Ogden hot pots close completely to public by threat of trespassing charges

OGDEN — A previously popular spot in Ogden Canyon is being blocked off after deputies said they responded to around 60 medical calls last year.

A Weber State University student, Michael Edwards, was planning to take a swim on Monday afternoon in the Ogden hot pots but he turned back because of the wind and cold. Now, he has a new reason not to come back.

“All of my friends, basically, all of them have gone and have really loved it because it’s cool, especially in the winter,” Edwards said. “I definitely still want to go. Um, I don’t know if I will now that I know.”

Police: Ogden’s hot pots visitors will be cited for trespassing

Sgt. Paul Babinsky with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said that word of mouth is exactly why things have changed.

“You know, it’s just becoming a problem where more and more people are going down there,” he said. “It’s always been an issue.”

Two medical calls had been made on one day in January, which might have been the last straw. Because of the potentially dangerous terrain with snow and ice, the two people had passed out and needed to be hoisted out of the water by the fire department, and the highway was shut down. Two people, just hours apart.

Now, the hot pots are bombarded with no parking and no trespassing signs, a surveillance camera and an agreement with the landowner.

“(The agreement) basically states that if anybody is down on that property, that the owner requests them to be trespassed, or they could be cited and charged,” Babinsky said.

Babinsky said it’s a risk they’re asking people not to take so that first responders aren’t affected too.