Although history is everywhere evident, that does not mean Cache County has not seen change and growth. Logan and its neighbors, from Paradise and Avon on the south to Cornish and Cove to the north, have seen their share of newcomers in the past few decades. According to the U.S. Census, the county's population doubled between 1980 and the 2008 estimates, from 57,176 residents to 112,616.

But there remains plenty of room to roam — or golf, or bicycle, or hike or motor through on a pastoral scenic drive.

As if the city's tree-lined sidewalks and the county's rural roads were not enough, also handy are several urban, or semi-urban, trails.

Among these are the Logan River Walk, through the Logan River Golf Course; a segment of the Lake Bonneville Shoreline Trail; and the Logan River Nature Trail, from near the mouth of Logan Canyon to Guinivah amphitheater, the latter a 5-mile trek if you want to do the entire route, one way.

North Logan's Kayleen Skinlo escorted her three children — year-old Kai; 4-year-old Sienna; Jackson, 8, and his friend Alex — along the third-of-a-mile walk along the Logan River to the Stokes Nature Center on a recent weekday afternoon.

"We just went out for a little walk," she said inside the kid-friendly learning center. "We walk here, and I enjoy that," because it gets them all out and about.

The children checked out the nature and photo displays, ogled a few animal skulls, including those of a beaver, a moose and an elk ("Look at that! That's big," Skinlo said to them). Nearby were small live creatures, including a salamander and a tarantula.

Logan has several such options for families, she said. Nearby Green Canyon is easy enough for the children to ride their bicycles. They all enjoy walking through Logan's Willow Park Zoo, which has great numbers of birds, from colorful macaws to regal eagles. And the zoo is a deal: a suggested $1 donation for adults, 50 cents for kids.

And then there's Logan Canyon itself. The Skinlos — adults and children — have all hiked the 2 miles up to the arch-like Wind Caves (aka, the Witch's Castle), beside Tony Grove Lake and along other mountain trails. The tourism bureau's brochure describes 31 sites and stops to see on this stretch of U.S. 89, a designated National Scenic Byway.

Fishing is popular at First Dam, Second Dam and Third Dam, and along the river. And the canyon hosts several shady campgrounds and picnic spots. Tributary roads head off into Temple Fork and other canyons in Wasatch-Cache National Forest.