El Monte Golf Course is one of Ogden's best-loved winter sledding hills, a rolling nine-hole municipal course at the mouth of Ogden Canyon that trades its golfers for sleds and snow tubes as soon as the snow sticks. Run by Ogden City, the course throws its fairways open to sledders through the winter at no charge, and the result is one of those wonderful civic traditions where the whole neighbourhood turns out with plastic sleds the morning after a storm. Set against the Wasatch and the mouth of the canyon, it's a genuinely scenic place to spend a snowy afternoon.

The terrain is what makes it work for everyone. The course has some rather steep pitches that suit teens and adults looking for real speed, and plenty of tamer, gentler slopes that are ideal for small kids and first-timers, so families can spread out and pick the hill that fits. Even better, Ogden City takes the safety of the place seriously enough to put hay bales in front of the trees, a small, thoughtful touch that says a lot about how the city regards its winter sledders.

The course itself has a story worth knowing. El Monte opened in 1931 as a classic parkland layout, and its clubhouse was built during the Great Depression out of stone quarried down by the Ogden River. That building is now one of only thirteen golf course clubhouses in the entire country listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an unusual distinction for a modest municipal nine and a handsome piece of Depression-era stonework to have watching over your sledding runs.

You'll find it at 1300 Valley Drive in Ogden, right where the canyon opens into the valley, an easy drive from anywhere in Weber County. In summer it reverts to its day job as a golf course, so winter sledding runs only while there's snow on the ground and the course is closed to play. It's free, unsupervised and bring-your-own, with no rentals, lifts or attendants.

Sledding is faster than it looks, especially on the steeper pitches once the snow packs down. Speeds build quickly on hard or icy snow, and a golf course means trees, cart paths and the occasional bunker edge, so a clear look at the runout and an eye on younger sledders makes all the difference. Helmets are never a bad idea.

Come after a fresh snowfall for the best surface, dress in waterproof layers and good boots, bring your own sled or tube, and pack out what you bring so the course stays welcoming. Between the free hills, the mix of gentle and steep, the hay bales on the trees and a 1930s stone clubhouse on the National Register, El Monte is Ogden winter at its most charming.