts, story hours, scavenger hunts and displays highlighting Utah's wildlife.

October open hours

During select weekends in October, the Wildlife Education Center will feature the "Wild Night Life" exhibit. Come and learn about Utah's unique, nocturnal wildlife! Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following weekends (Friday-Sunday):

Oct. 3-5
Oct. 17-19
Oct. 24-26

November open hours

The Wildlife Education Center will offer the "Turkey Tales" exhibit on select weekends in November. Watch wild turkeys around the center and in the meadows, enjoy turkey crafts and story hour, and try your hand at the kid-sized, indoor Nerf archery range. Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following weekends (Friday-Sunday):

Nov. 7-9
Nov. 14-16
Nov. 21-23

Winter season and elk viewing

The Wildlife Education Center will open on weekends (Friday-Sunday) for the winter season beginning Friday, Dec. 5 through Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. New this year are special holiday open days, also from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:

Monday, Dec. 22
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Monday, Dec. 29
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Wednesday, Dec. 31

Inside the center, scenic, 180-degree vistas provide visitors with a bird's-eye view of the big meadow below and excellent wildlife photography opportunities. Visitors can view elk and other wildlife from the WMA parking lots at any time, year-round, including days when the Wildlife Education Center is closed.

View a slideshow of sights at Hardware WMA.

Recreational and educational activities

In addition to the wildlife around the Hardware Wildlife Education Center, fishing opportunities abound. Licensed anglers can catch several trout species in the nearly 15 miles of streams and rivers on the WMA (anglers 12 years of age and older must have a valid Utah fishing or combination license).

Horse-drawn sleigh full of people being pulled through snow at Hardware WMA

Horse-drawn sleigh and wagon rides on the WMA are offered in the winter on the days the Wildlife Education Center is open, and are a unique opportunity to see elk up close and in their natural habitat.

If you are a teacher or school group interested in learning more about year-round educational opportunities at Hardware WMA, find more details here.

Keeping elk herds healthy

Antlerless elk eating hay in a meadow, surrounded by other elk, at Hardware WMA

During the winter months, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources feeds between 500 and 600 Rocky Mountain elk in the big meadow near Hardware's Wildlife Education Center each day. The grass hay used to feed the elk — approximately 300 tons — is grown on the WMA throughout the summer.

Also during the winter, DWR employees use the WMA's trapping facilities to capture some of the elk before weighing them and attaching ear tags. The DWR uses the ear tags to identify individual elk and study population characteristics. We also test a representative sample of elk each year for brucellosis and, occasionally, tuberculosis.